WASHINGTON: At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day 2014, marijuana went on sale at licensed shops in Colorado, the first U.S. state to treat the drug like alcohol and tobacco. Within the first 24 hours, sales passed the million-dollar mark. Drug policy reformers hailed the event as the beginning of the end of marijuana prohibition and possibly major shifts in the U.S.-led global war on drugs in general.They may well be right. In the state of Washington, where the liquor control board began issuing licenses last year, over-the-counter sales are scheduled to begin in spring to consumers aged 21 or older. [continues 816 words]
A Loud Silence There are times when silence can be as eloquent as words. Take the case of Washington's reaction to announcements, in quick succession, from Mexico and Argentina of changes in their drug policies that run counter to America's own rigidly prohibitionist federal laws. No US expressions of dismay or alarm. Contrast that with three years ago, when Mexico was close to enacting timid reforms almost identical to those that became effective on August 21. In 2006, shouts of shock and horror from the administration of George W Bush reached such a pitch that the then Mexican president, Vicente Fox, abruptly vetoed a bill his own party had written and he had supported. [continues 922 words]
To understand why the war in Afghanistan, now in its eighth year, is not going well for the United States and its NATO allies, take a look at two statistics. One is Afghanistan's ranking on an international index measuring corruption: 176 out of 180 countries. (Somalia is 180th). The other is Afghanistan's position as the world's Number 1 producer of illicit opium, the raw material for heroin. The two statistics are inextricably linked and, a year ago, prompted Richard Holbrooke, the man President Barack Obama has just picked as special envoy for Afghanistan, to write: "Breaking the narco-state in Afghanistan is essential or all else will fail. [continues 804 words]
America's alcohol prohibition lasted 13 years, filled the country's prisons, inspired contempt for the law among millions, bred corruption and produced Al Capone. What it did not do was keep Americans from drinking. America's marijuana prohibition drew into its 72nd year this month. It has created a huge underground industry catering to users, helped the US prison population balloon into the world's largest, and diverted the resources of American law enforcement. What it has not done is keep Americans from using marijuana. [continues 698 words]
Washington - Despite three decades of upbeat reports on battles won in the war on drugs, cocaine, heroin and marijuana are as easily available as ever and experts say the United States has yet to develop a strategy that works. Just as in previous years, the government's progress reports for this year on drug control point to new records on cocaine seizures and on the eradication of coca plantations in Colombia, the world's top producer of cocaine. The annual reports were issued by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, a 130-member group which sets anti-drug policy and is headed by "drug czar" John Walters, and by the State Department's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. [continues 815 words]
