A coca farmer worker speaks with police, Colombia. Flickr / Policia Colombia. Some rights reserved.In certain areas of Colombia, a paradox exists. Many drug users have been killed by ‘social cleansing’ armed groups, funded by drug trafficking and supported by members of the military forces. These victims dramatically reflect two of the critical mistakes of current drug policies: the stigmatisation of drug users, and the strengthening of criminal organisations that control the illegal drug markets and make corrupt alliances with authorities. The war on drugs in the Americas is full of stories in which human rights have been violated, thanks to wrong-headed policies. As Kofi Annan observes, “drugs have harmed many people, but bad government policies have harmed many more”. Now we have the opportunity to prevent this continuing.
Prohibitionist approaches have fostered the creation of highly profitable illegal markets dominated by armed groups dedicated to trafficking. This huge illegal market has fueled the armed conflict in countries such as Colombia, becoming a serious obstacle to peace efforts. Repressive policies against the weakest, in order to deal with this problem, has instead created overloaded judicial systems, prison overcrowding and an incalculable number of deaths among men, women and children. Regulation of markets and alternative polices are not necessary soft-handed with criminal organisations. In fact, they are smarter approaches to defeat them, if they are combined with criminal prosecution policies focused on drug lords and their allies.
