With the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitan’s planned visitplanned visit to meet with President Laura Chinchilla in Costa Rica on the 28th February 2012 we ask, is it time to end the war on drugs?

The war on drugs costs taxpayers tens of billions of dollars every year, yet 40 years and some 40 million arrests later, drugs are cheaper, more potent and far more widely used than at the beginning of this futile crusade.

In Central America, a decade of investment by the US and local governments has failed to diminish drug trafficking through the region. In fact, drug use and drug-fueled violence and corruption are growing problems, threatening local and regional stability as it has in violence-ridden Mexico.

The presidents of Guatemala and Colombia have recently joined a large contingent of other political luminaries, such as former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, in suggesting decriminalizing drug possession for personal consumption and giving lesser sentences to small traffickers.

Here in Costa Rica, President Laura Chinchilla has also called for a dialogue on decriminalization. In the meantime, she has said that Costa Rica will not prosecute those possessing small amounts of drugs for personal use. This includes marijuana, cocaine, etc.

It is the war on drugs itself that makes these drugs so profitable, giving criminals a monopoly over their supply. Driven by the huge profits from this monopoly, criminal gangs not only bribe and kill each other, law enforcers, and innocent by-standers, they threaten the very fabric of Central American society.

Taking away the profitability of drugs would greatly diminish the incentive to traffic in drugs, and allow the movement and sale of drugs to be regulated.

Opponents of decriminalization often argue that absolving drug users from arrest and prosecution for drug use, acquisition, simple possession or cultivation for personal use leads to increased drug use. Actual experience in Portugal, Holland, and other countries proves that this is simply not true.

Decriminalization does significantly reduce pressure on law enforcement agencies and on the judicial and penitentiary systems.

Putting non-violent drug users in prison has proven to be costly, ineffective, and even counter-productive. When addicts and casual drug users are sentenced to prison, they often become real criminals, working in organized crime after their release.

Setting up programs that allow drug addicts to come into a treatment program instead of prison is an important element of a comprehensive decriminalization program.

Despite its obvious failure, the US continues to promote the war on drugs. Why? This is certainly not a moral crusade to save drug users from themselves. In fact, drug laws have created an enormous new class of “criminals,” whose life-long employment and social advancement opportunities are severely diminished by their convictions.

The drug war provides a splendid opportunity to project US military power into South and Central America, in continuance of two centuries of a foreign policy that seeks to control natural resources in support of US-based multinational corporations.

In the face of recent high-level calls for ending the drug war, you can expect that US diplomats will soon be making threats regarding loss of trade privileges, imposition of sanctions, and reductions in aid.

Fifty years after the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and 40 years after President Nixon launched the US government’s war on drugs, fundamental reforms in national and global drug control policies are urgently needed. It is time for Central America to unite and stand up to the US and implement drug policies that make more sense.

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Written by VIP Member Wendy Bishop Strebe who moved with her family to Costa Rica in 2003 from Northern New Mexico. The family built, owned and operated a lodging establishment on the Caribbean side for 7 years. They then moved to the mountains of Heredia, where Wendy, a vegan/vegetarian chef, nutritionist and aromatherapist, provides cooking classes, health coaching and aromatherapy treatments.

Wendy and her family like to spend time in Jaco on the Central pacific coast and also have a lovely weekly and monthly rental in Rohrmoser, San José. In her former life, Wendy worked in environmental issues, watershed restoration, grantwriting and mediation. Wendy has four adult kids and two grandkids.

If you are looking for a comfortable, fully furnished home for rent in an upscale suburb of San Jose, Costa Rica that is available for weekly and monthly rentals, perhaps for a vacation, medical tourism or business then take a look at Wendy’s Costa Rica rental home Casa Orleans here, it’s your perfect home away from home. You can also email Wendy here.

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.