War on drugs a flop, global panel says

Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, former Swiss president Ruth Dreifuss, former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardosos and former Colombian president Cesar Gaviria listen at the release of their panel's report on the global drug war Tuesday.

Reuters:

New York — A high-profile group of global leaders declared the “war on drugs” a failure Thursday and urged governments to consider decriminalizing drugs in a bid to cut consumption and weaken the power of organized crime gangs.

The Global Commission on Drug Policy, which includes former presidents of Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Switzerland, said a decades-long strategy of outlawing drugs and jailing drug users while battling cartels that control the trade had not worked.

“It’s not peace instead of war, it’s a more intelligent way to fight ... the use of drugs,” former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, chair of the commission, told a news conference in New York. “Stop the war on drugs and let’s be more constructive in trying to reduce consumption.”

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