The Pendulum Is Swinging

It is increasingly evident that the U.S. approach to its drug problem is changing. It is time for this new reality to happen in Colombia, too.

In these pages we have insisted on the need to reconsider the fight against drugs many times before. Today, the unanimity around the fruitlessness of the criminal approach is increasing. This approach is keeping the prisons of the U.S., Colombia and so many other countries full of consumers who won’t find any solutions to their addiction.

Therefore, the U.S. turnaround on the matter is good news. According to what was said on Tuesday, its anti-drug policy will focus for the first time on prevention, which is increasingly becoming a worldwide trend.

In order to make its plans come true, the White House has asked Congress for $10.5 billion [for next year], 16 percent more than what was put aside this year for programs aimed at prevention and treatment for drug use. As part of the strategy, some guidelines are being taught to federal agencies so they can broaden their programs. [It is urged that] doctors be consulted and given a way to be involved should any symptoms of addiction be found and if access to treatment is expanded to those who have fallen into the clutches of this scourge.

It is a fact that the corresponding atmosphere in Colombia is changing; the criminal approach is being set aside to make way for the field of public health. Here, this change in atmosphere reflects the changing opinion of the American people, as they are the ones who elect the congressmen who eventually call the shots. Some weeks ago, an important fact was registered in this field: For the first time since the ‘60s, a nationwide survey showed that more Americans are in favor of legalizing marijuana. Let’s remember the recent vote in favor of decriminalizing the recreational use of cannabis in the states of Washington and Colorado.

Thus, a trend dating back to the ‘70s seems to go backward. At the time, a direct link between the use of drugs and criminality was woven, triggering a good dose of stigmatizing of minorities (Latinos and Afro-descendants) as a cause of the problem. The fact that the use of such substances concerns the whole population regardless of ethnicity or financial situation was ignored.

Preliminary steps are being taken in this part of the world. Last year, at the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, the need to explore alternative ways was agreed upon. Former presidents César Gaviria, Ernesto Zedillo and Fernando Henrique Cardoso pointed to [the effectiveness of] these ways, too. Gustavo Petro, the mayor of Bogotá, has been a champion in this change of paradigms and has started to implement treatment facilities for drug addicts.

In spite of these steps in the right direction, the question of how sustainable it would be to maintain the old approach here at such a high cost remains. The smiling face of “Fritanga”* when going to the United States yesterday suggests that, now that extradition is no longer a feared consequence, it is perhaps time to resynchronize the agendas and jointly examine all the priorities [surrounding this issue].

This is because the pendulum is swinging in the United States and it is time for the new reality to be reflected in Colombia, too. President Santos himself, who is a supporter of the new approach, says it is increasingly difficult to understand the fact that farmers are being persecuted in Colombia while new spaces are being opened in the U.S. for the use of weed.

*Translator’s note: “Fritanga” is the nickname of a Colombian recently extradited to the United States on charges of drug trafficking. His real name is Camilo Torres.