A Balanced Strategy

Today ends Gil Kerlikowske’s visit to Colombia. Kerlikowske was previously the chief of Seattle’s police department and is currently the U.S.’s new designated anti-drug czar.

Since the White House’s nomination, Kerlikowske has generated high expectations, both inside and outside the country, due to his stance regarding the war against drugs. His seniority in urban security forces and personal experiences having a step-son in jail for possession of hallucinogens, Kerlikowske represents a turn from his predecessor with regard to the anti-drug war, which is much needed by the Obama administration.

With regard to his domestic responsibilities under the jurisdiction of his anti-drug position in the White House, the new representative has sent multiple encouraging messages. In his interview with our newspaper, Kerlikowske confirmed that the United States government wants to reinforce its emphasis on reducing demand.

Even though the trend for cocaine consumption in the U.S. has been stable over the last years, a U.N. world report concerning drugs revealed that 5.8 million Americans consumed cocaine at least once in 2007. The authorities in the U.S. spend $40,000 million each year in their fight against drugs and arrest approximately 1 million people for crimes related to illegal substances.

In spite of these efforts, in absolute terms, the North American cocaine market continues to be the greatest in the world. Similar to other functionaries in Obama’s administration, such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her visit to Mexico, the anti-drug czar insists on the “shared responsibility” of the U.S. in this global problem. Kerlikowske also reaffirms that the fight against hallucinogens “cannot be based only on repression through judicial system and military efforts.”

It is comforting to hear that the person in charge of anti-drug policies recognizes the need to combine police and security enforcement techniques with the perspective of “public stability.” Kerlikowske has made promises of amplifying the addict’s access to treatment and reinforcement of a strategy that would integrate the “strong hand” of the law with education, prevention and treatment, all with the goal of reducing drug consumption. In other words, this would create a “balanced” strategy.

The “balanced” strategy represents precisely the type of solution the integrated commission of ex Latin-American presidents tried to foster. Nevertheless, the inertia of repressive politics is very strong and impedes any discussion concerning the legalization of illicit substances. “The word ‘legalization’ is not in Obama’s vocabulary,” said Kerlikowske.

Most likely, the positive changes of this approach will be felt more by addicts on the streets in the U.S. than by the Colombian cultivators of coca plants. Even though Kerlikowske did not wanted to discuss the future plan for Colombia in detail, there are currently no visible, major transformations in any of the priorities or in the anti-drug programs that are being developed jointly by the U.S. and Colombia.

The czar also didn’t wanted to directly comment on the Colombian government’s transition to a completely different route in matters of prevention and treatment for consumers. While the U.S., along with other countries facing with the same drug problem, such as Mexico, are marking a turn toward public health solutions, in Colombia, the executive is stimulating a constitutional reform that will penalize drug addicts.

For the Americans, the messages conveyed by the new czar are opening a new door to a policy that combines treatment and prevention with repression and jail time. It is not clear how the anti-drug strategies will be balanced with strategies in Colombia.