Opinion: Obama Legalize Drugs or Turn Back Drug War at Colombia Summit

[Judi Lynn]

Obama Legalize Drugs or Turn Back Drug War at Colombia Summit
Robert Taylor
34 minutes ago

When President Obama head to Colombia this week for the Summit of the Americas, he will face some difficult and important questions that no president before him has really had to answer. With the U.S.-led drug war into its fourth decade, the leaders of South and Latin America are demanding change and reform from the largest importer of drugs in the hemisphere and the mightiest enforcer of drug prohibition. Despite the growing influence and voice of our southern neighbors, President Obama lacks the incentives and the principles to stop, or even commit major reforms on, the disastrous drug war.

Since the early 1970's, the U.S. government has pursued a highly militarized and aggressive policy domestically and in the rest of the Western hemisphere fighting the consumption and sale of substances they label “illicit.” And while the U.S. has had mainly a free hand in Latin and South America enforcing the drug war, that is quickly changing. According to the Guardian, “that mood is starting to shift and America's position is now being challenged, increasingly and vociferously, by its neighbors in South and Central America.”

Guatemala, Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil have all expressed a strong desire to engage the U.S. and have even taken steps toward decriminalization. They are reacting to what the drug war has created in their countries; like Prohibition in the U.S., ruthless cartels are lured by the artificially high profits the drug war creates to enter the black market and are willing to commit horrendous acts of violence to in order to do so. Much of South and Latin America has been ravaged by drug gangs and violence; tens of thousands of people have died in Mexico alone in the last five years as a direct result of the drug war.

Given these trends, it is obvious why many of these countries’ leaders will be eager to have President Obama’s ear in Colombia. But even after four decades of war, Obama likely won’t be listening. Although calling the drug war a “failure” while campaigning in 2008, Obama has maintained the status quo.

More:
http://www.policymic.com/articles/6726/obama-legalize-drugs-or-turn-back-drug-war-at-colombia-summitt/category_list

[duhneece]

1. I'd been opposed to the War on Drugs without realizing its racist implications

Then I read "The New Jim Crow"...now I oppose the 'war on drugs' as the 'war on people, especially liberals, the poor and minorities' with far more of my time & energy.
I attended 'International Conference on Drug Policy Reform' before & intend to do so in Oct 2013. http://www.reformconference.org/

[Judi Lynn]

2. Obama faces skeptical leaders at Americas summit

Obama faces skeptical leaders at Americas summit
By Brian Ellsworth
BOGOTA | Tue Apr 10, 2012 7:14pm IST

(Reuters) - Three years after being feted by star-struck Latin American leaders, U.S. President Barack Obama faces skepticism and disappointment at this week's Summit of the Americas for failing to meet promises of a new era in relations with the region.

Obama's first meeting with leaders from the hemisphere in Trinidad and Tobago at the height of his popularity included a vow to mend ties with Cuba and a photo-op handshake with Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president and pugnacious U.S. critic.

This year, Obama is more focused on re-election than foreign policy and is set to receive a grilling over contentious issues like the drugs war, Cuba and even U.S. monetary policy from heads of state eager to remind him that Washington is growing less relevant for the region.

"The deception and disappointment are quite real," said Hal Klepak, a Canadian history professor and Latin America expert. "The last summit's focus was the 'Obama show,' this time what we have are years of nothing happening."

More:
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/04/10/americas-summit-obama-idINDEE8390EE20120410?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&rpc=401

[Vincardog]

3. Obama should call off the DEA Dogs and end the war on people. I doubt he has the will or gonads.