Sunday 6 September 2009

Former president of Brazil says hardline war on drugs 'has failed'

The war on drugs has failed and should make way for a global shift towards decriminalising cannabis use and promoting harm reduction, says the former president of Brazil, writing today in the Observer. Fernando Henrique Cardoso argues that the hardline approach has brought "disastrous" consequences for Latin America, which has been the frontline in the war on drug cultivation for decades, while failing to change the continent's position as the largest exporter of cocaine and marijuana.

His intervention, which will reignite growing debate in Europe about how to tackle drugs, was welcomed yesterday by campaigners for drug law reform who increasingly see the impact on developing countries where drugs are produced as critical to the argument.

@ 'The Guardian'

Is America ready to admit defeat in its 40-year war on drugs?


The war on drugs is immoral idiocy. We need the courage of Argentina

1 comment:

  1. I can understand why he's saying this. Today LEAP has a post from Maria Lucia Karam - retired Brazilian judge - about the issue of drug prohbiition in Brazil. It makes the problems in the United States look trivial:

    http://copssaylegalize.blogspot.com/2009/09/brazil-death-in-favelas.html

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