12/11/2012
Juan Manuel Santos, the President of Colombia, has called for a global rethink of drugs policy. In an interview with The Observer, Santos calls for a new approach to “take away the violent profit that comes with drug trafficking… If that means legalising, and the world thinks that’s the solution, I will welcome it. I’m not against it.”
He stressed that the initiative would work only if it was co-ordinated internationally and emphasised the vital role that the UK, the US and the European Union would have to play in shaping the debate. “What I won’t do is become the vanguard of that movement because then I will be crucified,” he says. “But I would gladly participate in those discussions because we are the country that’s still suffering most and have suffered most historically with the high consumption of the UK, the US and Europe in general.”
Significantly, Santos signalled he was prepared to go much further than many others advocating the reform of global drug laws by opening up a debate about legalising marijuana and even cocaine: “I would talk about legalising marijuana, and more than just marijuana.” He highlighted the contradictory problems that would come with legalising certain drugs in particular jurisdictions.
“I ask myself how would you explain marijuana being legalised in California [for medicinal purposes] and cocaine consumption being penalised in Idaho? It’s a contradiction. So it’s a difficult problem where you set the limits.
“For example, I would never legalise very hard drugs like morphine or heroin because they are suicidal drugs. I might consider legalising cocaine if there is a world consensus, because it has affected us most here in Colombia. I don’t know what is more harmful, cocaine or marijuana. That’s a health discussion. But again, only if there is a consensus.”
Santos’s comments come before a high-profile Drugs Policy Reform event this week at the House of Lords. The conference, co-organised by The Beckley Foundation and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Drugs, will be attended by policy makers and former world leaders from all over the globe.
The event will explore whether reforms of drug laws in countries such as Portugal could offer a credible model for the UK and other nations. It will also hear independent evidence that the legalisation – and taxation –of cannabis in the UK would bring in hundreds of millions of pounds to the exchequer.
Amanda Feilding, of the Beckley foundation, said: “Improving our drugs policy is one of the key policy challenges of our time. It is time for a new approach. The war on drugs has failed. We need to break the taboo on debate.”
