WWDrugs

Pills, poppers, uppers, downers. Demonised in western society, it seems only natural that recreational drugs must be shrouded in the mists of criminality, where the dregs of society – the users and abusers – must tread carefully to avoid social discrimination and incarceration.

Little old New Zealand, that place in Australia’s general direction; where sheep wander through meadowy landscapes; where Hobbity looking folk live in harmony; and where methamphetamine use is growing in leaps and bounds, amongst much media fanfare.

A bit of a blemish to our country, but who’s to blame? Government? Society? The users themselves?

I’m looking for a starting point, and decide to find out a bit about a phrase I’ve heard tossed around a lot. A quick Google of the search string “war on drugs” returns pages and pages and pages of reputable groups and news sites pushing their anti War on Drugs agenda. I’m a little surprised. Where are the token, right-wing, marijuana-fearing, soccer-mums? Why exactly is the War on Drugs being deemed a failure?

The War on Drugs began in 1968 under the Nixon administration, when an initiative to eliminate natural drug crops in Mexico was launched. Since then, America has spent a conservatively estimated $500bn in their efforts to combat the drug epidemic. That’s enough to give every person in America slightly over $1625 (or every person in New Zealand $115,500!). A lot of time and obviously a lot of money have gone into the war, but how effective has it really been?

In America, where 1 in 31 people are in jail, on probation, or on parole, over half a million of them are locked up for drug related offences. Depressingly impressive figures. It seemed logical to me that consequently, the availability of drugs, as well as the number of users must, surely, have decreased significantly.

I was wrong.

- Cocaine is the same price now, as it was in 1993.
- Methamphetamine, a drug which saw very scarce use, is now used by 1.5 million Americans.
- More than a quarter of a million of HIV/AIDS can be attributed to the use of unsterile syringe use by drug users.
- State prison budgets are growing twice as fast as spending on public colleges and universities.
- Students who were subject to the Drug Awareness and Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) scheme were actually more likely to participate in drug use.

There’s a definite sense of irony in that the only ‘victory’ the War on Drugs has seen, is the decline in the use of one of the less harmful drugs – marijuana.

To say it’s looking grim for the War on Drugs would be an understatement. If I needed any more convincing, its this, straight from the horse’s mouth, head of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske saying that the War on Drugs has failed and that now is the time to explore new models of treatment, not incarceration.

Let’s take a look south of the United States. Mexico, in late September, quietly passed a new piece of legislation decriminalising the possession of small amounts of, well, just about everything – marijuana, LSD, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and other illicit substances.

A pretty radical move. But when violent clashes between drug cartels can be held responsible for the deaths of 11,000 people in the past two and a half years, it becomes apparent that Mexico must be desperate to investigate any new approach to lessen the bloodshed that has ravaged the country.

This new law aims to free up the time of law enforcement officials by taking the focus away from personal users, allowing them to concentrate on the bigger fish – the dealers and traffickers. The reform hopes to “make the combined capability of enforcement against this crime a legal and operational reality,” says Attorney General Eduardo Medina-Mora.

This change in law comes as a surprise to the rest of the world, given the rigid anti-drug stance that Mexico’s influential neighbour has traditionally taken.

But how does all of this concern New Zealand?

There is no shortage of sensationalist media coverage of the prevalent drug use in New Zealand. We are inundated with stories of youth-train-wrecks, drug related gang violence, and the heroic work our altruistic police force undertake to combat this evil.

With America finally realising that their War on Drugs has ultimately failed, why is New Zealand government pushing for prohibition and tougher sentencing for drug related crimes? Do we have to repeat the same mistakes, experience the same violence, before the people in power, the lawmakers, sit up and take notice?

New Zealand seems divided.

What’s the solution? I’m not sure. I do think that some amendments to existing drug laws in regards to lenient personal use of light drugs would be beneficial to New Zealand. I don’t think that a blanket legalisation of all drugs would work terribly well. As a country renowned for its binge drinking culture, New Zealand simply isn’t ready to be responsible for its own drug use. Objective drug education needs to be implemented from a young age to prepare adolescents to make informed decisions, not the misinformation that currently seems to spread through the schooling system.

Regardless of their legal status, drugs will continue to be present throughout the community, inevitably affecting us in some way, be it positive or negative. Harm minimisation programmes need to be considered; the War on Drugs has failed.

Prohibition may not last forever. When the time comes, where will you stand?

References

War on Drugs and Human Rights. (2009, January 1). Retrieved September 16, 2009, from http://www.huumeboikotti.org/en/humanrights.html

Wallace-Wells, B. (2007, December 13). How America Lost the War on Drugs. Retrieved from http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/17438347/how_america_lost_the_war_on_drugs

1 in 31 U.S. Adults are Behind Bars, on Parole or Probation. (n.d.). Retrieved September 23, 2009, from http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=49398#factsheets

Do NZ’s drug laws need to be updated? (n.d.). Retrieved September 16, 2009, from http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/your-views/2008/2/18/do-nzs-drug-laws-need-to-be-updated/?c_id=466&commentpage=1

Effectiveness of the war on drugs. (n.d.). Retrieved September 16, 2009, from http://www.drugpolicy.org/library/factsheets/effectivenes/index.cfm

Usborne, D. (2009, August 25). Mexico: heroin now legal in small doses. New Zealand Herald. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/drug-abuse/news/article.cfm?c_id=181&objectid=10593031

Holmes, P. (2009, August 23). Paul Holmes: Time to declare outright war on P. New Zealand Herald. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10592615

Gower, P. (2009, May 19). Drug kingpins in for a hostile time. New Zealand Herald. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10573092

PM’s adviser recommends P precursor drug ban. (2009, August 18). New Zealand Herald. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10591456

Harm Minimisation. (n.d.). Retrieved September 23, 2009, from http://www.nzdf.org.nz/harm-minimisation

Massive drugs sting nets over 70 arrersts. (24 September, 2008). Retrieved September 23, 2009, from http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/643315

Mitchell, S. (n.d.). Cannabis Research: Marijuana less harmful than tobacco. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from http://www.norml.org.nz/article582.html