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War on Drugs

The war on drugs is waged at its worst in the source zone of production. Major consumer countries - the US in particular - think they are able to tackle drug consumption at home by reducing the supply from the "source zones" such as the Andean region - Colombia, Bolivia and Peru - and Central and South-East Asia - Afghanistan and Burma. The primary goal of the supply reduction strategies is to decrease the amount of drugs entering the major consuming countries and subsequently, because the strategy allegedly leads to higher prices that would lead to lower demand.
    The War on Colombia’s Poor
    January 2012
    Ross Eventon

    The EU's proposed free trade agreement with Colombia will worsen the already serious human rights violations in the country, as its drive to access to cheap raw materials for European corporations means forcing local people off their land.

    The Crime Decline & California’s Priorities in the 21st Century
    June 2011
    Tom Reifer

    That increasing numbers of California's youth end up in prison may yield some short term perceptions of declining crime rates, but what about the long-term education deficit?

    Colombia: A successful case for the war on drugs?
    January 2011
    Ricardo Vargas

    Is Colombia's narcotrafficking situation comparable to that of Mexico, including the strategies needed to combat it?

    The ‘miracle of San Martín’ and symptoms of ‘alternative development’ in Peru
    December 2010
    Hugo Cabieses

    The Peruvian government has presented the “Miracle of San Martin Model” as the path to follow to achieve drug supply reduction. However a closer look reveals that the model is not replicable, not ecologically sustainable, and won't remedy the ‘symptoms of alternative development’.

    Drug Policy Briefing No. 34
    Military Force Isn't the Answer in Mexico's Drug Wars
    November 2010
    Manuel Perez Rocha

    Mexicans don't want the current ill conceived war on drugs. It is fought with disregard to the high costs in terms of human rights and lives and mistakenly portrayed as 'courageous'.

    The Human Toll of the Drug War: A Pending Issue
    August 2010
    Kristel Mucino

    Driven by poverty to make ends meet many small drug sellers' are targeted by harsh drug policies, yet their persecution does nothing to tackle the root cause of drug-related crime or addiction.

    Colombia’s Uribe takes dictation one last time
    August 2010
    Atilio Boron

    The White House asked him for one last “proof of love” to support US Latin America policy. What will be next? Worries about his personal future?

    Why are Marines Disembarking in Costa Rica?
    July 2010
    Atilio Boron

    The recent decision in Costa Rica to allow a massive build-up of US military presence has less to do with drug trafficking than US imperial strategy.

    A Matter of Substance
    July 2010
    Ernestien Jensema

    This paper discusses the “substance-oriented approach” Dutch authorities implemented to to scare off potential small-scale cocaine smugglers. The focus was on the drugs, rather than the couriers, and on incapacitating the smuggling route, rather than deterrence by incarceration.

    Series on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 7
    Hulp VS in Mexicaanse strijd tegen drugs
    March 2010
    Tom Blickman

    De Verenigde Staten gaan Mexico helpen in de strijd tegen drugs. Een delegatie onder leiding van de Amerikaanse ministers Clinton en Gates, belooft Mexico onder meer geld en extra manschappen. Tom Blickman van Transnational Institute doet onderzoek naar drugsbeleid over de hele wereld en schat...

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