The global "War on Drugs" began in 50 years ago at the United Nations. Richard Nixon made it US policy 10 years later. Since then it has "failed to cut drug usage, but has filled our jails, cost millions in taxpayer dollars, fuelled organized crime and caused thousands of deaths." That's according to the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which includes former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, three former South American presidents, former Secretary of State George Shultz, ex-Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker, and British entrepreneur Richard Branson. The Obama Administration says legalization would not take the money away from violent drug cartels and that drug use might increase more than ever. In any case, the panel has focused global attention on a crisis that's not going away. Does the political will exist to make any changes in strategy?
Illegal Drugs: Public Health and Public Safety
Credits
Guests:
- Ethan Nadelmann - Drug Policy Alliance - @ethannadelmann
- Robert DuPont - Georgetown Medical School
- Vanda Felbab-Brown - Brookings Institution - @VFelbabBrown
- Beau Kilmer - RAND Drug Policy Research Center, co-author “Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know” - @beaukilmer