Ending the War on Drugs

In the last nine years alone, more than 100,000 people have lost their lives to drug-war violence in Mexico. 50 years ago, governments around the world made it illegal to produce, sell, and possess certain drugs. Five decades later, illegal drug use is at an all time high and $100 billion of government money around the globe is spent every year on drug-related criminal law enforcement and the so-called war on drugs. Drug prohibition laws have put the drug market into the hands of organized criminals, and the Global Commission on Drug Policy (GCDP) are seeking to alter opinion towards prohibition-focused drug laws and criminalization, bringing to light potential new policies and attitudes which will reduce organized crime, drug-related violence, and the supply and demand of illicit drugs. Harm reduction is at the forefront of their agenda and this collection of essays outlines key facts, debates, and perspectives on the war on drugs, and how we can end it. Contributors include Ernesto Zedillo (former president of Mexico), Ruth Dreifuss (former president of Switzerland), Henrique Fernando Cardoso (former president of Brazil), Olusegun Obasanjo (former president of Nigeria), Cesar Gaviria (former president of Colombia), Pavel Bem (former mayor of Prague), Michel Kazatchkine (UNSG’s Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia), Anand Grover (former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health), Carl Hart (Professor, Columbia University), and George Soros (philanthropist).