In April 2016 the United Nations General Assembly will convene a Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS). With many member states looking to move well beyond the failed policy of the so-called ‘war on drugs’ and institute new policies, what might drug policy look like in the coming years?
A series of possible answers were recently provided by Professor Michael Cox, Director of LSE IDEAS, and Dr John Collins, Executive Director the LSE IDEAS International Drug Policy Project. They joined Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (pictured, right) – an LSE alumnus – and senior members of his government to discuss what a post-‘war on drugs’ strategy might look like at a packed event in Bogota, Colombia, held on Thursday 28 January.
Over 400 people, including policy experts, politicians, senior business people – as well as the British Ambassador and representatives from the British Council - filled the auditorium to hear the debate. In his speech President Santos linked the issue of the ongoing peace process with FARC with the wider issue of the drugs trade.
In a moving address the President was unambiguously clear. We have to learn from what we have achieved so far in fighting the cartels who nearly destroyed the state; and that struggle will go on. But now we have to find a new way of addressing the drugs problem beyond the singular ‘war on drugs’ approach. But Colombia cannot do it alone. The international community - including researchers at LSE – have a crucial part to play in addressing the problem.
Following the President’s speech, Professor Cox (pictured, left) thanked the Colombian leader for his leadership on the issue, and then went on to outline what lessons there were to be drawn from other peace processes in the world, including that in in Northern Ireland where Professor Cox lived for over 20 years.
Three panels then followed in which major policy makers and analysts form Colombia examined the politics, economics and strategic implications of the drug problem in Colombia and beyond.
Dr Collins then led a final debate on the global dimensions of the problem. He highlighted that the ‘post-‘war on drugs’ era’ had begun and that member states needed to experiment with new rigorously monitored policy experimentation, while adopting a comprehensive ‘development-first’ approach to mitigating illicit drug production
The meeting in Colombia is part of a much wider LSE IDEAS project that over the past four years has been examining the global drugs trade and why official efforts to stamp it out have failed so badly. The first report was published in 2012 and the second in 2014. The third (and next) report will be launched on Monday 15 February at a major meeting to be held at the LSE. The report - After the Drug Wars - proposes a quite new international framework for thinking about drug policies. The findings in the report will in turn be circulated at the upcoming UN General Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS) to be held in April 2016.
After the Drugs War’ will be launched at LSE with a public event on Monday 15 February 2016. To register interest in attending, please contact j.q.pan@lse.ac.uk
For more on the report, when launched, email Jay Pan at j.q.pan@lse.ac.uk or Jess Winterstein, LSE Press Office, at j.winterstein@lse.ac.uk
2 February 2016