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National drug efforts insufficient
January
31
2013
Sound insulation, air ventilation and a purification system are present inside this mobile tableting unit. Photo: Europol
The drug market is becoming increasingly complex. What we elsewhere may count as indicators of progress, also have effects on the drug ravage – globalisation, internet and innovation affect and contribute to development and more flexibility. Locally produced is also a new trend. This is indicated by a common report prepared by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and Europol, and presented today together with me. These two agencies that I, as a Commissioner, am responsible for, have joined forces and combined information about drugs in Europe with the police’s knowledge about organised crime. Through this cooperation, a unique report has been prepared, providing an important picture and analysis of the drug market – from production to addiction.
Europe stands out as a global player when it comes to knowledge and development of new synthetic drugs and efficient cannabis cultivation. At the same time as the globalisation has brought new smuggling routes and an increasing number of transit- and production countries, one of the strong trends is locally produced, where the manufacturing takes place closer to the consumers. The latest is mobile drug factories in barrows transported by cars (see image).
The report shows a rapidly changing and dynamic type of organised crime. The developments described in the report indicate that we need new ways of working, that national efforts are insufficient. We need the European cooperation to effectively combat organised crime together. Together with Europol, we need to launch more joint investigations and cross-border crackdowns. National police authorities also need to improve the identification of the real drug magnates – the criminals and the networks being at the top of the food chain. Additionally, we need to create systems within the EU enabling the authorities to give cross-border early warnings to each other about new dangerous substances on the market.
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As a European citizen who looks in horror at the heinous consequences Prohibition and the so-called War on Drugs policies have had on drug producing and transit countries, in particular Latin American ones, I cannot help but feel ashamed by the total lack of support shown so far by European countries for the call made by sitting Latin American presidents to engage in an open debate to find alternatives to current drugs policies.
Why have we not heard a single word of encouragement, let alone support, from European countries that have “quasi legalised” their demand for, as well as their domestic supply of, drugs?
How can we explain the silence of countries such as the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, among many others, which have de jure or de facto depenalised or decriminalised the personal consumption of some drugs?
Or the silence of countries that allow users to grow a number of marijuana plants in their homes and for their own consumption, or tolerate the operation of so called “cannabis social clubs”, or authorise the cultivation of marijuana to supply dispensaries where consumption on medical grounds is allowed?
I do not have any doubts that harm reduction programmes, decriminalisation or depenalisation of the demand for drugs are sensible and necessary policies. But if we were serious about tackling the so-called drug problem, we should be accompanying those policies regarding the demand with equally sensible policies towards the supply of drugs coming from Latin America—or from any other part of the world for that matter.
It is disgraceful to see that while Latin America is trying to promote the discussion of current and alternative drug policies, we behave in the most cowardly fashion: we remain in silence.
Our mutism is totally inexcusable, for in the final analysis the onus is on us, drug consuming countries in the developed world. We should be the ones promoting the Legalisation & Regulation of the supply. We should be the ones making all the noises calling for a change in the national and international legislation on drugs. We should be the ones spearheading the movement seeking the end of Prohibition and the War on Drugs, and the regulation of the production and distribution of all drugs.
Gart Valenc
Twitter: @gartvalenc
l suspect that Mrs. Malström has missed positive drugs experiences during her life, which is fine to me, although l feel sorry for her. What disturbes me, is that she wants to spoil the fun for all of us. Legalise it and the problem is solved.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/files/2012/06/drugs.jpg