By Jon Hiltz

 

In what has become a historic open letter to the next President of the United States, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos addressed an all too important question for Americas Quarterly, “What would you tell the next U.S. President about Latin America?”

In a poignant and well thought out response, Santos clearly indicated that the one major piece of information the next POTUS should know is that like many countries, Colombia feels the War on Drugs has failed on all counts, and it is time for a new approach. This letter carries further weight coming from Colombia, one of the nations that have experienced the most bloodshed over the last few decades due to the illegal drug trade.

Santos went on to cite a special UN Assembly that was called last April at the request of Mexico, Colombia, and Guatemala to discuss and debate the changes needed, to be “more effective in preventing the use of illicit drugs as well as fighting against the mafias that thrive on this business.”

The document also pointed out that the U.S. Surgeon General has said that “the war on drugs has become a war on people who use drugs,” referring to an announcement made by the department earlier this year.

The President of Colombia added that his work with President Obama on this matter has been promising due to the fact that Obama wants to have an open and constructive dialogue on how to improve the way drugs are handled between their two countries and perhaps throughout the world.

Santos specifically referred to marijuana in this part of his document, “How can I look a Colombian peasant in the eye and tell him he will go to prison for cultivating marijuana, while in American States like Colorado and Oregon it is now legal to plant, sell and consume it?”

Santos continued by saying that although the U.S. and Colombia have made “great strides” against drug trafficking, it’s not just about two countries. It is about the world because even if they are successful in stamping out the drug trade in Colombia, which is highly unlikely, the demand for drugs will remain.

The letter clearly states that Santos is not looking for an all-out open market for every substance, but that a happy medium can be achieved. “This is not a call for legalization. It is a call to recognize that between the two extremes of all-out war on drugs and full legalization, there is a broad range of options that we can explore together.” No doubt one of those options is to regulate marijuana into a legal business, just as the United States has done and continues to do along with Canada and a growing list of others. The letter then ends by saying that the countries of the world can do better. Sometimes change is possible, even if it takes decades.