Law Enforcement Officers: 'Legalize'

By Maria Lucia Karam*

Since the senseless and bloody—as all wars are—"war on drugs" was first waged in the United States in the 1970s, it has deepend the repressive, harmful and useless prohibitionist focus on illegal substances, creating punitive policies under the pretext of combatting their use. Prison populations have grown worldwide, due to widespread incarceration for drug use.

In the U.S. alone, more than 39 million people were imprisoned for nonviolent crimes related to drugs⁽¹⁾. In Mexico, violence associated with drug prohibition has left more than 28,000 dead since December 2006, when the Mexican government launched its armed offensive against the cartels⁽²⁾. The U.S. spends around $70 billion each year on this war⁽³⁾. Despite the lives that have been ruined and money misspent, today, all around the world, illegal drugs are cheaper, more potent and more accessable than they were 40 years ago. None of the stated objectives—reduction in crime, addiction, teen drug use, or a halt in illicit drug flow—have been achieved. On the contrary, the "war on drugs" worsened these problems, creating a self-perpetuating and expanding cycle of destruction. This is a perfect example of a public policy that is not only failed, but extremely harmful.

With this in mind, in 2002, U.S. police officers—inspired by the 1970s organization of Veterans Against the War that was instrumental in ending the Vietnam War—founded LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition). LEAP positions itself against current drug policy and advocates for for legalizing production, sale and consumption of all drugs as a way of regulating and controlling these substances. Ending prohibition would be a less harmful, less costly, more ethical and more effective drug policy.

LEAP's credibility is similar to the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, as both can speak from first-had experience of fighting in a senseless war. The organization, which was founded by five U.S. police officers, today has around 15,000 members in 87 countries. Its spokespersons and directors are not necessarily members of police forces or criminal justice systems; they include police, judges, prosecutors, prison workers, some currently working and others retired. Many of LEAP's members, however, don't work in law enforcement. Anyone who supports LEAP's objectives is welcome to join the organization.

LEAP aims to inform the public, media and politicians about the failure of current drug policy and to restore public respect to police officers, whose position has been reduced significantly by their involvement in drug policy. As it expands internationally, LEAP is coming to Brazil, where it already enjoys the support of some judges and police among its members.

The Brazilian "war on drugs" has necessitated occasional interventions from the Armed Forces. Distracted from the functions that the Federal Constitution has given to them, and using tanks, and rifle-armed soldiers, the Brazilian armed forces have taken on the role of police in favelas, as if they were occupying enemy territory⁽⁴⁾.

 Armed forces are authorized to use violence, torture, or kill those perceived as drug traffickers. In the city of Rio de Janeiro, in 2007, 27.85% of intentional homicides were committed by police⁽⁵⁾.

So-called "enemies" or drug traffickers are often young boys who carry guns as if they were toys. Without access to quality education, living in ramshackle housing, without opportunities for a better life, they kill and die in the violence caused by the illegality of the market in which they work.

They clash with the police, snitches, and the business competition. They put on a brave face, in order to secure their temporary gains, little powers, their lives. They don't live long, and soon, are substituted by equally hopeless boys. They're just seen as "narcotraffickers", "monsters", or the "enemy", by a society that doesn't see them as people. If their rights are denied to them, how can we expect them to respect the rights of others?

They boys identified as "traffickers" who survive drug violence often end up crammed in prisons. In Brazil, in 1992, there were 74 prisoners for 100,000 people. In June 2010, that number rose to 258 per 100,000. Of the 494,237 Brazilian prisoners—in absolute numbers, the fourth largest number of prisoners in the world—one in five are incarcerated for drug "trafficking". Between 2005 and 2009, there was a 61 percent increase in the number of prisoners in Brazil. Those imprisoned for drug trafficking increased by 177 percent.

LEAP's presence in Brazil will mean a clear and direct voice in favor of ending the war on drugs, through global legalization and subsequent regularization and control of the production, sale, and consumption of drugs.

Translated by Danielle Renwick.

* Retired judge and member of the board of LEAP

Notas:
(1) http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/drugtab.htm)">Crime in the United States, Uniform Crime Reports, Estimated arrests for drug abuse violations by age group, 1970- 2006.
(2) See, for example, an article from  The Observer August 8, 2010:
(3) In 2004, the U.S. spent $193,5 billion in the criminal justice system. Calculating 36% of this amount yields $69 billion peryear on the war on drugs. (Justice Expenditure and Employment Extracts, 1982-2004)
(4) The most recent of these interventions began November 21, 2010. In an operation allegedly motivated by acts setting fire to cars and buses in Rio de Janeiro, 2.700 police, naval, and military officers occupied Vila Vila Cruzeiro and Complexo do Alemão, in Penha.
(5) Dados da Prefeitura do Município do Rio de Janeiro: in 2007, 27,85% of 3.238 intentional homicides, (902 were registered as self defense) were committed by police.