By Shannon Yong
60,000 dead in Mexico, another 27,000 in the Philippines. The execution of a ‘War on Drugs’ in countries worldwide have left trails of bodies, yet the drug epidemic remains rampant in both developed and developing nations. World leaders have promised time and again to eradicate drug usage with stricter legislation, stronger enforcement and harsher punishment, yet a drug-free future seems enduringly out of reach. Others, uninspired by these failed attempts at prosecution, have opted for a more lenient approach, hoping instead to mend these gaping wounds in society with rehabilitation and healthcare. Perspectives clash in fervent debate as the UNODC gather to discuss the regulation of the global drug trade.
Despite a shared determination towards drug regulation, countries’ opinions on the exact measures to be adopted are greatly polarised. The United States, a major hub of drug trade, is bombarded with suggestions to restructure their ineffective drug regulation system. Delegates of Saudi Arabia and Switzerland have advised the US to strengthen patrols along their southern border with Mexico, a drug smuggling hotspot responsible for the ever-stable supply of drugs to America, while improving their healthcare system. Indeed, quality healthcare, considered a basic human right among many MDCs, is currently inaccessible to many American citizens.due to its unaffordability and health disparities resulting from discrimination within the healthcare sector.
The delegate of the US has, however, formulated its own anti-drug roadmap. Structural changes are America’s main target for progress, with a larger focus on prosecuting suppliers and investing in harm reduction policies, instead of solely strengthening the criminalisation of drug usage. Despite the delegate’s diplomatic manner, it is hard to ignore the shadows of the past that haunt the United States’ anti-drug stance, considering their tumultuous history with drug eradication. Joe Biden, the current President of the US, notably introduced several controversially stringent and overly-punitive bills against drugs in the 80s and 90s, authorising America’s own war on drugs and directly contributing to the congested criminal justice system that has burdened the US for years.
In the face of this deadly threat, all nations are forced to make a decision, with no time to spare for extended deliberation. Either to take the leap and enforce uncompromising anti-drug measures at all costs, or to divide resources into healthcare, rehabilitation and reform, at the risk of slower progress and the continued proliferation of the drug trade. As overlapping voices and heated discussions resume, the world takes a step forwards in the name of cooperation.
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