Could South America end its participation in the war on drugs? Fears horrific human cost of tackling cartels will lead to change in policy

Latin American countries could stop deploying law enforcement agencies

'Gamechanging' report on global drugs policy released



Almost all cocaine consumed in West is produced in Latin America

Report advocates for softer policies toward drug users



Latin American countries could stop deploying law enforcement agencies to fight cartels after concluding that the human costs of the 'war on drugs' is just too high.



That is just one of the scenarios envisaged in a 'gamechanging' report on global drugs policy released by the Organisation of American States.



Commissioned at last year's Cartagena Summit of the Americas the report calls for a discussion in decriminalization of drug use and for greater coordination between nations in tackling the scourge.



Game-changer: Latin American countries could stop deploying law enforcement agencies to fight cartels after concluding that the human costs of the 'war on drugs' is just too high

Many in Latin America feel a new approach is needed to the drug war - and a shift away from hard-line policies - after decades of violence in producer and trafficking nations such as Colombia, Peru and Mexico.

Some regional leaders are pressuring the United States for an overhaul of anti-drug policies and have suggested they might be open to legalisation of some narcotics if that helped reduce violence.



The 200 page review references a number of South American countries would break with the prohibition line and decide that they will no longer deploy law enforcement and the army against drug cartels after deeming the human cost of life too high.



'The report presented by the OAS today is a vital piece in the construction of a common way to fight this problem,' Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said during the presentation.



Battle: Earlier this month Obama defended his administration's efforts to stem U.S. demand for drugs that many regional leaders see as a driving factor in their security issues



LATIN AMERICA'S LOSING BATTLE WITH DRUGS

Latin America suffers the brunt of consequences of the drug war. Keeping track of the drug deaths is difficult, as official figures have been issued sporadically but in Mexico alone, upwards of 70,000 people have died in drug-related violence over the past six years.

The government stresses that Mexico's murder rate is still lower than several nations, including Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil and Venezuela. Drug-related violence has plagued Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador as traffickers have increasingly infiltrated Central America. Almost all the cocaine consumed in Western countries is produced in Latin America, while violence linked to the drug trade kills thousands every year as smugglers fight for control of trafficking routes in Central America, Colombia and Mexico.

Drug consumption is ticking up in nations such as Argentina and Brazil.

According to the OAS, about 45 percent of cocaine consumers, 50 percent of heroine users and 25 percent of marijuana smokers live in North and South America. While many people in Central America are also weary of the focus on the drug-fuelled violence, it remains an undeniable part of daily life in many parts of the region.

Costa Rica has fared better than many of its neighbors, but it worries about spillover from nearby countries. Honduras, for example, now has the highest homicide rate in the world, with about 7,200 people murdered last year in the tiny nation of 8 million people, most in drug-related crime.

Almost all the cocaine consumed in Western countries is produced in Latin America, while violence linked to the drug trade kills thousands every year as smugglers fight for control of trafficking routes in Central America, Colombia and Mexico.



Drug consumption is ticking up in nations such as Argentina and Brazil.



According to the OAS, about 45 percent of cocaine consumers, 50 percent of heroine users and 25 percent of marijuana smokers live in North and South America.



The report for the OAS, which includes all 35 North and South American nations, aims to start a debate among American nations regarding anti-drug policies. It also advocates for softer policies toward drug users.



'The decriminalization of drug consumption must be considered the base of any public health strategies,' the report says. 'An addict is not a person with a chronic disease that should be punished for his addiction.'



The report echoes comments by Helen Clark, the head of the U.N. Development Program, who in March said she favored Latin American governments treating drugs as a public health problem.



It also calls for 'a substantial reduction in penalties' to drug addicts and urges countries in the region to opt for rehabilitation programs instead. It suggests that countries in the region should consider the option of legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana consumption.



'Our report, however, did not find any significant support, in any of the countries, toward the decriminalization or legalization of any other illegal drug,' the OAS said.

The United States has sent billions of dollars to Colombia to combat the cocaine trade but still there is limited coordinated effort between countries in fighting drug trafficking and usage.



That prompted several member presidents to ask the OAS to analyze the region's anti-drug policies in order to make them more effective

Failing: Federal police in a drugs bust in Mexico City.



The Open Society Foundations, a human-rights and pro-democracy group, celebrated the report as a 'game changing' document that likely will broaden the debate on drug policy reform.



'This is the beginning of an international conversation on a new approach to drugs,' said David Holiday, the group's senior regional advocacy officer.

