Colombia Okays Prescription Drugs for Addicts in Bogota

[Comrade Grumpy]

Source: Drug War Chronicle

President Juan Manuel Santos has given the go-ahead to Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro's plan to prescribe otherwise illicit drugs to addicts in the Colombian capital, according to Colombian press reports (and Colombia Reports, the first English-language source with the story). The announcement came after the pair met to discuss the matter Friday.

"We will create physical spaces in the most violent zones of the city where the drug addicts, mostly youth, can get away from being illegal and dependent on the criminal gangs," Petro said after the meeting.

The primary problematic drug on the streets of Bogota is, unsurprisingly, cocaine.

The colorful, left-leaning mayor, who suffered death threats after exposing broad links between the right-wing paramilitaries and Colombian politicians as a senator and who came in fourth in the 2010 presidential elections, first proposed the idea of drug consumption sites last month, but Santos was initially cool to the idea.

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Read more: http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2012/sep/22/colombia_okays_prescriptions_add

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This could be an interesting experiment in harm reduction.

How will the US react?

How will the International Narcotics Control Board react? It has criticized safe injection sites and heroin maintenance therapy, so I imagine it won't be too happy with this.

[Viva_Daddy]

1. What a great idea: scripts instead of jail. Much cheaper.

[eggplant]

2. It works for heroin, so why not.

Addicts are able to maintain otherwise normal, productive lives.

[moobu2]

3. If they could find some way to let corporations profit from this

it might fly. I would support it regardless myself because I think the war on drugs is imoral. But, there are very powerful interests profiting from the existing system that it would make it difficult to change it now. Here's a few...the drug rehab industry, the alcohol industry (beer, wine and liquor etc), the drug testing industry, the private prison industry and companies supplying the government with specialized drug interception ships and other detection equipment etc... There's a lot of money being made from the war on drugs.

[Odin2005]

4. I see a coup in Colombia's future.

[Judi Lynn]

5. It's a courageous man who dares to buck such a powerful, lethal system.

The syndicates making money from keeping the drug war in place are far deadlier than the drug itself.

Very best wishes for protection to this endeavor by President Santos.

[Comrade Grumpy]

6. I think the real mover in this is Bogota Mayor Petro.

He proposed it; then he persuaded an initially skeptical Santos to go along.

Petro is quite a character and played a huge role in uncovering the paramilitary scandals.

The mayor of Bogota is the second most powerful political position in the country.

I don't know about Santos. Drug reformers love him because he challenges the drug war, but he is at the top of rightist government.

[Judi Lynn]

7. You're right! I forgot Mayor Gustavo Petro introduced this plan for Bogota earlier.

His courage in refusing to back down from his always progressive position placed him in harm's way a long time ago.

It's been years since he has had to employ many bodyguards at all times for survival's sake:

Death threats

Petro has frequently reported threats against his life and the lives of his family, as well as persecution by government-run security organizations. On 7 May 2007 the Colombian army captured two Colombian Army intelligence non-commissioned officers that had been spying on Petro and his family in the municipality of Tenjo, Cundinamarca. These members had first identified themselves as members of the Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad (DAS) the Colombian Intelligence Agency but their claims were later denied by Andrés Peñate, director of the agency.[13]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustavo_Petro

You've got to admire any and everyone with that kind of determination, that much committment to a better world.