Regional drugs response reflects global policies

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Regional drugs response reflects global policies

11 October 2016
Global Commission on Drug Policy

Co-signed by Ruth Dreifuss, former President of Switzerland and Chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson-Miller, former Prime Minister of Jamaica, and Senator Mark Golding, former Minister of Justice of Jamaica.

The Caribbean has been a major cocaine trafficking route for the last 50 years originating from outside the region, and many of its countries are now experiencing a problematic rise in the use of crack-cocaine. Furthermore, the region produces cannabis for domestic consumption.

The responses to the drug problem in the Caribbean were and are still quite different from one country to the other.

Some, such as Jamaica in 2015, have decriminalised the personal use of cannabis. Others, such as those in the Dutch Caribbean, have prioritised health and harm reduction over punishment. The majority, however, still favour a zero-tolerance approach to drugs, supported by the anti-narcotics activities of the United States and other consumer nations.

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