Latin America Leads the Way

By now, there is a growing consensus that the war on drugs -- a U.S. construct -- has failed. Latin America has largely followed the American dictates on this front, as in so many others. But, as things have gone from bad to worse, governments south of the U.S. border are beginning to go their own way, namely towards decriminalization and, ultimately, legalization of drugs. It's part of a bigger movement away from the subservient role to the United States that for most of the 20th century and these first dozen years of the 21st century "Our America", as José Martí called it, has played.

Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Uruguay no longer feel that they have to adopt U.S. policy on this or any other question, for that matter. The U.N., predictably, has sided with the Americans in their stubborn refusal to accept that the war on drugs is a failure. So, Latin America is leading the way all by itself to a more enlightened policy for the rest of the world.

Good for us!

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