Don’t read too much into OAS report

An Organization of American States study is calling for a serious discussion about marijuana policy.

The report, issued today, is a good first step, but should not be construed as an endorsement of marijuana legalization or policies outside United Nations drug control treaties, said two former top U.S. drug policy officials who served on the panel that produced the report. The OAS report was mandated by heads of state at the 2012 Summit of the Americas in Cartagena.

Former Assistant Secretary of State, Ambassador David Johnson, who served on both the report and scenario team said:

“While the report is not yet published, it is clear the process that led to its crafting represents a significant effort to grapple with this very difficult subject, one that affects health and safety throughout the Americas. As OAS Member States look at the issues raised in the report, it is important that they consider measures fully consistent with their long-standing international treaty obligations. The OAS’s Inter-American Drug Control Commission’s recently-published strategy remains a very good basis on which to work.”

Former senior drug policy advisor for the Obama administration and SAM co-founder, Dr. Kevin A. Sabet, who served on the report team, said:

“Anyone looking for a magic bullet to solve the drug problem will not find it in this report. But the report does emphasize important, key themes that have been found in various, existing international documents, like President Obama’s recently released drug strategy calling for a balanced, 21st century public health policy. The report also emphasizes points that many intergovernmental bodies have been long calling for, such as increased institutional strengthening and real shared responsibility. Countries would do well to consider and take action on the report’s main findings, which carry with it a global consensus that more extreme policies like legalization do not. This report should not be construed as endorsing policies that would make drugs more available, like legalization. Such a characterization, which is now being made by pro-legalization advocates, is wrong and dangerous. In fact, the report expressly does not endorse legalization, but rather focuses other key themes.”