News Analysis: Legalization of illegal drugs meets with strong opposition from many developing countries at UN

The legalization of illegal drugs, largely a controversial issue for domestic political discussions, has found its way into an ongoing high-level UN meeting on illegal drug use.

Many developing countries, however, speak out against the emerging global trend, saying that it would give a fillip to drug demand, thus igniting the supply chain, which would have direct fallout on countries and regions.

A lot of developing countries, such as China and Pakistan, voiced their firm opposition to any form of drug legalization when they spoke at the Special Session of the UN General Assembly on the World Drug Problem, which entered its second day here Wednesday.

The three-day UN special session, which is the first of its kind in 18 years, was convened against a backdrop that illicit drug cultivation, trafficking and abuse continue to present adverse health and socio-economic effects on people, thereby undermining the security and development in UN member states.

The debate at the UN headquarters came at a time when many developing countries, such as India and South Africa, have adopted law enforcement, health, judicial and social policies and measures to deal with the negative impact of illicit drugs. These policies are aimed at reducing drug addiction and abuse among youth, a rise in diseases, a jump in violence and criminal activities associated with illicit drugs.

The overall objective of these efforts is to protect individuals and families from the dangers of drugs, wean abusers off their addiction and protect the security of UN member states in the developing world.

Guo Shengkun, a Chinese state councilor, told the special session that "any form of legalization of narcotics should be resolutely opposed."

Also taking the floor at the UN gathering, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the Pakistani minister of interior and narcotics control, said, "With due respect to the sovereign rights of states, we are gravely concerned over the emerging trends in some parts of the world to legalize use of illicit drugs."

Drug legalization could reduce government costs and raise tax revenues, but opponents worry about health and social ills the policy could brought about.

Some U.S. states facing massive fiscal deficits, for instance, might consider a rather unusual way to alleviate those debts -- through the legalization of drugs like marijuana and thereby ending the costly drug war.

In the United States, marijuana is already believed to be the nation's number one cash crop, exceeding the combined value of wheat and corn, reports said. Pot is also the leading cash crop in at least a dozen states, including California and North Carolina.

Frankly, marijuana is increasingly being decriminalized, but the trend hasn't caught on for other drugs. Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalize the production, distribution and sale of marijuana. It's now legal to purchase marijuana in four U.S. states -- Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington -- as well as the District of Columbia.

In response to Uruguay's move in legalizing growing, selling, and smoking of marijuana in late 2013, Yury Fedotov, executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said that he did not believe legalization to be a solution.

He said that he believes marijuana is a gateway drug, as "no one starts a drug addiction with heroin."

Even in the United States, most people do not favor the issue of drug legalization, reports said.

The legalization of cannabis is against international convention, which is an agreement among all the countries to accept criminalizing the production and trafficking of illicit drugs.

The war on drugs comes at a great cost as drug trafficking knows no boundaries. Drug trafficking and its associated challenges undermine national security and threaten to reverse socio-economic gains in developing countries.

To Kenya and other developing nations, drug trafficking goes hand in hand with other crimes, including the flow of illicit small arms, human trafficking and money laundering that is suspected to be used to fund terrorist groups such as Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaeda.

Therefore, the legalization of illicit drugs can not lead to a victory of the war on narcotics. It requires continuous efforts to carry out an integrated, balanced and scientific drug control strategy based on evidence, and to uphold the authority, consistency and inclusiveness of drug policies. Endit