Wed 21 Oct 2009
H.R. 2134: Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission Act of 2009
Posted by Nina under Andes , Brazil , Colombia , Government strategy , Guatemala , US Policy1 Comment

**A wall pierced by bullet holes in a botched drug raid in Sinaloa, Mexico, via TIME.
Thanks to WOLA for alerting us to Rep. Eliot Engel’s bill H.R. 2134, which would create a commission to evaluate US drug policy in the Western Hemisphere. I’m pleased to see the commission plans to focus not just on (much-needed) assessment of Plan Colombia and Merida Initiative aid, but also explicitly on demand in the US, including existing prevention and treatment programs. Also quite welcome is an exploration of current cooperation mechanisms with foreign governments, NGOs and regional bodies.
See the full text of the legislation here, and testimony from WOLA’s John Walsh before the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere here.
Update 10/23: See testimony from Crisis Group’s Mark Schneider before the subcommittee here.
October 28th, 2009 at 2:19 am
Thanks for the testimony. This act would definitely help reduce the illicit drug supply and greatly discourage the production, distribution, and consumption of targeted substances.