Policy Analysis: West African Drug Problem

Sandra Tamayo MPA640, Cohort 89, Spring 2015

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Policy Analysis, Problem, BLUF Statement

There is a drug problem going on in West Africa that is affecting the people and the

development of that region. According to Allison from the Daily Maverick, “As demand for hard drugs,

particularly cocaine, increases in Europe, South American drug traffickers are utilising smuggling routes

through the region, taking advantage of its generally lax law enforcement, endemic corruption and

geographical proximity to all those Europeans in need of a chemical fix”. As a result of the supply and

demand of these drugs and using the West African region to funnel them, some of the drugs also remain

in the area where they are being consumed by the public and causing even greater challenges to the

region and its people. The 2012 World Drug Report published by the United Nations states, “It is

speculated that increasing trafficking of cocaine through the coastal countries of West Africa is leading

to an increase in cocaine use…”

The West African region currently has policies in place to criminalize individuals who are in

possession of drugs such as having “prison sentences of 10-15 years for possession and personal use”,

according to BBC. This 10-15 year prison sentence is a very long time for a person to waste away in a

prison cell for something minor and non-violent. This type of imprisonment really does more harm than

good. BBC also states that the “current policies incite corruption and provoke violence”. As a result, it is

creating a large prison population in the West African region and as poor as those countries are, their

rehabilitating programs are not a priority.

This is a public problem because it concerns everyone in that region; lower and upper

classes. At one point or another, a person living in the West African region will know someone who is

either assisting with the trafficking of drugs or consuming them. Three alternatives will be examined in

this analysis. The first alternative is the Status Quo of what is already in place; criminalizing drug users

and those in possession of drugs. The second alternative would be to increase military forces across the

West African region in order to help monitor its borders from drug cartels smuggling drugs into the

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country by land, sea or air. The BBC recommended “expanding greater efforts on pursuing

traffickers”. Helping to stop the trafficking altogether would not only be an endless battle, but a risky

one as compared to failed attempts by Latin American countries. My proposed alternative is to

decriminalize those who are in possession of smaller amounts of drugs. This will help eradicate the

traffickers from the users along with creating clinical rehabilitative services to help those individuals

with drug problems. Several countries have already succeeded by implementing policies similar to this

alternative such as Portugal and Uruguay.

Although the latter two alternatives may seem both progressive and nearly impossible, they are

certainly worth attempting. Allison states that we can use not only West Africa’s past failures but the

failures of the Latin American countries who are also dealing with the same problems as platforms. This

will be a good starting point to see what has worked for other nations and what can possibly work for

the West African region.

B. Proposed Solutions

Status Quo Alternative Policy

The status quo policies that are currently in place in West African nations are “focused

predominantly on controlling the flow of narcotics and strengthening law enforcement, and much less

on high-level corruption or public health, despite the risk that these issues pose to longer-term security

and well-being”, according to the West African Commission on Drugs’ 2014 Independent Report. The

policies in place are doing much more damage to the public because of its strict drug policies for minor

drug offenses. This is causing an overpopulation in the prison system, as result, more money is spent on

the housing and the maintenance of these prisons.

On a positive note, the strict laws, long prison sentences including lifetime in prison sentences

should be enough to deter people away from abusing and trafficking drugs. However, according to

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Carrier and Gernot, “while international pressures have led to increases of drug seizures and arrests on

the continent, they have also tended to support highly draconian and ineffective drug policies and

sidelined alternative approaches that stress the research, health and socio-economic dimensions of drug

control.” The current policies in place are failing. They are not providing enough public health

assistance and they are treating minor drug offenders as criminals.

Extreme/Fringe Alternative Policy

The extreme/fringe alternative policy to be proposed is to militarize the West African region in

order to respond to the trafficking of drugs. This would help solve the problem and put a halt to the

drugs entering the countries by air, land and sea. The U.S. run program, African Contingency Operations

Training and Assistance ACOTA will assist with “ training African soldiers in highly professional

interoperable program of instruction in peacekeeping and humanitarian relief operations...conducted by

US Army instructors, the initial training includes instruction in military operational skills, command and

staff operations, and computer-simulated exercises.”

The West African Commission on Drugs states, “when drug-related violence has erupted, it has

tended to do so when government and military officials are vying for access to drug-trafficking-related

profits.” Militarizing these nations would mean even more corruption and lack of stability. As witnessed

in Guinea-Bissau, which became a trafficking hub, the WACD states that “drug trafficking had reportedly

become the key economic activity of the country’s military elite (which controls the state)...” Other

countries like Mexico are examples of failed attempts of the ‘tough on crime approach’, “evidence from

Mexico suggests that a militarised response to drug trafficking can actually increase violence. The

Mexican government originally designed a strategy centered on military assaults on trafficking

groups...resulting in a dramatic rise in violence: the numbers of murders in Mexico almost doubled

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between 2007 and 2012.” Militarizing these nations will take away funds from much needed resources

such as health and safety programs which should be its main priority.

My Proposal Alternative

My proposed alternative to helping end the drug problems among the people in the West

African region is to decriminalize minor drug offences and advocate for rehabilitating

programs. Criminalizing those with possession of small amounts of drugs is not the answer to the ‘war

on drugs’, as we have seen with Latin American countries like Mexico and Colombia. The WACD strongly

advocates for decriminalization, “we have concluded that drug use must be regarded primarily as a

public health problem. Drug users need help, not punishment...we believe that the consumption and

possession for personal use of drugs should not be criminalized. Experiences show that criminalization

of drug use worsens health and social problems, puts huge pressures on the criminal justice system and

incites corruption.”

Along with decriminalization, it would be beneficial to the West African Nations to create public

health facilities to treat drug addicts as patients rather than criminals. The WACD states that “the

Executive Director of UNODC has stressed that drug dependence is a health disorder, and drug users

need humane and effective treatment-not punishment.” This proposed solution has not only proven

successful in other countries (Portugal), it is also being considered in many more countries. This

proposed solution to decriminalize and rehabilitate its peoples is West Africa’s only hope. If there

continues to be a demand for drugs in the Western nations, drug traffickers will supply them and

continue to use West Africa as a funnel.

C. Strategic Recommendations

The third policy alternative is the best solution because it proposes decriminalization for minor

drug offenses as well as creating public health facilities to treat drug addicts rather than imprisoning

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them. Many people might mistake the word decriminalization with legalization, but they are not the

same thing. The Economist defines decriminalization as “possessing small amounts no longer lands the

perpetrator with a criminal record or a jail sentence.” Portugal is a good example of a country who has

been practicing decriminalization for over a decade and has proven a very successful alternative. It is far

more beneficial (financially and strategically) to help treat a person with a drug addiction and educating

them rather than imprisoning them. Even though this proposal is far away from ending the war on

drugs in West Africa, this can help to educate the people on the repercussions of assisting in the

trafficking and abusing drugs.

D. Weaknesses and Limitations

The weakness in this policy alternative is not having the full support of high profile stakeholders

such as the United Nations and World Health Organization. Human rights and social justice are issues

that have been marginalized in third world countries and still continue to do so. Recently, the Ebola

epidemic has overshadowed every other issue in this region. As a result, decriminalization and

rehabilitating programs will continue to be ignored.

E. Cost-Benefit Analysis

On the other hand, the benefits outweigh the costs. The WACD states that “research has

consistently shown that investments in treatment and harm reduction services can lead to economic

and social benefits far in excess of the resources invested…but across West Africa, even the most basic

drug-related health and treatment services are scarce…available facilities are generally poorly funded,

and few have adequate numbers of personnel with skills and experience in managing substance use

disorders.” Portugal has a proven track record of stabilizing this problem by investing in prevention

programs.

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Goals/Alternative Matrix

West African Drug Policies

POLICY ALTERNATIVES/GOALS MATRIX

GOALS IMPACT

CATEGORIES WEIGHT/FACTO

R (1-3)

POLICY 1 (STATUS QUO) Criminalizatio

n of Drug Users

POLICY 2 Extreme/Fringe Military taking over with far

greater criminalization

POLICY 3 Decriminalization & promoting

rehab programs

DECREASE

Drugs Trafficking 3 AVERAGE BAD (will increase)

AVERAGE

INCREASE Public Health 3 BAD VERY BAD EXCELLENT

DECREASE

Criminalization 2 VERY BAD VERY BAD OKAY/GOOD

IMPROVE Social Justice 3 BAD VERY BAD EXCELLENT

IMPROVE Economic Growth 3 GOOD VERY GOOD AVERAGE

IMPROVE

Political Stability

2

AVERAGE (leaning towards

corruption) BAD (cause corruption) GOOD

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PEST Chart

FEASIBILITY CHART

Ratings: 0 to 10, with 0 representing not feasibile, and 10 meaasuring feasibility

would be very easy. Place a value in each cell.

PEST FACTORS

POLICY ALTERNATIVES

Status Quo

5 5 3 7

Extreme/Fringe

1 5 2 8

your idea

10 10 10 10

POLITICAL FACTORS

ECONOMIC FACTORS

SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS

TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS

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Stakeholder Analysis Chart

Ratings: 1 to 5 is strength in-favor with -1 to -5 is opposed. Place a value in each cell.

STAKEHOLDERS CHART

POLICY ALTERNATIVE

S

Status Quo

5 3 3 3 3 2

Extreme/Fringe

5 4 5 2 1 1

your idea

1 1 2 5 5 5

West Africa

Commission on Drugs (sponsored

by Kofi Annan

Foundation)

World Health

Organization

United Nation

s

European Union

African Contingenc

y Operations Training & Assistance (sponsored by the U.S.)

Transnational Drug Lords

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Stakeholder Chart

Engage Infrequently to Help Resolve Issues

[Context Setters]

UNITED NATIONS

African contingency operations training & assist.

Partner Closely with

[Players]

who

WEST AFRICA COMMISSION ON DRUGS

DRUG LORDS

Keep Informed

[Crowd]

European union

Engage as project Champions/Advocates

[Subjects]

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Implementation

If it is decided that the third alternative policy to decriminalize minor drug offences and advocate for

rehabilitating programs is the best choice, then we can begin a strategic plan. Portugal has successfully

decriminalized drugs for over a decade. It would be best to evaluate their strategic plan in order to

learn what the risks, costs and any obstacles are so that the West African region can avoid them and

utilize another plan.

Risks

One of the biggest risks that the West African region has with implementing decriminalization is not

having the support from the government and its people. The new policy can be interpreted as

legalization rather than decriminalization, which can potentially cause an abundance of drug traffickers

and users.

In addition, there is a huge financial risk in establishing these rehabilitating clinics and social programs

and not having people comply with the new policies. Just because decriminalization worked for

Portugal, doesn’t mean it will work for the West African region.

Costs

The costs go hand-in-hand with the risks, if the programs are not supported financially, then people

cannot be helped. And if people cannot be helped medically then they will be incarcerated and more

funds will be spent incarcerating even more people. That is why it is vital to come up with a strategic

plan that has evaluated every worst case scenario and establish a solution for all.

Once the risks and costs are taken into consideration, then it is time to plan the implementation of the

policy through phases.

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Phase 1: Education

In the first three months, it is important to educate the public on the new laws and policies regarding

drug offenses. This can be done by marketing using television, radio, social media and face to face.

Phase 2: Construction of Rehabilitative and Social Services clinics

The first six months to one year, once the funds are allocated from the stakeholders, the West African

region can begin building rehabilitative and social service clinics to help both the addicts and those

caught with minor offenses. This will create job opportunities for the public.

Phase 3: Evaluation

After year one, it is important to evaluate the number of people treated through the programs along

with those receiving social service assistance for minor drug offenses. This can provide useful

information to determine how the policy has succeeded. I would also recommend evaluating the

programs each year so that we can see what programs are working, need improvement, which are

working, failing and what strategies can be done to make it even better.

Conclusion

The current war on drugs is escalating in the West African nations and the current policies in place

need to be replaced with effective and strategic solutions. My proposed alternative to helping end the

drug problems among the people in the West African region is to decriminalize minor drug offences and

advocate for rehabilitating services. Decriminalizing those who are in possession of smaller amounts of

drugs will help decrease the crowded prison population as well as helping end corruption among the

people and their government. Creating rehabilitative services to assist those with drug problems will

also help decrease the prison population and will diminish the number of addicts. This will result in the

stabilization of this region. The country of Portugal has an effective program in place and with the

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support of our stakeholders, the countries in the West African region can be included among successful

countries who have eradicated themselves from the war on drugs.

Executive Summary

The war on drugs has infested its way into the West African region recently. These countries are not

only used as brokers to funnel illegal drugs from Latin America to Europe, they are being exploited for

their vulnerability from many years of lack of political stability. This has resulted in an increase of drug

trafficking of cocaine, even more corruption among the countries, drug addiction, and rigid prison

sentences for drug possessors and users, and recreating even more weaknesses among the

governments. Key stakeholders such as the West African Commission of Drugs (sponsored by the Kofi

Annan Foundation), the United Nations and the World Health Organization should be on alert about this

growing problem.

This analysis explores three policy alternatives to the drug problem in West Africa: (1) the status quo

policy, (2) the extreme/fringe alternative policy, and (3) my proposed alternative to decriminalize drug

offenses and create rehabilitative services for drug addicts. All three alternatives are examined in terms

of the following goals; strategic recommendation, weaknesses and limitations and cost-benefit analysis.

On the basis of this assessment, the analysis concludes that the key stakeholders should adopt the third

proposed alternative to decriminalize drug offenses and create rehabilitative services for drug addicts.

The adoption of decriminalization and rehabilitative services has the potential to not only save lives but

also to help stabilize the West African region.

Allocating this proposed policy would be far more beneficial (financially and strategically) to help

treat a person with a drug addiction and educating them rather than imprisoning them. Even though

this proposal is far away from ending the war on drugs in West Africa, this can help to educate the

people on the repercussions of assisting in the trafficking and abusing drugs.

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This similar policy has been adopted and implemented for over a decade in Portugal and has been

successful in decriminalizing its minor offenders and assisting with the rehabilitation of drug addicts. It’s

imperative for the stakeholders to understand that this proposed policy will help promote humane

practices with its criminal justice system. In Indonesia, they have a policy in place that executes drug

traffickers and offenders. These exaggerated and inhumane practices are not a solution to the war on

drugs. If we are not careful and make changes in policy now, the West African region will become

another Indonesia or another Colombia.

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References

Doyle, M. (2014, June 11). West Africa should decriminalize drugs – Obasanjo commission. Retrieved January 18, 2015, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27786845

Allison, S. (2014, January 16). West Africa and the War on Drugs: South American mistakes, repeated? Retrieved January 18, 2015, from http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2014-01-16-west-africa-and-the-war-on-drugs-south-american-mistakes-repeated/#.VLyHaEfF-AV

(2012, January 1). Retrieved January 18, 2015, from http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/WDR2012/WDR_2012_web_small.pdf

Military. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2015, from http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/acri.htm

Not Just In Transit. (2014, June 1). Retrieved February 1, 2015, from http://www.wacommissionondrugs.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/WACD-Full-Report-Eng.pdf

Carrier, N., & Klantschnig, G. (2012). Africa and the war on drugs. London: Zed Books in association with African Institute, Royal African Society, World Peace Foundation.