The Presidents of Guatemala, Panama and Costa Rica, as well as from Columbia, met in summit to determine what steps their countries could take to combat the drug culture threatening the lives and the rule of law in their nations.
From the outset, the participants attacked the United States government for waging war on drug use, whose high penalties have increased the pressure on the drug traffickers while also driving up the potential profits. The President of Colombia openly suggested that the war on drugs must end, that decriminalization was the best route for ending the rout of gang violence and death intimidating people in the Americas.
The demand for drugs, not the supply, has increased the problems affecting these countries. In order to put an end to the strife which threatens the region, the nations North and South must cease prosecuting users and distributors of these illicit substances. Granted, governments still have a vested and vital interest in protecting youth and other incapacitated individuals from inappropriate sale of substances, but consenting adults do not break free from drug addiction to the extent that the state criminalizes the conduct and prosecutes individuals to the fullest extent of the law.
The Drug Summits enacted by future leaders will remain inconclusive to the extent that they continue to blame Washington D.C. for their problems instead of seeking to change the minds and the laws of their country with proper persuasion and political action.