But like his “war” on alcohol, his stance against illicit drugs is informed less by reasoning and evidence but rather by hysteria. The specific aim of the war was to destroy and inhibit the international drug trade — making drugs scarcer and costlier, and thus unaffordable. The 2016 UN World Drugs Report cautiously concluded that “the global cocaine market has … been shrinking,” and attributed this to changing consumption patterns. Yet, perversely, it is on the producer and transit countries such as Kenya, that the war on drugs is focused. By regurgitating the tough talk from the West’s failed war on drugs, the President is essentially selling the country down the river.

Source: The Star April 13, 2017 20:26 UTC