For social issues that stink of double standards, the war on drugs must be one of the most undiluted tales of hypocrisy that still dominates public policy.
Since their inception, drug laws have been a tool to stigmatise, sideline and sanction groups that legislators see as a threat to their political supremacy. This systematic oppression has been carried out under the pretence of moral propriety and perpetuates division, crime, and addiction in many of our most deprived communities.
Like several other "wars" that governments wage, this one can't be won. Perhaps that's the point. Nonetheless, the fight claims victims and exposes the duplicity at the heart of the matter.
This was again clear in the allegations of drug use levelled at Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin after a video of her dancing "in a boisterous way" led critics to question her behaviour, saying it was not becoming of someone in her position. Apart from the obvious moral conservatism that such disapproval displays, Marin's gender and young age (and socially-progressive political orientation) can't be overlooked in the affair.
Marin subsequently took a drug test, which she passed. One can only speculate as to how other politicians might fare...
Illuminating as these media storms are, they also distract from the more real human cost of drug wars. It isn't only Columbian cartels that bring misery upon distant communities, Belgium has its own problems with Antwerp being a hub of the European drug trade.
This has seen a spate of attacks take place this summer, with feuding gangs presumed to be carrying out an explosive vendetta in the public arena. Antwerp's mayor Bart De Wever has had enough and has repeated previous calls for more robust measures to tackle the issue.
Today, De Wever vented his frustration at the inaction of the Federal Government and said that ministers were complicit. The mayor didn't mince his words as he admonished the impunity of the social elites who "sniff lines and pop pills like crazy."
Vowing to practice what he preaches, De Wever spoke of his desire to take a drug test every three months to prove himself a worthy figurehead of efforts to get tough on drug violence. And though he admits that eradicating drugs is a quest ultimately doomed to fail, De Wever stressed the need to curb the "parasitic" violence afflicting his city.
If we are to move towards more sensible drug policies, stamping out the double standards is a vital step. But are general drug tests the way to do this?
Let @Orlando_tbt know.
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