Gaviria said he learned this "the hard way" because Colombia, one of the world’s primary suppliers of cocaine, waged war on drugs at an "enormous cost" by pouring billions of dollars to abolish drug cartels, destroying drug crops and jailing every drug pusher in sight.
All these measures, he said, only resulted to "new problems," including the slaughter of tens of thousands of people; the assassination of their brightest officials, journalists and law enforcers; the corruption of politicians tempted with drug payoffs; and the spread of Colombian drugs to neighboring countries.
In his column, Gaviria recommended instead that the Philippines strengthen public health programs, safeguard human rights and focus on economic development -- no matter how popular the drug war may be.
"Taking a hard line against criminals is always popular for politicians. I was also seduced into taking a tough stance on drugs during my time as president. The polls suggest that Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs is equally popular," he said.
"But he will find that it is unwinnable. I also discovered that the human costs were enormous. We could not win the war on drugs through killing petty criminals and addicts. We started making positive impacts only when we changed tack, designating drugs as a social problem and not a military one."
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