Although the global prohibition of drugs has manifestly failed to stem the use of narcotics, it has generated enormous costs and perverse outcomes. In the United States, the war on drugs is generating alarming violations of civil liberties, weakening the rule of law, and compromising law enforcement efforts. The U.S.-led drug war is also undermining legitimate foreign policy goals around the world, including the spread of liberal democracy and an effective war on terror. This conference will bring together prominent scholars and international leaders to analyze current policy and propose practical alternatives such as legalization.

Speakers will discuss:

• The impact of the drug war in Mexico, on the U.S. border, and in Central America
• How prohibition helps fund terrorist groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and beyond
• How Washington’s anti-narcotics campaign violates the Constitution
• The effects of criminalization on minorities in the United States
• Lessons from South America
• The evolution of drug policy in the United States and what decriminalization or legalization would look like in practice

Schedule:

Follow the conversation on twitter with the hashtag: #EndDrugWar.