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NOT JUST IN TRANSIT

Drugs, the State and Societyin West Africa

An Independent Report of the West Africa Commission on Drugs

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COMMISSIONERS

President Olusegun Obasanjo (Chair) President Pedro

Pires

Dr. Idrissa Ba

Justice Bankole-Thompson

Dr. Alpha Abdoulaye Diallo

Edem Kojdo

Christine Kafondo

Oumou Sangaré Dr. Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould

Mohamedou

Dr. Mary Chinery-Hesse

Adeolou Ogunrumbi

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WACD OBJECTIVES

Develop evidence-based policy recommendations

Develop local and regional capacities and ownership

Mobilize public awareness and political commitment

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• West Africa is a hub of international drug trafficking

• Increased organized crime and local consumption of drugs

• Serious threats to peace and stability

KEY FACTS

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US $1.25 BILLION is the UN estimated yearly value of cocaine transiting through West Africa

The entire security budget of many West African countries is less than the wholesale price of a ton of cocaine in Europe

KEY FACTS (cont.)

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KEY FINDINGSDrugs and West

Africa

No longer just a transit zone. Now a significant zone of consumption &

of production

Drug trafficking, consumption and

production

Undermines institutions, threatens public health, damages development efforts in West Africa

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KEY FINDINGS (cont.)

Funding mostly goes into interdiction and not into treatment

Drug use must be regarded primarily as a public health problem

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RECOMMENDATIONS

Decriminalize drug use

Invest in Health:Prevention, treatment

& harm reduction

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RECOMMENDATIONS (cont.)

Confront the impact of drug

money on politics

Reform & harmonize drug laws

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RECOMMENDATIONS (cont.)

Avoid militarization of

drug policy

Focus on the big fish & less on the

small fry

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Post-Launch: ADVOCACY & OUTREACH

In West Africa

In AfricaAround the

world

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Initial Indications of IMPACT

National level: Minister of Justice of Nigeria “a masterpiece in the articulation

of the drug problem in Africa”

Regional level: President Mahama (Ghana), Chairman of ECOWAS: “The

Report could not have come at a better time”

Global Level: Baroness Ashton (EU): “The report is very valuable,…only a holistic

approach…will prove effective”

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"Drugs have harmed many people, but bad government policies have

harmed many more” Kofi Annan