"People who think that occasional drug use is an individual thing that has no impact on society are wrong," Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre De Croo said in response to a POLITICO question.
De Croo was answering questions from reporters after a meeting of the National Security Council, which decided to beef up the country's security services.
Gunfire between drug gangs has wounded half a dozen people in Brussels since February, with one police officer killed in the southwestern city of Charleroi last week during a drug search. "That's one of the reasons why we increased (penalties for drug use). Think of the bloodshed that's associated with that," De Croo said, flanked by his interior, justice, and defense ministers.
The European Union has become the global capital of cocaine use in recent years as record production in South America has coincided with booming demand across Europe. Belgium is a key gateway, and the port city of Antwerp registers as the continent's largest seizer and consumer of the drug.
This has led to an increase in criminal violence as gangs compete for access to ports and commercial sites in cities such as Brussels. The authorities in most cases remain complacent. At most they push for technical fixes to port security or advocate tougher drug laws.
So far, De Croo has continued in this vein, stepping up prohibition. During the press conference, he promised to increase the number of police and customs agents and to target users and dealers more effectively in Brussels' marginalized neighborhoods. "Drug use is a crime," he said.
Interior Minister Annalies Verlinden also pointed to the negative health and environmental effects of cocaine consumption, including in countries of origin. "I was in Bolivia three, four weeks ago. And we blew up a drug lab that was discovered by Bolivian police," she told POLITICO. "People need to realize that if you use drugs, if you advocate for the legalization of drugs, it will contribute to the deforestation of the Amazon."
However, some experts argue that the violence surrounding the drug trade stems from its illegality, with governments effectively placing a high-demand, zero-regulation market in the hands of criminals. A graduated licensing system could weaken organized crime, reduce health problems caused by questionable and overly potent substances, and raise millions in taxes for social and addiction programs, these critics say.
In March, Colombian President Gustavo Petro called for a move toward decriminalization and better regulation because the war on drugs has "failed." "The health of our societies is at stake. The risk posed by the use and abuse of illicit drugs, both natural and synthetic, can only be mitigated by adopting harm reduction policies," he told the UN Commission. /BGNES
