Did the Military Interventions in the Mexican Drug War Increase Violence?

Espinosa, Valeria; Rubin, Donald B.

doi:10.1080/00031305.2014.965796

Cited by 48 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…One estimate suggested that the drug war-related deaths pushed the national homicide rate up by 11 per 100 000, resulting in an overall rate over 80 per 100 000 in heavily affected locations. 47 Eleven per 100 000 is 2.5 times the total homicide rate in the US in 2014. 47 Other observers suggest that the contribution of the drug war to overall mortality is readily quantifiable because drug-gang homicides bear tangible signatures, such as the use of identifiable weapons as well as torture, beheading and other dismemberment, group executions, and mass graves.…”

Section: Violence and Enforcement Of Drug Prohibitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…47 Eleven per 100 000 is 2.5 times the total homicide rate in the US in 2014. 47 Other observers suggest that the contribution of the drug war to overall mortality is readily quantifiable because drug-gang homicides bear tangible signatures, such as the use of identifiable weapons as well as torture, beheading and other dismemberment, group executions, and mass graves. 46 Though homicides have declined somewhat since 2012, by some estimates homicides perpetuated by organised crime continued to increase through 2014.…”

Section: Violence and Enforcement Of Drug Prohibitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Public health and international drug policy

et al. 2016

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Executive summary In September 2015, the member states of the United Nations endorsed sustainable development goals (SDG) for 2030 that aspire to human rights-centered approaches to ensuring the health and well-being of all people. The SDGs embody both the UN Charter values of rights and justice for all and the responsibility of states to rely on the best scientific evidence as they seek to better humankind. In April 2016, these same states will consider control of illicit drugs, an area of social policy that has been fraught with controversy, seen as inconsistent with human rights norms, and for which scientific evidence and public health approaches have arguably played too limited a role. The previous UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs in 1998 – convened under the theme “a drug-free world, we can do it!” – endorsed drug control policies based on the goal of prohibiting all use, possession, production, and trafficking of illicit drugs. This goal is enshrined in national law in many countries. In pronouncing drugs a “grave threat to the health and well-being of all mankind,” the 1998 UNGASS echoed the foundational 1961 convention of the international drug control regime, which justified eliminating the “evil” of drugs in the name of “the health and welfare of mankind.” But neither of these international agreements refers to the ways in which pursuing drug prohibition itself might affect public health. The “war on drugs” and “zero-tolerance” policies that grew out of the prohibitionist consensus are now being challenged on multiple fronts, including their health, human rights, and development impact. The Johns Hopkins – Lancet Commission on Drug Policy and Health has sought to examine the emerging scientific evidence on public health issues arising from drug control policy and to inform and encourage a central focus on public health evidence and outcomes in drug policy debates, such as the important deliberations of the 2016 UNGASS on drugs. The Johns Hopkins-Lancet Commission is concerned that drug policies are often colored by ideas about drug use and drug dependence that are not scientifically grounded. The 1998 UNGASS declaration, for example, like the UN drug conventions and many national drug laws, does not distinguish between drug use and drug abuse. A 2015 report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, by contrast, found it important to emphasize that “[d]rug use is neither a medical condition nor does it necessarily lead to drug dependence.” The idea that all drug use is dangerous and evil has led to enforcement-heavy policies and has made it difficult to see potentially dangerous drugs in the same light as potentially dangerous foods, tobacco, alcohol for which the goal of social policy is to reduce potential harms. Health impact of drug policy based on enforcement of prohibition The pursuit of drug prohibition has generated a parallel economy run by criminal networks. Both these networks, which resort to violence to protect their markets, and the police and sometimes military ...

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Section: Violence and Enforcement Of Drug Prohibitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Violence and Enforcement Of Drug Prohibitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public health and international drug policy

et al. 2016

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“…First, they suggest that despite passage of the Narcomenudeo reform, which prioritizes a public health response to drug-related harms in Mexico, drug-related policing appears to have intensified, particularly in neighborhoods with known street-based drug markets. Although the concentration of drug crimes within a limited number of neighborhoods is a commonly observed phenomenon in Mexico (Espinal-Enriquez & Larralde, 2015; Espinosa & Rubin, 2015; Vilalta, 2009) and elsewhere (Rengert & Lockwood, 2009), the remarkable consistency in the arrest patterns reported by PWID, in both hotspots and non-hotspots of official drug-related arrests, may indicate that police are using discretionary tools to maintain public order. Notably, less than half of the arrests reported by PWID led to criminal charges in 2011.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Spatial-Temporal Pattern of Policing Following a Drug Policy Reform: Triangulating Self-Reported Arrests With Official Crime Statistics

Gaines

Werb

Arredondo

et al. 2016

Substance Use & Misuse

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Background In 2009, Mexico enacted a drug policy reform (Narcomenudeo) designed to divert persons possessing small amounts of illicit drugs to treatment rather than incarceration. To assess reform impact, this study examines the spatial-temporal trends of drug-related policing in Tijuana, Mexico post-enactment. Method Location of self-reported arrests (N=1,160) among a prospective, community-recruited cohort of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Tijuana (N=552) was mapped across city neighborhoods. Official police reports detailing drug-related arrests was triangulated with PWID self-reported arrests. Exploratory spatial data analysis examined the distribution of arrests and spatial association between both datasets across three successive years, 2011–2013. Results In 2011, over half of PWID reported being detained but not officially charged with a criminal offense; in 2013, 90% of arrests led to criminal charges. Official drug-related arrests increased by 67.8% (p < 0.01) from 2011 to 2013 despite overall arrest rates remaining stable throughout Tijuana. For each successive year, we identified a high degree of spatial association between the location of self-reported and official arrests (p < 0.05). Conclusion Two independent data sources suggest that intensity of drug law enforcement had risen in Tijuana despite the promulgation of a public health-oriented drug policy reform. The highest concentrations of arrests were in areas traditionally characterized by higher rates of drug crime. High correlation between self-reported and official arrest data underscores opportunities for future research on the role of policing as a structural determinant of public health.

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“…Further on the relationship between Prohibition and rising homicide rates, the Mexican cases stands out in the world: the increase in the number of assassinations resulting from the use of military force against the drug traffic since 2006 has even reduced life expectancy in the country 35,36,37 .…”

Section: Prohibition Violence and Mortality From External Causesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Política de drogas e Saúde Coletiva: diálogos necessários

et al. 2019

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The current status of policies on illicit drugs has implications for Collective Health that need to be discussed in depth. This essay aims to explore, in light of the best evidence, the public health impact of drug policies focused on the criminalization of growing, selling, and consuming psychoactive substances. Brazil provides the context for the main analysis. The principal points addressed in this work include drugs as a social issue and the definition of the prohibitionist paradigm, evidence of the unhealthy relationship between this paradigm and the population's health, the issue of a model of care for users of psychoactive substances focused on therapeutic communities, and future paths to be explored to overcome the prohibition of illicit drugs as the principal approach to the issue. Among the main problematic elements in the repressive approach in the Brazilian context, the study highlights violence and homicides, the health impacts of incarceration and blocked access to the health system, and potential new therapies derived from currently banned psychoactive substances. As proposals for future policy changes, the study highlights decriminalization of the use, possession, and small-scale sale of drugs; the reduction of the violence and discrimination associated with policing; focus on harm reduction policies; approach to gender-related specificities; and inclusion of social variables as metrics for successful treatment of problematic drug use. In conclusion, it is relevant that the social issue and drug policy have become the object of more studies in the field of Collective Health.

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Did the Military Interventions in the Mexican Drug War Increase Violence?

Cited by 48 publications

References 12 publications

Public health and international drug policy

Public health and international drug policy

The Spatial-Temporal Pattern of Policing Following a Drug Policy Reform: Triangulating Self-Reported Arrests With Official Crime Statistics

Política de drogas e Saúde Coletiva: diálogos necessários

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