EDITORIAL - Everybody’s war

That was a wasted opportunity, all right for a united approach to a complex scourge. Drug trafficking is a law enforcement problem that feeds on the complicated social problem of drug abuse. One cannot be tackled separately from the other.

The administration’s tough approach on the criminal aspect of the crime eliminated several high-value targets and a host of small-scale neighborhood pushers, but the violence has spawned its own problems. While surveys consistently indicate high public support for fighting the drug menace, the polls also show high public preference for sparing the lives of suspects.

The challenge is how to reconcile these preferences for an effective campaign to significantly reduce both drug trafficking and abuse, apart from the other social ills engendered by drug money, such as corruption and narco politics.

While the offer of Malacañang to put Vice President Leni Robredo in charge of the anti-drug campaign struck many in the opposition as a ploy to humiliate her, her acceptance of the post also raised hopes that a holistic approach to the drug problem could be crafted.

This whole of nation approach would have given as much attention to the social and public health aspects of the problem as the law enforcement side. Having the leader of the political opposition in charge of a campaign that she said needed to be “tweaked” might have brought in sectors such as religious groups to help address the social issues that drive people, especially youths, to abuse prohibited drugs.

As long as the demand is there, drug dealers will find a way to grow or manufacture, transport, sell and distribute their products to the consumers. Even in remote areas where there are no established distribution networks for shabu, those who need substances that alter the mind and mood satisfy their cravings by using mushrooms, vines and shrubs with psychedelic properties.

The world’s wealthiest economies and the harshest regimes have failed to completely eradicate the drug menace. The best that can be done is to conduct a sustained campaign to catch the traffickers and punish them, eliminate their sources and destroy their supply chains. This must be complemented with equally aggressive efforts to reduce demand, through intervention programs. Punishment as provided by law is a deterrent to drug abuse, although the long-standing admonition to jail the pusher but save the user remains valid.

The Vice President has said she’s just getting started, and would continue doing what she can to confront the drug scourge. Malacañang has said the war on drugs remains on course. With both camps having the same objectives, there’s no reason why their paths should diverge. This is everybody’s war.