The U.S war on drugs policy and its repercussions in Brazil

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to critically examine the United States' drug war policy, whose uncritical adoption has led to severe consequences in Brazil. For this purpose, the historical-critical method was employed, supported by bibliographical and documentary research. The text begins with a brief digression on the emergence of the North-American prohibitionist model, emphasizing that, far beyond public security, the penal intensification in this context served to align moral and oligarchic interests of the ruling classes, to the detriment of a rational logic that would consider the complex dimensions of social life. Subsequently, the study elucidates the reasons why this system acquired transnational contours, despite the absence of scientific evidence proving that it effectively contributes to its stated aim – namely, the reduction of crime. In this regard, the research addresses the social and psychological conditions which, driven by mass-mediated penal propaganda, grant legitimacy to such populist policies. Finally, the harmful effects stemming from the adoption of the drug war model’s premises in Brazil are presented.