The U.S.-led war on drugs has failed to suppress illicit drug production or trafficking, while harsh drug laws have led to human rights abuses, overcrowded prisons and threats to democratic institutions. WOLA advocates reducing the harms caused by both the drug trade and by the misguided war on drugs. Across the hemisphere, we work for drug reforms that protect human rights and public health.
These videos feature people who have spent years in prison enduring harsh sentences that are disproportionate to the crimes they committed. The videos are part of a TNI/WOLA study investigating the prison systems of eight countries in Latin America. The people in the videos are featured because they represent the rarely revealed human side of the war on drugs. These personal stories illustrate the unjust impact of current drug laws.
Marcos Vinicius do Espirito Santo is a 23 year-old father of three children. He worked unloading fish at the dock when he says he purchased 25 grams of marijuana for his own consumption. He was arrested not for possession but for drug trafficking, and sentenced to 6 years in prison.
Marcos speaks from Bangu prison in Rio de Janeiro about the overcrowded conditions and how the wealthy and big time traffickers are not the one’s who fill the jails: “the one who loses is the poor person, on minimum wage, who can’t find a job, who is desperate, gets some drugs, and sells them to support his family.” He tells of the cycle of poverty that is reinforced by harsh drug laws.
