EDITORIAL - A different approach to the drug war

In a recent interview, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said the war against drugs will continue, but will have a different approach and focus more on prevention and deterring drug use among teenagers.

"The war on drugs will continue, but we have to do it in a different way. Until we fully formulate our policies, hindi natin masasabi... We are looking more in the upstream of the problem, prevention. Turuan natin ang mga bata, 'huwag kayo papasok sa ganyan, wala kayong aabutin diyan," President Marcos said in an online article in abs-cbn.com.

While the president was not yet able to provide further details, we consider it good that he is willing to take another approach to the drug problem.

By now it has become obvious the heavy-handed and violent approach of the previous administration has not dented the drug problem; in fact, the drug situation seems to be the same, if not worse. One only has to look at the daily reports of drug arrests to know that we are not seeing the end of the drug problem anytime soon.

It’s easy to understand why the drug war of the previous administration failed. While the drug problem has two aspects to it, namely supply and demand, authorities were more focused on the supply --particularly those having that supply-- and paid little attention to dealing with the demand part.

It seemed the emphasis was to send more people to the jails or the morgue than to the rehabilitation centers.

And while you can remove some pushers from the streets by arresting them or killing them, others who are desperate for any means of income will always be ready to step in and take their place. And because the demand has not been addressed well enough, these new characters will always have an eager clientele waiting.

As with any problem, the best way to deal with it is to nip it in the bud. If demand for drugs wanes, the supply will dry up.

Now let’s hope the president’s words about this different approach will bear fruit.