John Kerry: “The test of whether or not certification is effective is not just a reflection of what happens to the price of drugs or…”

“The test of whether or not certification is effective is not just a reflection of what happens to the price of drugs or their availability. Everybody knows that interdiction is ultimately an impossible task. Drugs will come in. The question is, are you raising the cost of business sufficiently that the risks are great enough for those who engage in it that you have a legitimate effort to reduce it from scourge to nuisance? The truth is, Mr. President, there are a whole set of other questions you have to ask to really test that effectiveness. For instance, do they extradite people? Do they have a law of extradition? Do they have asset seizure and forfeiture laws? Have they implemented the laws of asset seizure and forfeiture? What kind of sentencing structure do they have? Do people actually serve time? Do they trade evidence with you? Do they create a mutual legal assistance treaty? There are a whole series of judgments here where, I suggest respectfully to my colleagues, the vast majority of the evidence is on the side of those who say this certification process is working because it has produced results in every one of those other areas of measurement.”