THE WAR ON DRUGS IS A FAILURE - The Global Commission on Drug Policy

An international commission, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, issued a report that unequivocally states that the global “war on drugs” has failed with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world.  It recommends that nations end the criminalization, marginalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs but who do not harm others. Arresting and jailing millions of recreational drug users, farmers, couriers and petty sellers, has filled prisons and destroyed lives without making a dent in consumption and criminal activities linked to illicit drugs.  The commissioners therefore recommend that:

- Governments should experiment with the legalization of marijuana which can serve as a model to eventually legalize other drugs. 

 

- Offer health and treatment services as well as harm reduction programs such as clean needles.  

- Respect the human rights of drug users.  Abolish abusive methods of treating drugs users such as forced detention, forced labor and physical and psychological abuse.  

-  Deploy educational efforts grounded in credible information and prevention programs for the youth.  

- Focus repressive actions on violent criminal organizations, but do so in ways that undermine their power and reach while prioritizing the reduction of violence and intimidation. 

- Replace drug policies and strategies driven by ideology and political convenience with fiscally responsible policies and strategies grounded in science, health, security and human rights.

Kudos to the commissioners for their clarity in this issue!  Fears and taboos may cause some of us to disagree with the carrot approach these commissioners are recommending.  But when we think about it rationally and logically, is illegality really what deters most people from using drugs?   Admittedly, not too many people give illegality as the reason for not being attracted to recreational drugs.  To people who are attracted to them, their illegality is the last thing they worry about when they want to use them or abuse them and when they can get them as easily as making one phone call.  Eliminating many criminal cartels by making recreational drugs legal while implementing harm reduction programs, will most certainly benefit everyone including those who will have continued using them even if they had remained illegal.   Moreover, making them legal will perhaps have the added benefit of deterring defiant of authority young and less young people from using them because they will no longer have the ‘’forbidden fruit’’ appeal.

Download a copy of the report here:   http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/Report

COLLISION BETWEEN SCIENCE AND POLITICS

The article from the BBC we link to below is self explanatory and proof positive that scientific integrity and public health policy are not always synonym.

Professor Nutt was head of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs in the UK. Obviously his qualifications had merit when he was first named to hold that position. Why then was his advice not only totally discounted but was also shown the door after alerting the UK government that reclassifying cannabis as a more potent drug than what it is presently classified did not have any scientific merits and would not do the population any justice?

The man deserves credit and the public's thanks for standing behind his scientific findings and having the courage to not cave in to what the higher authorities wanted people to hear. How many scientists simply parrot the predetermined results governments and private funders strongly ‘’suggest’’ for them to find in fear to lose their job or their grant money?

When will our elected officials learn that fear mongering based on puritan and moral values is not the solution that will ever bring positive results towards a healthier population? Thinking that the public will believe everything they hear regardless of their eyewitness and life experiences is not only an underestimation of people's judgement but a true insult to their intelligence. How much more credibility does public health intend to lose before they pull their act together and start basing public policy on scientific values?

Cannabis row drugs adviser sacked

A MESSAGE FROM LEAP

Have you noticed that there's been a great awakening about the harms of the "war on drugs"? The media and politicians are paying attention like never before.

I'm writing to tell you about a new way you can help keep this wave going and show your support for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition at the same time.

When I co-founded LEAP seven years ago I used to say I would not see the end of the "war on drugs" in my lifetime. But over these past weeks I've changed my mind about that, because things are changing. And fast.

Just look at all the media attention LEAP has been getting lately: 30-year veteran federal anti-drug agent Terry Nelson was recently on Anderson Cooper's CNN show, Judge James Gray was on Fox Business Channel and CNN, and LEAP speakers have recently been featured in newspapers like the Los Angeles Times, the Miami Herald and the Houston Chronicle.

More people are talking about the "drug war" than ever before, and you can help continue this conversation by wearing an official LEAP badge lapel pin just like our law enforcement speakers do. When you wear the LEAP shield, people will ask you about it, giving you the opportunity to talk about the harms of prohibition and invite them to join our movement.

Please go to http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=MtxIF5BV6XVb209vk%2BreE6yAi7OtaU7a right now and make a donation of just five bucks (or more, if you can afford it), and we'll mail you a badge so you can start wearing it and helping to build our movement.Of course, our efforts aren't just all talk. LEAP is making a real impact on prohibitionist policies both on a national level and regionally:

On Capitol Hill, Senator Jim Webb of Virginia just introduced a bill to create a blue ribbon commission to investigate whether we should keep sending so many people to jail for drugs (you and I already know we shouldn't, but the commission will help more politicians to realize it). This is exactly what LEAP's education specialist Howard Wooldridge has been advocating in the halls of Congress; last year, he met with all 535 congressional offices, asking them to create a commission -- and now it's happening!

In November, LEAP was proudly involved in helping pass - by a two-to-one margin - a voter initiative to decriminalize marijuana in Massachusetts. Now, citizens there no longer face arrest just for possessing small amounts.

These are just two examples of how our cops are making more of an impact than ever before. But we simply cannot do this important work by ourselves. We need your help.

Imagine for a moment what we can accomplish when thousands of citizens stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our law enforcers, not only with their dollars but by being advocates on the street and helping to build this movement through one-on-one conversations sparked by simple gold badges.

Please make a one-time donation or monthly pledge of just five dollars today to receive your official LEAP badge lapel pin.

Of course, it's great if you want to donate more, because we sure need it. It costs money to put our speakers in front of legislators, media and other audiences around the U.S. and the rest of the world. Whether you can give $5.00 or $500.00 to get your LEAP badge, this type of grassroots effort is how this movement has gained so much momentum and it's how we'll win the war against the "drug war." We will succeed because no one can make a legitimate argument against what our law enforcers and civilian supporters have seen with our own eyes. So please, show your support for LEAP today with a donation so you can show your support for LEAP tomorrow by proudly displaying our shield on your lapel, shirt, backpack or hat. It's fast, it's easy and it's time.

Sincerely,
Peter Christ

Co-Founder
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

P.S. Five dollars probably isn't a lot of money to you, but it adds up to a lot for LEAP when combined with generous donations of hundreds or thousands of other supporters just like you, especially if those gifts are sustaining monthly pledges. So, please, go to http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Zp%2FBFOi05MQZjWoUr0abCqyAi7OtaU7a to do your part by chipping in today.

DRUG PROHIBITION CAUSES MORE PROBLEMS THAN IT SOLVES

The logic is infallible. By making drugs illegal, you push them underground and create an uncontrollable market. Producers and suppliers cannot solve their problems with lawyers and letters, so they resort to guns and bullets. As long as there is a demand there will be competition to supply the users, and as long as it is illegal, the profits will be huge.

Attacking the demand by jailing drug users is creating a huge problem of prison overcrowding and the costly redirection of resources from other more important needs of society. People's lives are being ruined by Criminal Records in ways fare worse than any token drug use could ever amount to, and drug addicts are being jailed instead of receiving assistance and treatment.

The "War On Drugs" is a failure on almost every count. Certain Canadian provinces as well as Mexico realized how detrimental to society was this failed Drug policy, but failed to implement reform due to pressure from the U.S. and its all-powerful Drug Enforcement Agency.

Now that the U.S. Senate is preparing to take a hard cold look at the facts surrounding drug prohibition, it is important that all lovers of freedom and enemies of Nanny Interventionism speak up and be heard. We encourage you to write to Senator Jim Webb, as per the link provided below leading to an article from L.E.A.P. (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition), and voice your support for a more rational, logical approach to recreational drugs.

Finally, Congress discusses prohibition!