tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285435392024-03-13T09:48:43.208+00:00Transform Drug Policy Foundation BlogTransform Drug Policy Foundation (TDPF) is the UK's leading centre of expertise on drug policy and law reform.janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15263261726046054614noreply@blogger.comBlogger727125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-33448836633194207492013-10-09T12:08:00.000+01:002013-10-09T12:08:19.077+01:00Transform/MUCD workshop at DPA conference in Denver; Making the case for regulation of drug markets in Latin America<!--[if !mso]>
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<h4 align="center" style="text-align: center;">
Ending the war on drugs: Making the
case for regulation of drug markets in Latin America
and beyond</h4>
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A workshop
organized by <a href="http://www.tdpf.org.uk/" target="_self">Transform DrugPolicy Foundation</a> and <a href="http://www.mucd.org.mx/" target="_self">MéxicoUnido Contra la Delincuencia</a> as part of <a href="http://www.reformconference.org/" target="_self">The International DrugPolicy Reform Conference 2013</a></div>
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<br />
Join us to learn and share experiences on how to meaningfully engage with the
drug policy reform debate, how to talk about regulation models, messaging and
framing arguments for different audiences, and how to respond to common
concerns.<br />
<br />
The focus will be on the debate in Latin America,
but the themes will be relevant for all reformers.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3399ff;">Saturday 26th October from 1:30 - 3:00 pm Governors
Square 14</span></b></div>
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Places are limited.
If you’d like to attend please email <a href="mailto:info@tdpf.org.uk" target="_self">info@tdpf.org.uk</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15263261726046054614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-49173216140890976332013-09-24T10:32:00.000+01:002013-09-26T10:48:29.358+01:00New publication launched: 'Ending the War on Drugs: How to win the debate in Latin America'<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.tdpf.org.uk/"><br />Transform</a>
and <a href="http://www.mucd.org.mx/">MUCD</a> were pleased to launch the latest publication from our joint Latin
American Programme for Drug Policy Reform in Mexico City yesterday.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">‘</span><span lang="EN-GB"><i><a href="http://www.tdpf.org.uk/como-ganar-el-debate.htm">Ending the War on Drugs: How to win the debate in </a></i><st1:place w:st="on"><i><a href="http://www.tdpf.org.uk/como-ganar-el-debate.htm">Latin America</a>' </i>is the product of </st1:place></span>a series of workshops and consultations with experts across the region, and builds on Transform's 2007 book<i> </i>'<i><a href="http://www.tdpf.org.uk/tools-for-debate.htm">After the War on Drugs: Tools for the Debate</a></i>'.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53akTQF1L3eNv7ideBcZlzjdCkIF3DkSTzuMgVKGR6DmHx-gh3xjixZZj5Pb4Du_ItOTuVlV1cUQUz8VPDgsODxEN9H4E5dgUuVeXWH5Cwo1wNFXtm8m8kZBd7Fa1T4uu_SVw4A/s1600/Terminando.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53akTQF1L3eNv7ideBcZlzjdCkIF3DkSTzuMgVKGR6DmHx-gh3xjixZZj5Pb4Du_ItOTuVlV1cUQUz8VPDgsODxEN9H4E5dgUuVeXWH5Cwo1wNFXtm8m8kZBd7Fa1T4uu_SVw4A/s1600/Terminando.gif" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">It is a guide
to making the case for drug policy and law reform in <st1:place w:st="on">Latin
America</st1:place> from a position of confidence and authority, with a
particular focus on the issue of legal regulation of currently illegal drug
markets, something that is now core to the debate in the region. It is for
every policymaker, media commentator, and campaigner who not only recognises
that the <i>‘war on drugs’ </i>is a
counterproductive failure that is creating catastrophic unintended
consequences, but who also wants to convince others to back reform. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">It will equip
you with the constructive arguments, different approaches and nuanced messaging
needed to address the concerns and interests of diverse audiences. This will
enable you to not just win the argument, but make the new allies needed to turn
the current unparalleled momentum for reform into concrete policy change
nationally and internationally. Although the book is tailored to Latin America, the arguments it lays out are relevant for drug policy reformers globally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Print copies are currently only available in Spanish. The English translation is coming soon, but if you can't wait, a pre-publication draft is available from <i>info@tdpf.org.uk </i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Here are some images from the launch event in Mexico City:</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4evnPVyVi4B3dwHJnFKIGuee2LyYKNAcdxCCOR-4L7tyKd0qDZqiFpKlGlA5hharB67N3ujgUqLMcc2gJdVkpszRf5ud2T13gTQfwV_uEFlHErk0fM8kwvXdxJszuIO7-Z8sAA/s1600/presentacion+libro-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4evnPVyVi4B3dwHJnFKIGuee2LyYKNAcdxCCOR-4L7tyKd0qDZqiFpKlGlA5hharB67N3ujgUqLMcc2gJdVkpszRf5ud2T13gTQfwV_uEFlHErk0fM8kwvXdxJszuIO7-Z8sAA/s1600/presentacion+libro-11.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4evnPVyVi4B3dwHJnFKIGuee2LyYKNAcdxCCOR-4L7tyKd0qDZqiFpKlGlA5hharB67N3ujgUqLMcc2gJdVkpszRf5ud2T13gTQfwV_uEFlHErk0fM8kwvXdxJszuIO7-Z8sAA/s1600/presentacion+libro-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0aEDOVFYJnTKvH6JHCJosaw9BRTBJ65aJS-3DWCFeS9Vfd5A64RIzjzFq9smqPBHMPIBVyLeFD1wjSZJpjBXhQmj5bFU5uHuEf-WnSt0cWKJEVXDm0lQa4sC43tmnXsePJBFRw/s1600/presentacion+libro-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0aEDOVFYJnTKvH6JHCJosaw9BRTBJ65aJS-3DWCFeS9Vfd5A64RIzjzFq9smqPBHMPIBVyLeFD1wjSZJpjBXhQmj5bFU5uHuEf-WnSt0cWKJEVXDm0lQa4sC43tmnXsePJBFRw/s1600/presentacion+libro-10.jpg" /><br />
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<i> Book launch Panel: Armando Santacruz (MUCD), Josefina Ricaño de Nava (president MUCD), Steve Rolles (Transform, co-author), <span class="st">Sergio Sarmiento (<a href="http://www.google.com.mx/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCgQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.azteca.com%2Fla-entrevista-con-sarmiento&ei=awtDUoZ_5MXZBeafgLgL&usg=AFQjCNHCJ2_PqywalIcuRyYiUqWPu96A0g&bvm=bv.53077864,d.b2I">Journalist</a>), Lisa Sanchez (MUCD/Transform, co-author) </span></i></div>
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<i><span class="st"> </span></i><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Q2XEGs8Fy-_w0GapFydoBGmYbbeN5GwYVVE-W9NPjkO11n6Bgzrw9WAzy3txjJ007v2Grj6Xiorvc1AZIfgJATwW5quqhUwfDwArgNeoHoTqr_CkzYKrlL41875vHcBT5wxW9g/s1600/presentacion+libro-2.jpg" /> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Lisa Sanchez presenting the book</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Pxgcbs-xaDuChmhIW7mXGRNbQN9xWi2WFeUKGzohI3FPi3Lxby7EvLGtG_zDfK3hwPZMZtGjBUJTHUMZxsBD-zpBOycqn5BkegBV0l4XTeMl99OYCqefGisrkLNCBFw7fpWkDg/s1600/presentacion+libro-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Pxgcbs-xaDuChmhIW7mXGRNbQN9xWi2WFeUKGzohI3FPi3Lxby7EvLGtG_zDfK3hwPZMZtGjBUJTHUMZxsBD-zpBOycqn5BkegBV0l4XTeMl99OYCqefGisrkLNCBFw7fpWkDg/s1600/presentacion+libro-6.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span class="st">Sergio Sarmiento</span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSBIQI7O7g8I_RvqOHWTATDin2cLu6o-CNya6eV8EUuGiRwEkycBKzDNF4OQ_M-WTbNAEt3OcoR0QWtbyY9yM5vYP_sWu4JNshUGtCXPt93ySogx3mxMbDHGjKNexuLkDPb7r2Gw/s1600/presentacion+libro-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSBIQI7O7g8I_RvqOHWTATDin2cLu6o-CNya6eV8EUuGiRwEkycBKzDNF4OQ_M-WTbNAEt3OcoR0QWtbyY9yM5vYP_sWu4JNshUGtCXPt93ySogx3mxMbDHGjKNexuLkDPb7r2Gw/s1600/presentacion+libro-8.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB">“Transform/MUCD's Ending the War on Drugs: Making the Case in
Latin America workshop in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Mexico</st1:country-region></st1:place>
about how to argue for drug law reform in general, and legal regulation in
particular, was invaluable. It should be rolled out globally to advocates of
drug law reform, and all policymakers considering change. This education is
vital to bring about a smooth and effective transition in drug policy.” </span></i></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><b><span lang="EN-GB">Ambassador Edgar Guitérrez Girón, </span></b></span><b><span lang="EN-GB">Special <st1:city w:st="on">Mission</st1:city> on Drug Policy Reform for the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Republic</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Guatemala</st1:placename></st1:place>, 2013</span></b></blockquote>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“The
time has come to discuss new approaches to dealing with the problems of drugs
in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Americas</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>A new approach should try and take
away the violent profit that comes with drug trafficking… If that means legalising,
and the world thinks that's the solution, I will welcome it.”</span> </i></blockquote>
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<b style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">President Santos of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Colombia</st1:country-region></st1:place>, 2012</span></b></blockquote>
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<i>Photography by Mario Hernández </i></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>Martin Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16428672192550235474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-57920726116540642412013-09-12T15:47:00.000+01:002013-09-12T16:03:24.799+01:00The world's most draconian drug policies<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The last few weeks have been marked by several positive developments
in drug policy around the world.</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Uruguayan Parliament </span><a href="http://transform-drugs.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/history-is-made-as-uruguay-mps-vote-for.html" style="font-family: inherit;">passed a groundbreaking bill that,</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> subject to Senate approval later this year, will make </span><st1:place style="font-family: inherit;" w:st="on">Uruguay</st1:place><span style="font-family: inherit;">
the first country in the world to legally regulate the production and sale of
cannabis under government monopoly. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: inherit;" w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region><span style="font-family: inherit;">, Attorney General
Eric Holder <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/12/politics/holder-mandatory-minimums/index.html">announced</a> changes in the Justice Department’s sentencing policy so that certain low-level, non-violent drug offenders; </span>"<i>will no longer be charged with offences that impose draconian mandatory minimum sentences.</i>"</li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The US Federal Government also </span><a href="http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/August/13-opa-974.html" style="font-family: inherit;">indicated</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> it </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.796875px; text-align: left;">will allow individual states to proceed with marijuana legalization, as long as they ensure production and supply are well regulated, including restricting access to minors, and preventing excess production being sold into states that have not legalized.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">These important advancements come at a time when the heavy-handed tactics of the war on drugs are being increasingly questioned.
Nevertheless, for many governments the punitive war on drugs approach
continues to be used to justify a wide range of distressing and unacceptable acts that directly breach their international human rights obligations. From the use of the death penalty for drug offences, to compulsory
drug detention centres, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings, the state
of drug policies is, in many countries, draconian to say the least. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Below is a selection of the most oppressive practices around the
world. They highlight the urgent need for a global shift away from criminal justice-led drug policies towards those centred around health that <a href="http://transform-drugs.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/support-dont-punish-protesters-around.html">support rather than punish</a>. They also underline that this shift needs to happen </span>not just for marijuana, but for all drugs.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. China</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWDkh8VEw5V5g4-rCAWblqdYicl7K9QlHmFSpvw_PcGoQlTocULexasC-Cb3zr3K2Tef0aUMTw6FCqGwF1vmygcVtiyYx197yjMaCjclh0p0nsJlh0xBV1v0zyq-Ukvdb_08EIQ/s1600/China+AFP.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWDkh8VEw5V5g4-rCAWblqdYicl7K9QlHmFSpvw_PcGoQlTocULexasC-Cb3zr3K2Tef0aUMTw6FCqGwF1vmygcVtiyYx197yjMaCjclh0p0nsJlh0xBV1v0zyq-Ukvdb_08EIQ/s200/China+AFP.gif" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWDkh8VEw5V5g4-rCAWblqdYicl7K9QlHmFSpvw_PcGoQlTocULexasC-Cb3zr3K2Tef0aUMTw6FCqGwF1vmygcVtiyYx197yjMaCjclh0p0nsJlh0xBV1v0zyq-Ukvdb_08EIQ/s304/China+AFP.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Official numbers regarding
death sentences and executions performed in China are </span>a state secret, and so <span style="font-family: inherit;">not readily available. Nevertheless, it is widely believed that China performs </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/23/china-death-penalty-crime-executions" style="font-family: inherit;">more executions than the rest of the world put together.</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Moreover, the </span><a href="http://www.ihra.net/files/2012/11/27/HRI_-_2012_Death_Penalty_Report_-_FINAL.pdf" style="font-family: inherit;">conviction rate is nearly 100%</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, so if someone is
accused of a crime that is punishable by the death penalty, they are almost certain to receive that sentence. According to Amnesty
International, defendants often face trials where the court has already decided
a verdict and possibly a sentence, a practice that could explain why many
people are sentenced to death </span><a href="http://www.amnesty.org.au/china/comments/10960/" style="font-family: inherit;">after trials lasting less than an hour.</a></div>
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<!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although in 2011 China <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12580504">removed 13 mostly economic crimes</a> from the list for which the death penalty can be handed down, but drug offences such as trafficking remain on the list.<!--EndFragment--></span></div>
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<!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family: inherit;">The “treatment” of suspected drug users in China also presents a grim picture. In theory, the country's Anti-Drug Law of June 2008 ended the programme of sentencing alleged drug users to
<i>Re-Education Through Labour.</i> In reality though, </span>it effectively expanded the previous 6-12 months <span style="font-family: inherit;">sentence to a minimum of 2 and sometimes 3 years in </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2010/01/07/china-drug-rehabilitation-centers-deny-treatment-allow-forced-labor">drug detention centres</a> instead</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">. The law also allows for a period of up
to four years of unspecified “community based rehabilitation”, in practice
allowing for up to 7 years of incarceration. The detainees are routinely
beaten, forced to work up to 18
hours a day without pay and denied medical or drug dependency treatment.
Detention takes place without trial and the Anti-Drug Law gives the police
rather than medical professionals the power to determine the “addiction” and
need for detention without any legal process or even evidence of current drug
use. A 2009 UNAIDS report estimates that </span><a href="http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/china0110webwcover_0.pdf" style="font-family: inherit;">at any given time approximately 500,000 people are undergoing drug detention in China.</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">2. Iran</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirc0sXW_szTht2iZL9A24RoQILnp8XJJpHmrsCuE_3FvgCAciMqRe1zIWJdiufPGEqx6CS2rDCpl9FCeq8BQrgAUTG2hK8uKWxErUxnrHHRNYvXTWx8r6JMrXzdzvcwNj2GPl_Mw/s1600/Iran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirc0sXW_szTht2iZL9A24RoQILnp8XJJpHmrsCuE_3FvgCAciMqRe1zIWJdiufPGEqx6CS2rDCpl9FCeq8BQrgAUTG2hK8uKWxErUxnrHHRNYvXTWx8r6JMrXzdzvcwNj2GPl_Mw/s200/Iran.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The <a href="http://www.ihra.net/files/2012/11/27/HRI_-_2012_Death_Penalty_Report_-_FINAL.pdf">2011 Amendments</a> to the Anti-Narcotic Law of the Islamic Republic of Iran introduces; “<i>the death penalty for trafficking or possessing more than 30 grams of specified synthetic, non-medical psychotropic drugs, and for recruiting or hiring people to commit any of the crimes under the law, or organising, running, financially supporting, or investing in such activities, in cases where the crime is punishable with life imprisonment</i>”.</span></div>
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<!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">In 2011 80% of the
<a href="http://iranhr.net/spip.php?article2440">676 executions</a> performed in Iran were of drug offenders. Only 9% of people executed for drug charges were fully identified. The soaring number of arrests for drug trafficking in recent years is in part due to international assistance to halt the flow of drugs from Afghanistan, but also because the drug laws are used to sentence political opponents of the regime.</span> </span>Public executions also seem to be on the rise with a four-fold increase between 2010 and 2011. </div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Drug traffickers usually come from the most disadvantaged sectors of
society, members of ethnic minorities and foreign nationals, mostly Afghans
trying to escape poverty by working as drug mules. A lack of transparency makes getting hard numbers on those facing execution impossible to obtain, but comments by Iranian officials suggest there may be <a href="http://amnesty.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_22197.pdf">4,000 Afghans</a> alone on death row for drug trafficking. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">According to <a href="http://amnesty.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_22197.pdf">Amnesty International</a>; "<o:p></o:p></span><i>Most - if not all - of those condemned to death for drugs offences have faced grossly unfair trials</i>", or have never even seen the inside of a court at all. </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Although Iran, having a serious national drug problem, with more than 2 million users, has made some progress in decriminalising and providing some forms of treatment for drug users, the number of people on death row for drug trafficking offences remains staggering.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Viet Nam</span></b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12XI7mv_QmEIMV0dTTCOIV9d9x6jrsyk48Pnluj5Fbw85QGjemrGsiW4Ko6gkfxfl-GfztZvJSgiRdceX0xpj3KeeEYnRCHXuuKJE2GtJSUCFx7XceVuE9_9uwe_FNC7PsNeBag/s1600/Viet+Nam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12XI7mv_QmEIMV0dTTCOIV9d9x6jrsyk48Pnluj5Fbw85QGjemrGsiW4Ko6gkfxfl-GfztZvJSgiRdceX0xpj3KeeEYnRCHXuuKJE2GtJSUCFx7XceVuE9_9uwe_FNC7PsNeBag/s200/Viet+Nam.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Like in China, Vietnamese death penalty statistics are also considered a state secret. Yet <a href="http://www.ihra.net/files/2012/11/27/HRI_-_2012_Death_Penalty_Report_-_FINAL.pdf">reports state</a> that in 2011 69 people were sentenced to death, 27 of them for drug smuggling. Just five executions have been officially reported.</span></div>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Viet Nam also has a wide and
expanding network of compulsory drug detention centres that in practice have
</span><a href="http://www.ihra.net/files/2010/11/01/IHRA_BriefingNew_4.pdf" style="font-family: inherit;">nothing to do with treatment</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> and constitute forced labour camps. Refusal to
work, violating rules or not meeting quotas results in punishment that often
amounts to torture. </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">In 2000 there were 56 centres
across the country, a number that increased to 123 in 2011. It is estimated
that over </span><a href="http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/vietnam0911ToPost.pdf" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">390,000 people passed through those centres between 2000 and 2010</a><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">. </span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Along with this increase came an expansion of the length of detention, from a minimum of three months to one year as of 2000, to four years of supposed drug treatment according to the provisions of a law passed by the National Assembly in 2009. The detention centres stem from a tradition of “re-education through labor” camps for drug users and sex workers <a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/07/vietnam-torture-forced-labor-drug-detention">established after 1975</a>, and formed part of the governmental campaign to eradicate “social evils” including drug use that gained momentum in the mid-1990s. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In detention “treatment” involves working <a href="http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/vietnam0911ToPost.pdf">six days a week processing cashews, sewing garments, manufacturing garments and other items and working in construction</a>. Both unpaid work, and work for a fraction of the Vietnamese minimal wage is common. What is more, the centres often deduct food, lodging and “managerial fees” from the pay, and upon release people sometimes find themselves indebted to the centres. The law also states that children aged 12-18 who are addicted to drugs can be detained in the centres for up to two years and are also required to work. Legal regulations require that all drug addicts must report their dependency to the local authorities or their workplace, and register for obligatory “detoxification”. Families are also required to report their relatives for drug addiction to the authorities. The vast majority of detainees are heroin users. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">4. Cambodia and Laos</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4e5SNQgzOaUnbEwlbFK_oAqtH1TNVY6oMJklMEZIKJHX7sPJs2DMmUKQRU7DEl8lKIXbRcoz6YWGRL9wJfDsht6bhzzIivObwOTkr7zzsyCkv7thcD1sXe2JaG07_7hVOGUuuHw/s1600/Laos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4e5SNQgzOaUnbEwlbFK_oAqtH1TNVY6oMJklMEZIKJHX7sPJs2DMmUKQRU7DEl8lKIXbRcoz6YWGRL9wJfDsht6bhzzIivObwOTkr7zzsyCkv7thcD1sXe2JaG07_7hVOGUuuHw/s200/Laos.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Compulsory drug detention centres are also prevalent in neighbouring Cambodia and Laos. The Government of the Lao People’s Republic declared that it aims to <a href="http://thediplomat.com/2011/10/12/laos%E2%80%99-murky-war-on-drugs/">make the country “drug free” by 2015</a>. Achieving this goal includes village militias detaining drug users, and family members being encouraged to report each others drug use.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In both countries these centres have very little to do with treatment, and are often used as dumping grounds for individuals deemed as “undesirable”. People locked up include drug users (casual, past or in genuine need of treatment), the homeless, beggars, street children, sex workers and people with mental disabilities or illness. In both countries the majority of detained users use amphetamine type stimulants, with some addicted to heroin. The vast majority are sent to the centres by the authorities, with large numbers detained at the request of their families, who are often required to pay for “treatment”. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2011 in Laos <a href="http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/laos1011webwcover_0.pdf">Human Rights Watch reports</a> mention at least eight drug detention centres throughout the country, with the biggest one - Somsanga located in the capital Vientiane.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">According to data from 2010 <a href="http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/skinOnTheCable.pdf">Cambodia has 11 centres, and in 2008 about 25% of detainees were under 18</a>. Abuse in detention reported by former detainees included beatings, torture, being shocked with electrical batons, rapes, whipping with twisted electrical wire, being coerced into giving blood, and forced labour, often directly benefiting the centre staff.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">5. Thailand</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="291" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/lWah7N5jZJw?rel=0" width="510"></iframe>
</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This video gives
a powerful account of the
struggle of Thai drug user activists and the 2003 war
on drugs launched by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, that entailed almost
3000 extra judicial killings. In 2007 an official investigation found that over
50% of the victims had no connection to drugs whatsoever.</span></div>
<div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Since 2003,
<a href="http://www.ihra.net/files/2010/11/01/IHRA_BriefingNew_4.pdf">thousands of people in Thailand have been forced into drug </a><a href="http://www.ihra.net/files/2010/11/01/IHRA_BriefingNew_4.pdf">“treatment”</a> detention centres run by security forces, where human rights abuses are rife.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">6. Saudi Arabia</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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<!--EndFragment--></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0aTGsisA0hpg8jmDGTq6g83FhRP5tdkJjE3qTX7X4rR413rdjx0bEnz46hk9y6AUNbOo9bkxS5C8ZiYB5cKUssHQf3JzCfl1YAaKb-c0e4saKoerhd25hlK8mWrGUxxDcmf7b5w/s1600/Saudi_Arabia_flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0aTGsisA0hpg8jmDGTq6g83FhRP5tdkJjE3qTX7X4rR413rdjx0bEnz46hk9y6AUNbOo9bkxS5C8ZiYB5cKUssHQf3JzCfl1YAaKb-c0e4saKoerhd25hlK8mWrGUxxDcmf7b5w/s200/Saudi_Arabia_flag.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As the International Harm Reduction Association's <a href="http://www.ihra.net/files/2012/11/27/HRI_-_2012_Death_Penalty_Report_-_FINAL.pdf">Death Penalty for Drug Offences</a> report states, in the first six months of 2012 there were at least 45 executions in Saudi Arabia, at least 16 of them for drug offences including a minimum
of 3 for cannabis. It is known that foreigners, a lot of them from Pakistan, are disproportionately sentenced to death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">7. Singapore and Malaysia</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCugxbIjq7SOTMA7zxRuipMtcFO9bjWGWnqyx2Q3GFBlUGtHdT1FBcdpH6Y2cu7XOaPjPvpnwV58JmL_rKiHIx73MT-PAh7Z0vB8Ge1AH6JKIW2VZBI7uLf-vAVdLtG1aB2BrMXA/s1600/singapore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCugxbIjq7SOTMA7zxRuipMtcFO9bjWGWnqyx2Q3GFBlUGtHdT1FBcdpH6Y2cu7XOaPjPvpnwV58JmL_rKiHIx73MT-PAh7Z0vB8Ge1AH6JKIW2VZBI7uLf-vAVdLtG1aB2BrMXA/s200/singapore.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family: inherit;">Executions for drug offences
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/may/18/singapore-death-penalty-drug-dealer">still take place in Singapore</a> and Malaysia, although these
countries have lately seen a push to reconsider the mandatory death sentence
for drug trafficking. Nevertheless, <a href="http://www.ihra.net/files/2012/11/27/HRI_-_2012_Death_Penalty_Report_-_FINAL.pdf">2 people were executed for drug offences in Singapore in 2011 and in Malaysia in the same year 83 people (including 22 foreigners)</a> were given a death sentence for drug offences although no
executions were carried out.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">8. Russia</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<!--StartFragment--><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBG_jjmqrZVYJqE9f98UVfU6jgph0RBJ-QdoY5Kz2dEo-CdVLBWCq9HhFfIDb45Af_4Pxn0xz6B10Op7xxGDxdATxB0Ic_X-wKhhsdjhIs0cglJtIMFVvOOEIgBHVINHhoahHXA/s1600/russia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBG_jjmqrZVYJqE9f98UVfU6jgph0RBJ-QdoY5Kz2dEo-CdVLBWCq9HhFfIDb45Af_4Pxn0xz6B10Op7xxGDxdATxB0Ic_X-wKhhsdjhIs0cglJtIMFVvOOEIgBHVINHhoahHXA/s200/russia.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are an estimated </span>1.8 million <span style="font-family: inherit;">injecting drug users in Russia - one of the highest levels in the world. About a decade ago </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/03/opinion/russias-retrograde-stand-on-drug-abuse.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&" style="font-family: inherit;">100,000 people in Russia were HIV positive, by 2012 that number had jumped to over 1 million</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. Russia is at the epicentre of the fastest growing HIV epidemic in the
world - yet the response of its authorities includes restricting precisely the kind of harm reduction measures that have been proven to work all over the globe including needle exchange
programs, and opposition to the use of
methadone and buprenorphine as well as attacks on NGOs providing crucial assistance
to drug users, such as the <a href="http://en.rylkov-fond.org/">Andrey Rylkov Foundation</a>.</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>Basiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16366091360771480581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-60745683526227127852013-09-07T11:42:00.001+01:002013-09-10T09:32:16.554+01:00The end of cannabis prohibition - beyond the tipping point<br />
<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
</div>
<br />
The first system of state government regulated production and supply of cannabis for non-medical use came one step closer this week, with the publication by the Washington State Liquor Control Board of its latest <a href="http://www.liq.wa.gov/marijuana/I-502">draft rules</a> for the production and supply of marijuana. (See below for highlights)<br />
<br />
These proposed new rules appear to meet the requirements laid down by US Attorney General Eric Holder in his recent <a href="http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/August/13-opa-974.html">announcement</a> that the Federal Government will allow individual states to proceed with marijuana legalization, as long they ensure production and supply are well regulated, including restricting access to minors, and preventing excess production being sold into states that have not legalized.<br />
<br />
Transform welcomes the broad thrust of Washington State's regulations which, are in line with what we have been calling for, including in our book <i><a href="http://www.tdpf.org.uk/blueprint%20download.htm">After the War on Drugs: Blueprint for Regulation</a></i>, and in our forthcoming publication <i><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/transform-cannabis">How to Regulate Cannabis: A Practical Guide</a></i>.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUZ2vm7HPYJdgsvtOsRS8J2EpumrPtwZI2QXbcGOoIpTnAW95M-bglFzBsQd_dvXDdFXmWtfdfjQcdBiGCkCnTPqT0RuvKFjlKnVZvKBYouEns7V0HStJ85Itfq5_Qu8RgKxn6A/s1600/Cannabis-book-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUZ2vm7HPYJdgsvtOsRS8J2EpumrPtwZI2QXbcGOoIpTnAW95M-bglFzBsQd_dvXDdFXmWtfdfjQcdBiGCkCnTPqT0RuvKFjlKnVZvKBYouEns7V0HStJ85Itfq5_Qu8RgKxn6A/s400/Cannabis-book-cover.jpg" width="310" /></a></div>
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We also find the detail fascinating, shaped as it is by a combination of the requirements of the wording of the ballot initiative that voters passed; existing federal and state regulatory frameworks and laws they must accommodate and comply with, for example on packaging, advertising, intoxicants etc; the Federal Government's specific requirements; and last but not least, the rapidly changing US political and cultural landscape too.</div>
<br />
Included in that changing landscape is the fact that cannabis legalisation ballot initiatives significantly increase the number of young voters who make it to the ballot box, something that favours Democratic candidates (by and large). As a result, with over half of all Americans now supporting marijuana law reform, and 83% saying the war on drugs has been lost, for Democrats at least, cannabis law reform is no longer a third rail issue - it is a vote winner, whether Obama can say so publicly or not. How do the Republicans respond to this? Calling for the Federal Government to stamp all over states rights is not acceptable for most of them, and with even former Presidential Candidate John McCain <a href="http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/john-mccain-maybe-we-should-legalize-marijuana?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter">saying</a> <i>"Maybe we should legalize" </i>marijuana, surely the game is up.<br />
<br />
Internationally, these changes combined with a general reduction in international influence means that the US can no longer effectively dictate a global prohibitionist approach to cannabis, as underlined by Uruguay's <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/news/world/uruguay-to-set-up-state-marijuana-monopoly-1-3070642">bold moves</a>. With legislators in many other regions expressing support for Uruguay, or interest in legalizing cannabis in their own cities or countries, it is clear we are not at a tipping point on ending cannabis prohibition. We have passed it.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://www.liq.wa.gov/sites/default/files/diver_logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.liq.wa.gov/sites/default/files/diver_logo.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
September 4, 2013<br />
<br />
<b>LCB Rulemaking Objective</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Creating a tightly controlled and regulated marijuana market;</li>
<li>Including strict controls to prevent diversion, illegal sales, and sales to minors; and</li>
<li>Providing reasonable access to products to mitigate the illicit market.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>LCB Role and Responsibility</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Ensuring public safety is the top priority;</li>
<li>Creating a three-tier regulatory system for marijuana;</li>
<li>Creating licenses for producers, processors, and retailers;</li>
<li>Enforcing laws and rules pertaining to licensees; and</li>
<li>Collecting and distributing taxes.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Timeline</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>December 6, 2012 Effective date of new law</li>
<li>September 4, 2013 File Supplemental CR 102 with revised proposed rules</li>
<li>October 9, 2013 Public hearing(s) on proposed rules (time and location TBD)</li>
<li>October 16, 2013 Board adopts or rejects proposed rules (CR 103)</li>
<li>November 16, 2013 Rules become effective</li>
<li>November 18, 2013 Begin accepting applications for all three licenses (30-day window)</li>
<li>December 1, 2013 Deadline for rules to be complete (as mandated by law)</li>
<li>December 18, 2013 30-day window closes for producer, processor and retailer license applications</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<b>Proposed Rules Highlights</b><br />
<br />
<b>License Requirements</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>30-day Window</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The LCB will open registration for all license types for a 30-calendar-day window (November 18, 2013)</li>
<li>LCB may extend the time or reopen application window at its discretion</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>State Residency Requirement</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li> I-502 requires a three month state residency requirement (all license structure types)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Background Checks</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Personal criminal history completed by applicant. Risk of license forfeiture if incomplete or incorrect.</li>
<li>Fingerprinting of all potential licensees </li>
<li>Background checks of license applicants and financiers</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Point System</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The LCB will apply a disqualifying point system similar to liquor</li>
<li>All applicants must disclose all arrests and/or convictions</li>
<li>Non-disclosure of arrests regardless of conviction will result in point accumulation</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>License Limits</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Licensed entity or principals limited to three producer licenses </li>
<li>Licensed entity or principals limited to three processor licenses</li>
<li>Licensed entity or principals limited to three retail licenses. </li>
<li>Multiple-location licensees not allowed to hold more than 33 percent of the allowed licenses in any county or city. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Production Limits</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The maximum amount of space for marijuana production is limited to two million square feet.</li>
<li>Applicants must designate on their operating plan the size category of the production premises and the actual square footage in their premises that will be designated as plant canopy.</li>
</ul>
<br />
There are three categories:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Tier 1: Less than 2,000 square feet;</li>
<li>Tier 2: 2,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet;</li>
<li>Tier 3: 10,000 square feet to 30,000 square feet.</li>
</ul>
<br />
The LCB may reduce a licensee’s or applicants’ square footage designated to plant canopy for the<br />
following reasons:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>If the total amount of square feet for production of all licensees exceeds the two million square feet maximum, the LCB will reduce the allowed square footage by the same percentage.</li>
<li>If 50 percent production space used for plant canopy in the licensee’s operating plan is not met in the first year of operation, the board may reduce the tier of licensure.</li>
<li>If the total amount of square feet of marijuana production exceeds two million square feet, the LCB may reduce all licensees’ production by the same percentage or reduce licensee production by one or more tiers by the same percentage.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Maximum Allowable Amount on Licensed Location</b><br />
<br />
Producer license<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Outdoor or greenhouse: 125 percent of its year’s harvest</li>
<li>Indoor: six months of its annual harvest</li>
</ul>
<br />
Processor license<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Six months of their average useable marijuana (plant material); and</li>
<li>Six months average of their total production (finished product).</li>
</ul>
<br />
Retailer license<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Four months of their average inventory</li>
<li>Licensed Location: 1000 foot Measurement</li>
</ul>
<br />
Distance will be measured along the most direct route over or across established public walks, streets,<br />
or other public passageway between the proposed building/business location to the perimeter of the<br />
grounds of: an elementary or secondary school, playground, recreation center or facility, child care<br />
center, public park, public transit center, library or arcade where admission is not restricted to those<br />
age 21 and older.<br />
<br />
Costs and Fees<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>$250 application fee</li>
<li>$1,000 annual renewal fee</li>
<li>Additional fees for background check and filing for local business license</li>
</ul>
<br />
Taxes<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>License applicants must submit a signed attestation that they are current on taxes owed to the Washington State Department of Revenue</li>
</ul>
<br />
Insurance<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Licensees are required to carry commercial liability insurance.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Public Safety</b><br />
<br />
Producer Structures<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Rules allow producer operations in secure: indoor and outdoor grows as well as greenhouses</li>
</ul>
<br />
Traceability<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>LCB will employ a robust and comprehensive traceability system (software) that will trace product from seed/clone to sale.</li>
<li>LCB enforcement can match records to actual product on hand </li>
</ul>
<br />
Background Checks<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Personal criminal history form</li>
<li>Fingerprinting of all potential licensees</li>
<li>Background checks of licensees and financiers</li>
</ul>
<br />
Point System<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>LCB will apply a disqualifying point system similar to liquor (exceptions for possession)</li>
</ul>
<br />
Violation Guidelines / Standard Administrative Procedures Act Guidelines<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li> $1,000 criminal penalty for sales to a minor</li>
<li>Sets strict tiered system of violation record over a three year period</li>
</ul>
<br />
Group 1 public safety:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>First violation: 10 day suspension or $2,500</li>
<li>Second violation: 30 day suspension</li>
<li>Third violation: license cancellation</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Local Authority Objections<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Substantial weight will be given to a local authority during the renewal process based upon chronic illegal activity associated with the licensee’s operation of the premises.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Child Resistant Packaging</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li> Specific requirements for marijuana and marijuana-infused products in solid and liquid forms</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Security and Safeguards</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Alarm and surveillance video camera requirements (including minimum pixels and lockbox </li>
<li>encasement)</li>
<li>Strict transportation and record keeping requirements (no third party transport of product)</li>
<li>Hours of operation limited to 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Advertising Restrictions</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Law restricts advertising within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks, transit centers, arcades, and other areas where children are present.</li>
<li>May not contain statements or illustrations that are false or misleading, promotes overconsumption, represents that it has curative or therapeutic effects, depicts a child or may be appealing to children</li>
<li>All advertising must contain two statements: a: “This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit </li>
<li>forming.” And, b) “Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug.” </li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Limits on Retail Stores</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Total number or retail outlets limited to 334 statewide</li>
<li>LCB to provide advance notice to local authority</li>
<li>Per I-502, LCB to determine number of retail outlets per county</li>
<li>BOTEC Analysis Corporation provided initial county consumption levels</li>
<li>Retail stores allocation proportionate to population and consumption</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Behind the Counter Storage</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>No open containers or handling of product</li>
<li>Sniff jars with sealed, screened-top lids allowed</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Strict Packaging and Label Requirements</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Limited servings and concentration per package</li>
<li>Lot number</li>
<li>Warning label</li>
<li>Net weight</li>
<li>Concentration of THC </li>
<li>Usage warnings (specific warning for ingestible foods/liquids about effect delays)</li>
</ul>
<br />
Upon request<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Third party lab that tested lot and results</li>
<li>All pesticides, herbicides, fungicides found in product</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Defined Serving Size</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Defined serving sizes on marijuana-infused product label</li>
<li>10 mg of THC per serving</li>
<li>100 mg of THC per product</li>
<li>A single unit of marijuana-infused extract for inhalation cannot exceed one gram</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Transaction Limits on Concentrates (extracts)</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>A single transaction is limited to seven grams of marijuana-infused extract for inhalation</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Lab Tested and Approved (monograph)</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>All lots will be tested by independent accredited labs</li>
<li>Established and uniform testing standards</li>
<li>Quality assurance testing</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Store Signage and Product Warnings</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>No minors allowed in stores</li>
<li>Required product and usage signs within stores</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
For more information regarding Initiative 502, please visit the Liquor Control Board website at www.liq.wa.gov.<br />
###<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>Martin Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16428672192550235474noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-57086189948235542162013-08-02T10:15:00.002+01:002013-08-02T14:01:01.005+01:00History is made as Uruguay MPs vote for legally regulated cannabis <div>
<br /></div>
The Uruguayan Parliament yesterday voted to pass a Bill that will legalise and regulate the production, sale, use and personal cultivation of cannabis for non medical use by adults. The Bill will now pass to the Senate for a vote (and possible amends) in October before returning to the Congress before final approval from the Board of Deputies. Although these are potential stumbling blocks, the Congress vote was <i>'the big one'</i> and it looks highly likely that the Bill will now pass into law later in the year.<br />
<br />
At this point Uruguay will be the first national government in the world to have voted through a new law to legalise and regulate cannabis - or indeed any drug prohibited by the UN drug conventions. To this extent the change differs from the groundbreaking developments in Washington and Colorado, where the legalisation measures were passed by popular vote (via ballot initiatives), with both local State and Federal governments firmly opposed. By contrast, Uruguayan public opinion is not yet behind the legalisation move, with Uruguayan politicians tackling drugs by showing something alien to most governments around the world: leadership. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7qJ6wJ4lPHDpACQx7qhyphenhyphenSFPwjIipwXM3W__GbFP6JU42LUwcfpzFHZUHX2aEAU6HrwfUu5OogRAmW1lcEx9Ma_qvSGBJv2Z1iT3d6bbrMMg9oQAvdDrAnJQVYV1gikg_PXMXqAQ/s1600/uruguay+vote.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7qJ6wJ4lPHDpACQx7qhyphenhyphenSFPwjIipwXM3W__GbFP6JU42LUwcfpzFHZUHX2aEAU6HrwfUu5OogRAmW1lcEx9Ma_qvSGBJv2Z1iT3d6bbrMMg9oQAvdDrAnJQVYV1gikg_PXMXqAQ/s640/uruguay+vote.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uruguay's House of Representatives historic vote for change</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Summarised details of the Bill are as follows (with thanks to Hannah Hetzer):<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->The State will assume control and regulation of all activities relating to import, export, planting, growing, production, storage,
commerce and distribution of cannabis and its derivatives. </li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span><!--[endif]-->Any plant from which psychoactive drugs can be derived
will remain prohibited with the following exceptions:</li>
<li><i>For scientific research or medical use.</i> These must be authorised by the
Ministry of Public Health and will be under its direct control.</li>
<li>Cannabis. This must be authorised by the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Institute</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Regulation</st1:placename></st1:place>
and Control of Cannabis (IRCCA) and will be under its direct control.</li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span><!--[endif]-->Psychoactive cannabis (THC equal or higher to 1%
of its volume) will be under the direct control of the IRCCA. Non-psychoactive
cannabis (hemp) will be under the direct control of the Ministry of Livestock,
Agriculture and Fisheries.</li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Domestic cultivation of cannabis for personal
consumption will be permitted up to six plants and its product should not
exceed 480 grams. </li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Social clubs for cannabis growers (similar to those in Spain) will be controlled by the IRCCA.
They may have a maximum of 100 members and may plant a maximum of 99
plants. </li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Cannabis commerce licenses will be
given to pharmacies authorised by the Ministry of Public Health. The authorised
pharmacies will require users to present either a medical prescription or they
must be included in the registry of users. </li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span><!--[endif]-->All unauthorised cultivation must be destroyed
with an intervention by a judge. All unauthorised production, importation,
exportation, transit, distribution, and sale will be penalised with 20 months
to 10 years imprisonment. </li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Purchase for personal consumption will be understood to be up
to 40 grams of cannabis per month. </li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span><!--[endif]-->The IRCCA will have a register of users, home
growers and membership clubs. The registry will be free and will solely be used
to ensure traceability and control of cultivation and use. The information will
considered confidential data, conforming to the associated norms in article 18 of
Law N° 18.331, of August 11, 2008. </li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span><!--[endif]-->The National Integrated Health System (SNIS)
must implement policies pertaining to the promotion of health, the prevention
of problematic use of cannabis, and provide adequate advice, guidance and
treatment for problematic cannabis users.</li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span><!--[endif]-->In cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants,
mechanisms will be installed for Information, Advice, Diagnosis, Referral,
Attention, Rehabilitation, Treatment and Integration of those affected by
problematic drug use. These will be managed by the Junta Nacional de Drogas,
which can sign agreements with departmental and municipal governments and
NGOs. </li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->The National System of Public Education (SNEP)
must have education policies for the promotion of health and the prevention of
problematic cannabis use from the perspective of the Development of Abilities for Life (Habilidades para la Vida) and in the
framework of risk management and harm reduction policies. These education
policies must be included in the curricula in Primary, Secondary and Professional
Technical Education, with the aim of preventing the harms produced by drug
consumption, including cannabis. In the “Prevention of Problematic Drug Use”
included in the curricula, special spaces will be given to driving education
and traffic accidents caused by the consumption of drugs. </li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span><!--[endif]-->All forms of publicity, indirect publicity,
promotion or sponsorship of psychoactive cannabis products will be prohibited
including in all types of media: written press, radio, television, cinema,
magazines, posters, pamphlets, emails, etc. </li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->The Junta Nacional de Drogas must realise
education, outreach and awareness campaigns on the risks, effects, and
potential harms of the use of drugs. </li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->The measures put forward in article 3º of Law Nº
18.256, of March 6, 2008 on protection of public spaces will be applied.</li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Those under age 18 will not be permitted to
access psychoactive cannabis for recreational use. Violation of this will be
penalized according to Decree-Law N° 14.294, in the drafting given in Law N°
17.016. </li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Driving of any vehicles when the THC level is
above the amount to be established will not be permitted. The Junta Nacional de
Drogas will provide the necessary training, advice and supplies to officials
especially designated to this, from the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of
Transport and Public Works, Ministry of Departmental Governments, Ministry of
Municipal Governments, and Ministry of National Maritime, with the aim of
realizing the aforementioned control. These tests will be via blood tests or
other clinical or paraclinical tests, via the SNIS (National Integrated Health
System) providers. Drivers that violate this limit will be penalised by the
sanctions established in article 46 of Law 18.191 of November 14, 2007.</li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->In addition to regulating cannabis, the IRCCA
will be in charge of promoting actions relating to risk and harm reduction
associated with the problematic use of cannabis, according to the policies
defined by the Junta Nacional de Drogas and in coordination with national and
departmental authorities, as well as monitoring compliance. The IRCCA will
coordinate and be linked to the Executive Power through the Ministry of Public
Health. </li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->The Junta Nacional de Drogas will be in charge
of setting national policies regarding cannabis with the advice of the
IRCCA. </li>
<li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->The IRCCA will include a member from each of the
following: the National Drug Board; the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and
Fisheries; the Ministry of Social Development; and the Ministry of Public
Health. The National Advisory Board of the IRCCA will include representatives
from the following: Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Education and
Culture, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Economy and Finances, Ministry
of Industry, Energy and Mining, the University of the Republic, the membership
clubs, the home growers associations, and the licensees. </li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span>Within the Presidency of the Republic, a Special
Unit for Evaluation and Monitoring of this law will be created, comprised of
staff specialised in policy evaluation and monitoring. It will be independent
and will submit annual reports, which must be considered by the organisms and
bodies responsible for the execution of this law.</li>
</ul>
Check out this brilliant animated short film from <span class="userContent"><a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=121920604673218&extragetparams=%7B%22directed_target_id%22%3A0%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/regulacionresponsableuruguay?directed_target_id=0">Regulación Responsable</a> explaining how the new system will work (sadly in Spanish only - but an English version is coming soon)</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/WfAhS7VhbKo?rel=0" width="640"></iframe>
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Transform are delighted that Uruguay has taken this sensible and serious approach to legally regulating cannabis, and we're pleased to have played a part in assisting the country's government in formulating the regulation framework. Our Latin American Programme Manager, Lisa Sanchez, and our Senior Policy Analyst, Steve Rolles, were invited to advise on the policy last year as one of a series of expert delegations. Hosted by the Junta Nacional de Drgas, Steve and Lisa briefed and discussed relevant issues with law makers, medical authorities, various MP groupings and committees, the full Uruguayan cabinet and prime minister, President Mujica, local civil society groups, and the media.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFX0PyzOlGjkN9UfP_3p62ymCSq5LZX6gpwjdxwZZxLrwHS6i_x2Fv8WugDxiYT0SY9MQeG8iOCdNn7VpI0yb7Y_I5_V_Rx8mbOk3Peh8iK-X_MNuQzN_aRnSw8e8q1b0hGrWodA/s1600/expertos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFX0PyzOlGjkN9UfP_3p62ymCSq5LZX6gpwjdxwZZxLrwHS6i_x2Fv8WugDxiYT0SY9MQeG8iOCdNn7VpI0yb7Y_I5_V_Rx8mbOk3Peh8iK-X_MNuQzN_aRnSw8e8q1b0hGrWodA/s640/expertos.jpg" width="555" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Coverage of Transform's Uruguay visit in La Republica (Sept 2012)</i></span></div>
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It was welcome to see how most of Transform's suggestions have been taken on board, and whilst we don't agree with everything in the Bill (we recommended against the registration scheme for example) it is important to stress how Uruguay approached the challenge of developing it in a thorough, methodical and responsible evidence-based fashion, taking guidance from a range of local and international expertise, and involving a range of stakeholders in an open and transparent process. As well as demonstrating leadership on the international stage, they have provided a useful template for how cannabis regulation policy can and should be developed. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc6jN-ToMoGtIOHFvH2ywavLAW3DXoeaCbUruTAL6RKamIi5cYbaNMnuXynLhsavAPe7PMqE3hGPoL7xkppPxJEubcXxfhf6ZXJJLtmxn4lkTNlYzKXSjTM1SDn9kxciY5t9_gTA/s1600/lisa+and+steve+in+uruguay.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc6jN-ToMoGtIOHFvH2ywavLAW3DXoeaCbUruTAL6RKamIi5cYbaNMnuXynLhsavAPe7PMqE3hGPoL7xkppPxJEubcXxfhf6ZXJJLtmxn4lkTNlYzKXSjTM1SDn9kxciY5t9_gTA/s640/lisa+and+steve+in+uruguay.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Steve and Lisa from Transform - at the Uruguayan Parliament in October last year, having given evidence to the Home Affairs committee on drugs October 2012</span></i></td></tr>
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This commitment to 'getting it right' was again reflected this April when the Uruguayan Government hosted a week long event involving a 3 day seminar and discussion on the proposals with 40 local and international experts, followed by a series of public hearings with the experts and politicians across the country. Steve was invited back to Uruguay to participate. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyindD5tWMmjZoina9AyfaFKkP0lKyN8HZsMTeC5fo6vLs1GhWu3-ag3nKpW2c00VxoKd-wBlkg7xbpEAfD2o7aaHxYi67gpa9vlzhZO7N8BvdyO9h1xyYvHdXAv6Lgx3pf9i0hg/s1600/punta-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyindD5tWMmjZoina9AyfaFKkP0lKyN8HZsMTeC5fo6vLs1GhWu3-ag3nKpW2c00VxoKd-wBlkg7xbpEAfD2o7aaHxYi67gpa9vlzhZO7N8BvdyO9h1xyYvHdXAv6Lgx3pf9i0hg/s640/punta-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Expert seminar in Punta De L'este, Uruguay April "013</i></span></div>
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Congratulations and thanks are due to the many individuals and groups who have been involved in this historic victory, including the heroic Julio Calzada and his team at the <a href="http://www.infodrogas.gub.uy/">Junta Nacional de Drogas,</a> the brilliant work of <a href="http://www.regulacionresponsable.org.uy/">Regulación Responsable,</a> <a href="http://www.druglawreform.info/">The Transnational Institute Drugs and Democracy initiative</a>, <a href="http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/2013/07/uruguay-takes-historic-step-toward-becoming-first-country-legally-regulate-marijuana">The Drug Policy Alliance</a>, <a href="http://www.wola.org/">WOLA</a>, and many, many others. Special thanks are due for the leadership and wisdom of Uruguayan President, José Mujica , and Prime Minister, Diego Canepa. <br />
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<b>Some further reading:</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Details of the <a href="http://panamericanpost.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/uruguays-lower-house-approves-marijuana.html">how the debate and vote unfolded from someone present</a>, and additional useful <a href="http://panamericanpost.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/the-politics-behind-uruguays-marijuana.html">background political analysis</a> from Geoff Ramsey's blog the PanAmericanPost</li>
<li>The Transnational Institute have<a href="http://www.druglawreform.info/"> an excellent web resource on drug policy reform in the region, including dedicated page on Uruguay</a> </li>
<li>As the INCB inevitably unleash their rather pathetic and misplaced hounds on Uruguay, some useful perspective on the international treaty issues is provided in this Transform guest blog (Nov 2012) by Damon Barrett: <a href="http://transform-drugs.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/marijuana-legalisation-sometimes.html">Marijuana legalisation: Sometimes Violations of International Law Are Cause for Celebration </a></li>
<li>Guardian<i> Comment is Free</i> piece (Sept 2012) from Steve Rolles and Lisa Sanchez on Uruguay <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/22/relaxation-cannabis-laws-war-on-drugs">'The relaxation of cannabis laws shows the failure of the war on drugs' </a></li>
<li>Transform's <a href="http://transform-drugs.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/help-make-legal-cannabis-reality.html"><i>upcoming guide to Cannabis regulation</i></a><i>. </i>Help us make the change!<i> <br /> </i> </li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.justgiving.com/transform-cannabis" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfHQRWBgZ3tA8hRgJvaSNr1brVytMaze7POA48KQfOZjrlSP7HWBLopfdrrw0hGI0Ux6sFHbyl_ynYoAxNAHtAb-rNzpKN2gzEb8Duy5xK4fCNMIyyMZd_V2RGtTzaRgdEK4QCw/s320/Cannabis-book-cover.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>Steve Rolleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11487781869462634203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-14325670242674967252013-07-22T11:37:00.001+01:002013-07-22T12:03:18.319+01:00Help make legal cannabis a reality<br />
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<a href="http://www.justgiving.com/transform-cannabis"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh22acKQ1yj5Z-nj0WgD-V9DkluiXZqEPoW_ECHf5lyHHNPwQgXTsnAcNP-kQet4QnThExq8wliH5XauPTHp-mtlpMYUzb9uWD95MaMRB3jwi3oYgk-s6pYqTtTDPeY778j2hBJOw/s320/Cannabis-book-cover.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>
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<b>One day currently illegal drugs will be legalised, taxed and
regulated - starting with cannabis.</b></div>
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<b>Can you imagine what that would look like? </b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>We can.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=28543539"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=28543539"></a>At <a href="http://www.tdpf.org.uk/">Transform Drug Policy Foundation</a> we’ve
have spent nearly two decades researching and refining our vision of how to do
it safely.</div>
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Today we are fundraising for our new publication, <i>'How to
Regulate Cannabis: A Practical Guide'.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=28543539" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=28543539" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>It will show policy makers how a regulated cannabis market can take control away from organised criminals and put it back in the hands of
the government. The models we are proposing will make better use of taxpayers'
money and safeguard young people, communities and public health.</div>
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<br /></div>
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For more detail about the book see our dedicated <a href="http://www.justgiving.com/transform-cannabis/">Justgiving page</a> for
this project.</div>
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<a href="http://www.justgiving.com/transform-cannabis"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU4zKoBIU1Ao_RKSdR6BXi9S4VmdutHeR0-W3aXziysOV1Gou2jymCvp4nBjpZASIml1HyZTxqAdVQORsxACkE0d7bqIH5pElkTlaAQsQidbYw-ZoEmV04Pds34loTnBNU5pe19w/s1600/just.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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We have already raised half the money for the book, and
we’re now seeking £5,000 more to match it and finish the job. The book is due to be
launched in October, so we’ve given ourselves a month to raise the
match-funding.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 2009 our book <a href="http://www.tdpf.org.uk/blueprint%20download.htm">'After the War on Drugs:
Blueprint for Regulation'</a> (which has been downloaded over 500,000
times) described how a legally regulated drug market could work.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=28543539"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=28543539"></a></div>
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<i>“Blueprint is the most evidence-based, balanced discussion
of drug control policy that I have seen. It should be compulsory reading for
all policy makers”</i></div>
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<b>-- Professor R Morgan, Former HM Chief Inspector of
Probation</b></div>
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'Blueprint' showed people that the unthinkable was
thinkable. 'How to Regulate Cannabis’ will show how legalising cannabis is
doable.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/transform-cannabis/">Please
donate today</a>, and ask your friends to do the same. </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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You can also <a href="https://www.facebook.com/transformdrugs">like us on Facebook</a> and
tweet the following to show your support for the project:<br />
<br />
<i>Help make legal #cannabis a reality: Transform is crowdfunding its vital new guide 'How to Regulate Cannabis' http://bit.ly/17iRQoQ pls RT</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Many thanks for helping us get drugs under control.</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15263261726046054614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-27550702424489223982013-07-08T10:04:00.001+01:002013-07-08T10:04:36.234+01:00Transform event 'Time to Count the Health Costs of the War on Drugs'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Professor Averil Mansfield, Chair of the British Medical Association, speaking at the Count the Costs health event</td></tr>
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Transform, as the leading coordinator of the <a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/">Count the Costs initiative</a>, held a lunch-time meeting last month for some world-leading health professionals and NGOs. The event included presentations from Professor Averil Mansfield, Chair of the British Medical Association Board of Science; Anton Olfield-Kerr, Head of Policy of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance; and Martin Drewry, Executive Director of Health Poverty Action.<br />
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<a href="http://www.aidsalliance.org/"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjdGxyehu5BUuwPnJ7RG_5Dp9WBGO6xjq7TPe5hidQPPn4NAhGyWmYuSFPo6la7JcUaNIMRbLZOO7h0rpzBMOmoHtQ0UgORKaIkMRbUIO-8pNeuodxnZo6peYzWLH0WIthUieQRQ/s200/hivaidsalliance_0.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.healthpovertyaction.org/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmemX9UvRKyrarrQpHb7fv0o0GPbB9vlFdW9lq1_XiuWEi8e5D8lBzEWPL-6T5xXFtGnjci2WWEiOQI1GQ0jNkK1j1S-de6XZLK7PFUqj02Taok0tpMuwBId9UoSqM4WuehE6oTg/s200/Health_Poverty_Action_logo_burst_portrait_copy.gif" width="200" /></a></div>
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Attendees at the event came from a wide range of organisations, including The Faculty of Public Health, The Royal College of Nursing, Addaction, Médecins du Monde, the National Aids Trust, the People's Health Movement and Save the Children.<br />
<br />
The lunch time session started with a presentation from Professor Mansfield, who freely admitted to being strongly influenced by the launch of Transform’s flagship publication, <a href="https://exchange.imperial.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=klrr8vObc0qtmhECN6gLmwJjF-lITNAIQ5WCeXOWwC9yNQr7OxdsSs1qXZcqkm9BCK_0xmQSprw.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.tdpf.org.uk%2fblueprintdownload.htm">'After the War on Drugs: Blueprint for Regulation'</a>. At that time [2009] she was President of the BMA and it was not until she became Chairman of the BMAs Board of Science that she was able to take the lead on this issue. The result was a publication, produced by the BMA, entitled <a href="https://exchange.imperial.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=klrr8vObc0qtmhECN6gLmwJjF-lITNAIQ5WCeXOWwC9yNQr7OxdsSs1qXZcqkm9BCK_0xmQSprw.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fbma.org.uk%2fnews-views-analysis%2fin-depth-drugs-of-dependence%2ffull-report">‘Drugs of dependence: The role of medical professionals’</a>, which looked at alternative approaches to drug policy and highlighted the need to deal with drugs as a health issue.<br />
<br />
Professor Mansfield’s presentation was followed by talks from representatives from Health Poverty Action and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, who stressed, among other things, the importance of more NGOs engaging with the drugs issue, in an effort to generate pressure from civil society in the lead up to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on Drugs in 2016.</div>
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<a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/seven-costs/threatening-public-health-spreading-disease-and-death"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYGLGq9c2USG-H7CKmAGD6bDFsQKayp99jDicY_1u9TReEooWl6duMJpTn7QVNiMFuv3yW3F4XOy56C_sPplRf_d8FpP5PMP9eukvyiJBzva-H08wRKWFJs1VfNOyPHaH8at1_w/s1600/Health-big.jpg" /></a></div>
The event was an informal, off-the-record discussion and we were delighted by the number of newcomers to the debate who attended. We have received very encouraging feedback and hope it will lead to a number of new supporters and joint initiatives going forward, as we build up the campaign in advance of UNGASS 2016. The event was also mentioned by Tom Chivers, who wrote a <a href="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tomchiversscience/100221723/reefer-madness-if-super-skunk-is-causing-mental-health-problems-the-perverse-drug-laws-are-to-blame/">great article on drug policy</a> in The Daily Telegraph the following day.
<br />
You can also read the health briefing that we developed for <a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/sites/default/files/Health-briefing.pdf">the campaign here</a>.
<br />
<br />
The dinner was the second in a series of outreach events that we are planning over the coming year in an effort to mainstream support for our Count the Costs campaign. We are delighted that the campaign now has over 100 supporters, a full list of which can <a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/supporters">be found here</a>.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15263261726046054614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-24173622113661551632013-07-03T14:33:00.001+01:002013-07-04T10:54:08.867+01:00The UK Government bans khat, ignores advice of its own experts<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.95pt; margin-bottom: 8.15pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="line-height: 14.95pt;"><br />The UK government has today announced it
will go against the recommendations of its own drugs experts</span><span style="line-height: 14.95pt;"> (again)</span><span style="line-height: 14.95pt;"> and ban khat, a
plant mostly used by the </span><st1:country-region style="line-height: 14.95pt;" w:st="on">UK</st1:country-region><span style="line-height: 14.95pt;">’s
Somali and Yemeni communities, that produces a mild stimulant effect when chewed.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.95pt; margin-bottom: 8.15pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6MvoEjuN5RwtaTIX1jkpJ9mA-h15DiTmXsbB8llt3e5nChnyIv7q8RmH3WQNFtK-iwY2Y6uwR2Un-Smja_U807rMERWh9E9cDW3HvaWca0Rg4ezkBw_xJnc2hQOlCVDhXXJ1hVg/s1024/khat1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6MvoEjuN5RwtaTIX1jkpJ9mA-h15DiTmXsbB8llt3e5nChnyIv7q8RmH3WQNFtK-iwY2Y6uwR2Un-Smja_U807rMERWh9E9cDW3HvaWca0Rg4ezkBw_xJnc2hQOlCVDhXXJ1hVg/s400/khat1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Earlier this year, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the body
responsible for providing the government with expert advice on drugs, produced a detailed <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/144120/report-2013.pdf">review of the evidence</a> (PDF) on the social and health harms of khat and offered recommendations on responses to the drug in the UK.<br />
<br />
Although acknowledging gaps in the research data available, the ACMD found little evidence to support causal link between khat use and most of the adverse medical effects around which concerns had been raised (although noting a risk of liver toxicity in heavy users),
and could also find only weak evidence that use of the drug was a cause of some the societal
problems that it has been blamed for by some observers. Along with a series of prgamatic recommendations on educating and supporting affected communities, and treating those whose use becomes problematic, their conclusion on khats legal status was clear:<br />
<blockquote>
<i>“The ACMD
considers that the evidence of harms associated with the use of khat is
insufficient to justify control and it would be inappropriate and
disproportionate to classify khat under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.”</i></blockquote>
The Home Secreatary who ordered today's ban, Teresa May, has argued that the UK has become a transshipment point for khat because other countries have prohibited it. The ACMD, however, note that:<br />
<blockquote>
<i>"it is likely that some khat is re-exported to countries where it is banned" (p.82)</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
but..</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"Fears of the UK becoming a hub for importation of khat appear not borne out by the VAT figures provided by the HMRC regarding the volume of khat imported into the UK since 2005 or by any evidence suggesting the UK is a landing point for the onward transportation of significant quantities of khat"(p.10)</i></blockquote>
</div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.95pt; margin-bottom: 8.15pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
The ACMD also point out that khat needs to be consumed within 36-48hours of harvesting or it loses its effects - another reason why the UK trafficking hub proposition lacks credibility. there simply isnt time for it to be transited through multiple destinations - it needs to go direct to consumer markets to be a viable product. <br />
<br />
The other key argument made by May has been concerns about a link between the khat trade and terrorism, specifically the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Shabaab_%28militant_group%29">Al Shabaab</a> group in Somalia. On this question the ACMD are equally clear:</div>
<blockquote>
<i>"in regard to international crime, it is known the Al Shabaab militia,which control parts of southern Somalia, tax sales of khat as all retail transactions of any product are taxed. However, in countries beyond the UK where khat has been prohibited it enters the illegal market through smuggling and illicit sale, and so becomes criminal activity by definition. To clarify, the ACMD has not been provided with any evidence of Al Shabaab or any other terrorist groups‘ involvement in khat export/sale, despite repeated requests for this information from a number of national and international official sources</i><i>, including various Government bodies."(p.55)</i></blockquote>
Dr <a href="http://www.kent.ac.uk/chss/about/staff/klein.html">Axel Klein</a>, one of the key experts on khat who gave evidence informing the ACMD report, told Transform that: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"There's no reason to support the ban except that other countries have done
so. There is an alleged terror link but this looks ridiculous given that
Al Shabaab in Somalia have been banning khat themselves.</i> <i>The trade has provided hundreds of UK Somalis with a
livelihood, and their countrymen with a peaceful and agreeable past time.
</i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>For Islamic campaigners this has long been a thorn in the
flesh of the community. Mafrishes are public spaces, where discussion ranges
widely and freely, as friends gather to relax and enjoy. At a time of rising
hostility and nationalism making the assimilation for even second or third
Generation British Somalis more difficult, such spaces come at a premium. In
Somali neighbourhoods like Tower Hamlets and Lambeth these mafrishes were the
strongest organised opposition to the grip held by Islamic organisations over the community. A Conservative Home Secretary with backbench support has just handed radical Islam their first political success in the UK."</i></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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It is worth noting that the ACMD argues that the general absence of crime problems and criminal profits associated with khat are specifically due to the fact that it <i>remains legal</i>, stating that:<br />
<div style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin: 0cm 0cm 8.15pt;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
<i>"There is no evidence of khat consumption being directly linked with serious or organised criminal behavior in the UK or to support the theory that khat is funding or fuelling crime. This is unsurprising given khat is not an illegal drug, is not a high value substance and therefore attracts very little profit from the UK market" (p.3)</i></blockquote>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
and </div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
<i>"The ACMD has not fully explored the positive or negative affects of criminalisation of khat. However, it can be assumed that if the price of khat increases, for example due to criminalisation, there is the potential for exploitation by organised criminal gangs already involved in the illegal drug trade and this would arguably increase funds available to such networks and groups if khat use went underground" (p.55)</i></blockquote>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
and again:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
<i>"Evidence presented to the ACMD by practitioners and researchers found no link between gang crime and khat use; although concerns were raised that if khat were criminalised this profile could change" (p.55)</i></blockquote>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
<span style="line-height: 14.95pt;">The report notes that in countries where khat has been banned evidence suggests demand remains, prices rise on the newly illegal market and criminal opportunities are created. </span>This analysis in fact closely echoes that of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/khat-report-2005--6" target="_blank">ACMD's 2005 khat report</a>:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
<i>“The khat
industry is a legitimate business. There is no indication of organised criminals or terrorists being
involved in the UK
trade, perhaps because of its legality. However, since the USA made khat illegal there is some evidence of
organised criminals becoming involved in its shipment to the USA.”</i> </blockquote>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
<b><span style="line-height: 14.95pt;">It is clear therefore that the Home Secretary is not only responding to a problem her expert advisors say does not exist, but is also set to create the very problem she is claiming to be responding to - </span><i style="line-height: 14.95pt;">exactly as</i><span style="line-height: 14.95pt;"> </span><i style="line-height: 14.95pt;">her advisors have explained will happen. </i></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
The Government long
ago divested itself of any authority with regard to the<o:p></o:p> control of drugs, and
has again failed to act on the advice of its appointed
experts. By making khat illegal
today it has added yet another drug to the already extensive product lines of
organised criminals and unregulated dealers. It has at the same time
criminalised a very specific minority community - the negative effects of which the ACMD has also warned of:</div>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
<i>"To respond to these multilayered complex problems [faced by immigrant populations] by criminalising an already disadvantaged group in society deserves serious and careful consideration, especially in light of the limitations of the findings of the research before the ACMD. A didactic approach is supported by the National Federation of Somali Associations in the Netherlands which prefers education and information about the potential risks related to the use of Khat, as well as a coordinated national approach to address the social and economic problems members of the Somali Community are confronted with" (p.79)<br /> </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
and</blockquote>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
<i>"In the context of those communities where khat is used, consideration of the potential negative impact criminalisation may have should be carefully balanced against the need for support to focus on the concerns raised by communities." (p.83)</i></blockquote>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
<span style="line-height: 14.95pt;">The Home Office has
given itself only one option – prohibition, and as Mazlow put it: </span><i style="line-height: 14.95pt;">"If the only tool in your tool box is a hammer, everything looks like a
nail."</i><o:p style="line-height: 14.95pt;"></o:p><span style="line-height: 14.95pt;"> The possibility of more effective regulation of the market has been dismissed</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
Prohibition is not going to be the solution to any problems with khat - real or imagined. As has happened with other drugs, it will exacerbate any existing problems as well as creating new ones associated with the inevitable illegal trade it will generate. We can make drugs lawful through legal regulation,
or gift them to criminals through prohibition. The UK Government must urgently explore legal regulation, to keep criminals out
of the trade and enable effective control of the market.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 14.95pt;">
<b style="font-style: italic;">UPDATE: </b>We're delighted to learn that Stephen Williams, Lib Dem MP for Bristol West, has spoken out against today's ban and has indicated that the Liberal Democrats will be opposing the move. He says:</div>
<blockquote>
<i>"As a Liberal Democrat I have always supported a science-led approach to drugs and as such I cannot support the move to ban khat. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>"The Government’s own experts reviewed khat and concluded that it should not be criminalised. I do not advocate the use of khat, which has been known to have negative side effects, but criminalising its users is a waste of time and money for the government and our police. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>"I will now work with my Lib Dem colleagues to oppose this move and hope to meet with the Home Secretary to personally put the case that this is a poorly thought policy which will harm, rather than help, many of my constituents in Bristol, especially Somalis."</i></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>George Murkinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040268517591626609noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-38555517045150894352013-07-01T10:17:00.000+01:002013-07-01T15:09:09.212+01:00No more war on drugs with Transform designer mugs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDWhy4TaXr_1SNsXIHiK2zU5h27H6zvprRMYlPeNff7EJUeWUXNAsU0KtwZll-KRf0KUil5SN17GeXQtdt0eNNmy8qOOVctP4OnmZZ2kYQwPmQyPAX00pxM_3lTLm6_SHDNcBoTw/s1600/sitebanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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Ever thought of making a regular donation to Transform, but were put off by the lack of a merchandising incentive? Well, we've put that right.</div>
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<a href="http://www.prsc.org.uk/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="51" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDWhy4TaXr_1SNsXIHiK2zU5h27H6zvprRMYlPeNff7EJUeWUXNAsU0KtwZll-KRf0KUil5SN17GeXQtdt0eNNmy8qOOVctP4OnmZZ2kYQwPmQyPAX00pxM_3lTLm6_SHDNcBoTw/s400/sitebanner.jpg" width="400" /></a>You can now show your support for drug policy reform with one of our new ‘No
More Drug War’ mugs. These beautiful artworks are made from fine English bone china, and have
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in <st1:city w:st="on">Bristol</st1:city>.</div>
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Below are examples of some of the beautiful, original
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<b>To get your hands on one these limited edition, hand crafted mugs, all you need to do is visit our <a href="http://www.tdpf.org.uk/donationspage.htm">donations page</a>, sign up to a £5 </b><b>(or more) </b><b>monthly </b><b>donation with Transform and then email <a href="mailto:info@tdpf.org.uk">info@tdpf.org.uk</a> requesting your free mug.</b><br />
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<b>You'd be an absolute mug to pass up on this... </b><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>George Murkinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040268517591626609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-67105968949216941622013-06-28T16:25:00.002+01:002013-06-28T16:26:06.232+01:00Ban Ki-moon calls for "all options" to be considered in drug policy debate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was welcome to note that during a special event held to mark the <a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/drugabuseday/">Unite Nations International Day against Drug Abuse</a> and Illicit Trafficking on June 26th, the <a href="http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=6935">UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon declared</a>:<br />
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<i>“Next year, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs will conduct a high-level review. This will be followed, in 2016, by the UN General Assembly Special Session on the issue. I urge Member States to use these opportunities to conduct a wide-ranging and open debate that considers all options.”</i></blockquote>
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His call for a <i>“wide-ranging and open debate that considers all options”</i> is certainly a welcome development, one that strikes the same note as the <a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/take-action/sign-our-statement">Count the Costs campaign statement</a>:<br />
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<i>“The 'war on drugs' is a policy choice. There are other options that, at the very least, should be debated and explored using the best possible evidence and analysis. We all share the same goals – a safer, healthier and more just world. </i></div>
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<i>Therefore, we the undersigned, call upon world leaders and UN agencies to quantify the unintended negative consequences of the current approach to drugs, and assess the potential costs and benefits of alternative approaches”</i></blockquote>
The Secretary General's remarks echo the positive sentiments he and other high level UN officials have <a href="http://transform-drugs.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-10-most-un-likely-critics-of-war-on.html">previously expressed</a> regarding the need for a re-think of current policy, and an openess to explore alternative approaches. </div>
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In recent years the push for more pragmatic debate around alternative paths for drug control at the UN level have primarily come from Latin American leaders. During the 67th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2012 the presidents of Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala challenged the current policy framework in the face of its obvious failures and mounting costs. </div>
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Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos urged a reassessment stating that "<i>It is our duty to determine - on an objective scientific basis - if we are doing the best we can or if there are better options to combat this scourge"</i>, while Mexican President Felipe Calderon explicitly <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/26/us-un-assembly-mexico-drugs-idUSBRE88P1Q520120926">called on the United Nations to lead a global debate over a less "prohibitionist" approach</a> to drugs.</div>
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In recent years increasing numbers of incumbent and former heads of state from all various parts of the world are starting to <a href="http://transform-drugs.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/top-heads-of-state-who-support-drug.html">speak out in favour of reform</a>, and the high-level debate regarding alternatives to the current prohibitionist approach gained further prominence after the recent <a href="http://transform-drugs.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/organization-of-american-states.html">publication of the groundbreaking report by the Organization of American States</a>.</div>
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Let’s hope that this rhetorical shift at the highest level of global policy making will translate into meaningful debate and positive outcomes in the run up to the UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs in 2016, which is set to <i><a href="http://www.drugpolicy.org/resource/un-general-assembly-approves-resolution-presented-mexico-international-cooperation-against-">"review the current policies and strategies to confront the global drug problem"</a></i>.<br />
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It is clear that more and more government and UN leaders, now including the UN Secretary General himself, accept the need for change and are taking the first tentative steps to begin the process of reform at the highest level. </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>Basiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16366091360771480581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-15547699368977941512013-06-26T16:38:00.000+01:002013-06-26T16:38:36.290+01:00Support. Don't punish - protesters around the world call for decriminalisation<br />
Today, 26th June, is the <a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/drugabuseday/">UN’s </a><a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/drugabuseday/">International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking</a>, a day for governments to “celebrate” the war on drugs – which some of them do by <a href="http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/china-executes-five-to-mark-anti-drug-day-257186.html">executing drug offenders</a>. <a href="http://supportdontpunish.org/">“</a><a href="http://supportdontpunish.org/">Support. Don't Punish”</a>, a glob<span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="background-color: white;">al advocacy campaign </span></span>calling
for an end to the criminalisation of people who use drugs (and supported by Transform), <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">is seeking to reclaim the day, through a <a href="http://supportdontpunish.org/day-of-action">series of protests</a> in 26 major cities around the world. The protests are intended to
raise awareness of the need for more humane and effective policies that
prioritise the health and welfare of people who use drugs, and their families and
communities.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><a href="http://supportdontpunish.org/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjERqsMJLBz9Hv4XQqwjAbGEvd1Lg3bgwvV0P013HzHlswxf5Q_1HVZOy8UyIPbsogPI_nnBbqMmW2Xy5kHf6sRu2EDDB1I19CtiHC65uEW3Q9Njn8RQJHShHflEpB0H6C4-4WNkQ/s200/logo_large.png" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Highlighting the need for such a policy shift, the UNODC
today also released its annual </span><a href="http://www.unodc.org/unodc/secured/wdr/wdr2013/World_Drug_Report_2013.pdf" style="text-align: center;">World Drug Report</a><span style="text-align: center;"> (PDF), along with its new, somewhat
optimistically – and clunkily – </span><a href="http://www.unodc.org/drugs/en/about-the-world-drug-campaign/index.html" style="text-align: center;">titled campaign</a><span style="text-align: center;">, “Make health your ‘new high’
in life, not drugs” (don’t take that pill; have a salad instead!). </span><br />
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As this year’s report makes clear in its preface, not much
progress has been made in the past 12 months: </div>
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<i>“We have to admit that, globally, the demand for drugs has not been substantially reduced and that some challenges exist in the implementation of the drug control system, in the violence generated by trafficking in illicit drugs, in the fast evolving nature of new psychoactive substances, and in those national legislative measures which may result in a violation of human rights” </i><br />
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But according to the UNODC, violence, human rights abuses and a failure to meet its stated aims aren’t sufficient to warrant a meaningful change to the current approach to drugs. As they state: <i>“The real issue is not to amend the [UN drug] Conventions, but to implement them according to their underlying spirit.”</i> So basically, keep pressing on with more of the same, despite more than 50 years of failure.<br />
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To read more about the extent of this failure, and what could be done about it, download the <a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/alternative-world-drug-report">Alternative World Drug Report</a>, produced last year by the <a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/">Count the Costs initiative</a> (now supported by over 100 NGOs) to tell the other side of the drugs story to the one told by the UNODC.<br />
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<a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/alternative-world-drug-report" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbD2jfkujEYI-nBENkE9gSFQ8tVTZM_JPKdXfdXTZrn1qzdDd7vebh9uWl9LYPfpawtDjYDABh_og09zqcUKJDODg8_5jlL6jW8wH1Fwkdyp9z8NTkJ-rORXh8nbanjFGGveeS9g/s320/awdr-cover.png" width="227" /></a></div>
The two initiatives launched today present us with a stark choice – support, or punish. They are totally incompatible, despite UNODC’s protestations to the contrary.<br />
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Silence is not an option. Transform urges those currently trying to straddle a non-existent fence in the debate, to oppose punishment and support humane, just and effective drug policies.<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>George Murkinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040268517591626609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-84931954882865711852013-06-09T19:48:00.000+01:002013-09-12T14:29:19.979+01:00RIP Iain Banks – world-renowned author and Transform patronWe are sad to announce the death of one of Transform’s most well known supporters – the writer Iain Banks. Here is the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/books-obituaries/10108884/Iain-Banks.html">Telegraph's comprehensive obituary.</a><br />
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Iain was one of the early adopters of Transform in the 90’s, and gladly gave his name to support our work. I contacted him after reading The Wasp Factory (always my favourite Banks straight fiction). He never hid his fascination with drug culture, indeed, much of his his sci fi writing was set in an interstellar anarcho-communist utopia called 'The Culture'.<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> <i> Iain Banks 1954-2013</i></span></div>
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When he became a patron he gave us this message of support:<br />
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<i>"I think Transform is a necessary voice of sanity in the debate about drugs. Supporting Transform will help end the drug war and promote a society at peace with itself."</i></blockquote>
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Iain also supported the work of our sister organisation, TDPF Scotland from the outset.</div>
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<i>"I think it's long past time that Scotland faced the truth about drugs and the extra level of damage their illegality and prohibition imposes on individuals and society. The sort of rational debate and fact-based response to drug use that Transform has been championing throughout the UK for years needs to be brought to focus on Scotland, to reflect both the legislative realities brought about by the Scottish Parliament and the particularly Scottish mix of health, social, deprivation and addiction problems that people here face. I look forward to offering continuing support to a laudable and much-needed cause."</i></blockquote>
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Aside from brief email correspondence with him over the years I only met Iain once at a reading he gave in Bristol. He was very approachable and had no airs and graces. Iain always had strong political views and an anger I can relate to. He famously tore up his passport over the invasion of Iraq and mailed the tatters to Tony Blair - "I was so angry about the illegality and immorality of the war. And this was me - a comfortably off, white Caucasian atheist from a vaguely Protestant background. If I thought it was a disgusting, what would Muslims think about how their co-religionists were being treated?"<br />
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I emailed him in April when he announced his terminal illness, and his reply included the following:<br />
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<i>“Ah well. Hoped I'd live to see the world come to its senses re drugs, but I guess it's not to be. Still, don't regret the small part I've played trying to turn things around. One day...”</i></blockquote>
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Happily for all of us who enjoyed Iain’s presence, his writing and his politics, his legacy will live on, and when the drug war ends, Iain’s call for peace will be remembered.<br />
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RIP Iain.</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>Danny Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139449664223847222noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-8515914516061474522013-06-05T12:52:00.000+01:002013-06-06T08:13:39.249+01:0012 heads of state who support drug policy reform<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />The commitment of heads of state is
crucial in pushing for drug policy reform since they have the power to
challenge the current prohibitionist framework at its political roots.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="CS">Sadly, when in office many key players
like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOobQ3TPhHU">Barack Obama</a> </span><span lang="CS">and <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-contender-calls-for-more-liberal-drug-laws-6143525.html">David Cameron</a> seem afflicted by
post-election amnesia when it comes to </span><span lang="CS">rethinking the War on Drugs. Indeed, historically, the issue has been</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> taboo and thus it was that was only <i>former </i>presidents were willing to speak out.</span></div>
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<span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nevertheless, in the absence of much significant engagement on the side of Western consumer countries, Latin and Central American presidents
have taken the lead in challenging the prohibitionist status quo. And w</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">hat is increasingly encouraging is that more
and more <i>incumbent </i>political leaders are now<i> </i>daring to challenge the prevailing orthodoxy. Below is a
selection of some of the more prominent past and present heads of state who are not afraid to champion reform, divided up into 'Incumbents' and 'Formers'.</span></div>
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<span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Incumbents</u><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5ppOaLh7tpkFAg3mbQ_Q2XJIG1c7ofk5r3cHpcMk_upGtm3NkkG0Fm15OiYCoFvDgyi1oLXw7oJ3MEKZs91hj1LVE_G_5N0a3q-zgu6GRv0EJZ5_zpyo4-2hiICuFlVSrgPKoA/s1600/mujica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5ppOaLh7tpkFAg3mbQ_Q2XJIG1c7ofk5r3cHpcMk_upGtm3NkkG0Fm15OiYCoFvDgyi1oLXw7oJ3MEKZs91hj1LVE_G_5N0a3q-zgu6GRv0EJZ5_zpyo4-2hiICuFlVSrgPKoA/s200/mujica.jpg" width="133" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="CS"><b>Jos</b></span><b><span lang="CS" style="color: #333333;">é</span></b><b><span lang="CS"> </span></b><b><span lang="CS">Mujica,</span></b><span lang="CS"> ‘<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20243493">the world’s poorest president</a></span></span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">'</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="CS"> who famously donates 90% of his salary to
charity caused quite a stir back in October 2012 when he declared that Uruguay will be
legalising the production and supply of cannabis under monopoly state control. When
asked about his motives he replied that "<a href="http://world.time.com/2012/06/26/uruguay-wants-to-legalize-marijuana-sales-should-the-rest-of-the-world-follow/">The traditional approach hasn’t worked [...] Someone has to be the first”</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since then, he has announced that the
plan has been delayed due to lower than hoped public support in ongoing polling. Nevertheless he remains committed to
the reform and the Bill continues to make its way through the Uruguayan parliament. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He hopes to go ahead with this
groundbreaking policy when the population <a href="http://www.drugpolicy.org/resource/mujica-halts-his-own-plan-legalize-marijuana-uruguay">understands the intent of the measure</a><i>,</i> underlining that "<i>The majority has to be in the street and the people
have to understand that with shootings and putting people in prison we are
giving a gift to drug traffickers."</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Juan
Manuel Santos</b>. Colombia’s president is an increasingly vocal proponent of reform, who, since coming to power, has drawn significant attention to the suffering of
Latin American producer countries, the unintended consequences of current interenational drug control. He is now a major advocate calling for a
rethink of the failed War on Drugs. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In contrast to his Uruguayan counterpart, he rules out any possibility of unilateral action on the issue on Colombia’s side, instead calling on the international community to address the obvious failure of the War
on Drugs and stressing that <a href="http://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/twt/archive/view/185137">responsibility has to be shared among producing, transit and consuming countries</a>. </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In
his calls for a debate he is much bolder than other politicians, bringing up both the </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/13/colombia-juan-santos-war-on-drugs" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">legalisation of cannabis and perhaps even cocaine</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> as a subject for international discussion.</span><span style="color: #000090; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Laura
Chinchilla</b>, president of Costa Rica,<b> </b>joined the group of incumbent presidents calling for a rethink
of the prevailing prohibitionist approach stating that <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-01/costa-rica-calls-for-debate-on-drug-legalization-amid-record-trafficking.html">drug legalization in Central America merits a 'serious' debate</a><i> </i>in order to reduce the crime and violence spreading through the region, even if it runs
up against U.S. opposition; once more drawing on the fact that <span lang="CS" style="background-color: white;">Central Americans <span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>“have the right to discuss it</i>”</span> because <i><span style="color: #0b5394;">“we are paying a very high price”</span>.</i> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="CS" style="background-color: white;"><b>Otto
Pérez Molina </b>of Guatemala </span></span><span lang="CS" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">is another Central
American president leading the debate on a need for a global shift in drug
policy and <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/19/otto-molina-war-drugs-guatemala">challenging the U.S to move in the same direction.</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="CS" style="background-color: white;">"I believe that as he is entering his second term,
[Obama] is going to be more open to this debate. In the end, this is the
direction we all have to move in. There is going to be a change away from the
paradigm of prohibitionism and the war against drugs, to a process that will
take us towards regulation. I would expect a more flexible and open position
from President Obama in his second term."</span></i><span lang="CS" style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="CS" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Molina’s
engagement with the issue is a welcome development, though his role as an
advocate of reform may be overshadowed by the serious (though unconfirmed) allegations of human rights abuses that he faces.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlwqsfDsbxHYcf6zUbDWTwvxdBnpyy2tt6uYuVxpuF0PQHFMGhx_8aEHKaDAJ3TZaXFmeh287ah_ZvLSY8xp3LNLz6Tg_0PYe2rhdF4its-0by_DE9AtAJ69Y8X7dj-aUW_lJ8g/s1600/evo-morales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlwqsfDsbxHYcf6zUbDWTwvxdBnpyy2tt6uYuVxpuF0PQHFMGhx_8aEHKaDAJ3TZaXFmeh287ah_ZvLSY8xp3LNLz6Tg_0PYe2rhdF4its-0by_DE9AtAJ69Y8X7dj-aUW_lJ8g/s200/evo-morales.jpg" width="200" /></a><span lang="CS" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Evo Morales</b>, the Bolivian president, now serving his second term, hasn't endorsed wider drug policy reform, but has instead focused on the legalisation of the practice of traditional coca leaf chewing in Bolivia. In his campaign he dared to withdraw the country from the 1961 UN Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and despite objections from several countries later managed to </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20994392">re-accede to the convention</a> with a special dispensation recognising the practice as legal in Bolivia, effectively renegotiating the UN conventions to allow for more progressive reforms. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Morales has also been highly critical of the broader 'war on drugs' paradigm - which he views as failed and counterproductive. See, for example, <a href="http://youtu.be/IdPUP4EMPn4">this speech</a> at the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs earlier this year.</span></div>
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<span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Formers</u><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Ruth Dreifuss.</b> Former president of Switzerland, member of the <a href="http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/">Global Commission on Drug Policy</a> (which supported an experiment with legal market regulation of cannabis and other drugs), and pioneer of innovative harm reduction strategies. She introduced </span></span><span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/from-the-mountaintops-english-20110524_0.pdf">heroin-assisted treatment</a></span> whilst she was Minister of Home Affairs for Switzerland and she frequently speaks out for decriminalisation and a public health approach to drug policy.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/JbFrady72Bs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dreifuss was also a special guest at </span><a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/resource-library/former-president-switzerland-says-end-war-drugs-count-costs-ngo-event" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">an event held by the global Count the Costs initiative</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, of which Transform is a leading supporter. </span><span lang="CS"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiezWgFN_S37d1T6Q5hzL2No0HA9qda7daoEQEjiEEV0WXU8ZDA_mJa3bXJSmS5mxCW4pRZdf8yjoFJ5WCd2dQaHQfC-vCGG8oSKDaIlDySOni7KECmsXKFB3EDA9O04deGq3XpaQ/s1600/gaviria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiezWgFN_S37d1T6Q5hzL2No0HA9qda7daoEQEjiEEV0WXU8ZDA_mJa3bXJSmS5mxCW4pRZdf8yjoFJ5WCd2dQaHQfC-vCGG8oSKDaIlDySOni7KECmsXKFB3EDA9O04deGq3XpaQ/s200/gaviria.jpg" width="133" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="CS" style="background-color: white;">César Gaviria.</span></b><span lang="CS"> </span><span lang="CS">The
former president of Colombia, and a former Secretary General of Organization of American States, recently reiterated his support for drug policy reform, writing a </span></span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fernando-henrique-cardoso/global-leaders-drug-war_b_3306302.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">joint letter with Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Ricardo Lagos and Ernesto Zedilla</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">on the new, </span><a href="http://www.oas.org/documents/eng/press/Scenarios_Report.PDF" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">groundbreaking report</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> by the OAS that recommends exploring alternatives to the war on drugs:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="CS">“<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">The OAS and countries across Latin America
are positively contributing to the breaking of the taboo that blocked for so
long the debate on more humane and efficient drug policy. It is time that
governments around the world are allowed to responsibly experiment with
regulation models that are tailored to their realities and local needs.</span></span></i></span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="CS" style="background-color: white;">"</span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gaviria, a longstanding proponent of fundamental
change in global drug policy also wrote the <a href="http://transform-drugs.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/former-colombian-president-writes.html">foreword to the Spanish edition of Transform’s 'Blueprint for Regulation</a>': <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="CS">“</span><i><span lang="CS" style="background-color: white;">The world needs,
and deserves, a control regime that is not corrupt, that has genuine integrity
– that is sound, complete and whole – that is democratic, and delivers
security, development and health within a human rights framework. I am
realistic. I believe it could take another ten years to turn this ‘Blueprint’
into reality. It is a tragedy that in the next decade many thousands more will
die using dirty drugs or trying to stop, or fighting over the spoils of, the
illegal trade. At the same time we will collectively waste another trillion
dollars on the global war on drugs.</span></i></span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="CS" style="background-color: white;">"</span></i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNqIt0K2o2zObpFUS30qJqM0keIT7XfbfRCzIVVkn-b-MHjb5LaH-cxnYjxzFCFJirCwuts3UOumG5qOu3nrOzjTLFRxFmi7wPXF7KI59pnijDbPYY_QhLxcZ6eOkgMTawSeqAA/s1600/papandreou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNqIt0K2o2zObpFUS30qJqM0keIT7XfbfRCzIVVkn-b-MHjb5LaH-cxnYjxzFCFJirCwuts3UOumG5qOu3nrOzjTLFRxFmi7wPXF7KI59pnijDbPYY_QhLxcZ6eOkgMTawSeqAA/s200/papandreou.jpg" width="141" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>George Papandreou</b> who served as <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Greece</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and later became Prime Minister, is
another </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy who was a serving head of state at the time of publication and as such was therefore possibly the first head of state to publicly back legalisation/regulation. He has long advocated the need for a rethink of the current global drug policy framework.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.diogenis.info/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Speech%20by%20Foreign%20Minister%20George%20Papandreou%20at%20the%20High.pdf">Speaking at a High-level Conference on Drugs</a> entitled "Towards an effective drug policy: Scientific
documentation, everyday action and political choices", which was organized during
the Greek presidency of the EU in 2003, Papandreou said: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="CS" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">"</span>I do not hide that I personally have from time to time supported the
need to see the addict as someone in need of treatment rather than a criminal,
the need to make full use of the conclusions of a number of bold pilot
projects, regarding the supervised administration of substitute narcotics in an
organised way, including by the State itself."</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm1JRsrJB0ek2G9l3A3PTOz6DyAVkoSwCbhffWqQyDSXd5aOBvyRTZOn-CF9Zsdic8lgqjvmh_GwNG6W5JoEChJb9NhvNyJLxERMnZ8nGSJk_qrIvT5s__4NM_AL-k2N1FrWOa9Q/s1600/cardoso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm1JRsrJB0ek2G9l3A3PTOz6DyAVkoSwCbhffWqQyDSXd5aOBvyRTZOn-CF9Zsdic8lgqjvmh_GwNG6W5JoEChJb9NhvNyJLxERMnZ8nGSJk_qrIvT5s__4NM_AL-k2N1FrWOa9Q/s200/cardoso.jpg" width="155" /></span></a><span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Fernando Henrique Cardoso</b>,
former president of Brazil, and Chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, has been one of the most prominent former leaders calling <a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/02/25/seven_questions_fernando_henrique_cardoso">for radical changes in drug policy</a>:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“</span><i><span lang="CS" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is still a long way to go. The trend towards decriminalisation
for possession helps to empower a public health paradigm. It breaks the silence
about the drug problem. It enables people to think in terms of approaching drug
abuse in a way that is not first and foremost a matter for the criminal justice
system. Reducing the harm caused by drugs goes hand in hand with reducing
consumption.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="CS" style="background-color: white;">"</span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fernando-henrique-cardoso/drugs-the-debate-goes-mai_b_1411413.html">joint letter written with Cesar Gaviria and Ernesto Zedillo</a> he reasserts their support for the legal regulation
of the drug market:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“</span></span><i style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span lang="CS"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The full enforcement
power of the state and the social and cultural pressure of society should be
aimed at a relentless fight against organized crime -- rather than persecuting
people in need of treatment.</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="CS"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our second core
recommendation -- which is more complex but just as important for ensuring
peace and public safety -- is to encourage experimentation with different
models of legal regulation of drugs, such as marijuana, in similar ways to what
is already done with tobacco and alcohol.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Research has
consistently demonstrated that marijuana is a less harmful drug than tobacco or
alcohol. Regulation is not the same as legalization. This is a critical point.
Regulation is a necessary step to create the conditions for a society to
establish all kinds of restrictions and limitations on the production, trade,
advertising and consumption of a given substance to deglamorize, discourage and
control its use.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i><i style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="CS">"</span></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPORYZulyULmS07mD8RieqTvMgy-KoyFT5VluSftPNbqnL2sDAo9CuwT11RnsxfT1RRLNax5ngQ8ncnkW1D_piaduhOtklGTsF4eZlRqo0yeXd4MPX4gCDRWKs7KWjrmjwl-CAg/s1600/sampaio_foto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPORYZulyULmS07mD8RieqTvMgy-KoyFT5VluSftPNbqnL2sDAo9CuwT11RnsxfT1RRLNax5ngQ8ncnkW1D_piaduhOtklGTsF4eZlRqo0yeXd4MPX4gCDRWKs7KWjrmjwl-CAg/s200/sampaio_foto.jpg" width="158" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Jorge Sampaio. </b>The former Portuguese president was at the beginning of his second term
when his country became one of the pioneering EU countries introducing a decriminalisation policy in July 2001.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The pioneering law was
introduced in response to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Portugal</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s
growing drug abuse problem, and meant drug possession/use was no longer treated as a criminal justice issue. Instead, it would now be dealt with as a purely administrative
violation. This legal refrom, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">alongside a more fundamental realignment of policy from punitive enforcement towards public health interventions. </span>, resulted in a <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/46235617/What-Can-We-Learn-From-The-Portuguese-Decriminalization-of-Illicit-Drugs">decline in problematic drug use, drug-related mortality rates and drug-related disease transmission</a>. Twelve years
after the law was enacted there is widespread political consensus in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Portugal</st1:country-region></st1:place>
in favour of decriminalisation.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Ernesto
Zedillo</b>, the former Mexican president, and another member of the Global
Commission, has also been a co-author of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fernando-henrique-cardoso/drugs-the-debate-goes-mai_b_1411413.html">previously mentioned letters</a> calling for <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fernando-henrique-cardoso/global-leaders-drug-war_b_3306302.html">alternatives to prohibition</a> to be explored. Zedillo is also the Director of the Yale Center
for the Study of Globalization. In one of the Center’s publications entitled
‘<a href="http://www.ycsg.yale.edu/center/forms/rethinking-war-on-drugs.pdf">Rethinking the War on Drugs through the US - Mexico Prism</a>‘ he writes that:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="CS" style="background-color: white;">"</span></i><i><span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of
course, we must believe that the architects and subsequent followers of the ‘war
on drugs‘ strategy though that they were acting on behalf of the public
interest, but that is hardly a reason not to examine the basis for and the
results of their policies. In this process, we should not ignore the
possibility that their idea of public interests might have been distorted by a
sense of short-term political urgency.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 22.390625px;"><span lang="CS">"</span></i></span></div>
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<i><span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt5nCTAJPo748-skId1lpBh7V3Q9XcuH6edB9vtYmGDiSbbcEBHuH5zsXgsdFlmw8o2sWCfbjjYjHgArKPEWF0szAeufZeoP16Q1HqHKXHL1pLVN9w1NwGS_fccrYQgqot30qWeg/s1600/kwasniewski.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt5nCTAJPo748-skId1lpBh7V3Q9XcuH6edB9vtYmGDiSbbcEBHuH5zsXgsdFlmw8o2sWCfbjjYjHgArKPEWF0szAeufZeoP16Q1HqHKXHL1pLVN9w1NwGS_fccrYQgqot30qWeg/s200/kwasniewski.jpg" width="138" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="CS"><b>Aleksander
Kwasniewski</b>, former president of Poland who joined the Global Commission
last year seems to be a good illustration of the short-termism that Zedillo
wrote about. </span>In 2000, as president, Kwasniewski signed the bill introducing a
prison sentence of up to 3 years for the possession of any amount of illicit drugs, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">no matter how small</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Not surprisingly, the result was a drastic increase in
numbers of arrests, more than </span><a href="http://bi.gazeta.pl/im/4/12632/m12632054,KARANIE-ZA-POSIADANIE.pdf" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">half of them under the age of 24</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. </span></div>
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<span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Such an approach hardly merits a place on the list of top reformers, however what is interesting is that he publicly admitted that introducing those
policies <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/11/opinion/saying-no-to-costly-drug-laws.html?_r=0">was a serious mistake</a>. In an op-ed published in the New York times in
May last year he declared: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="CS"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="CS" style="background-color: white;">"It is my hope that political and community leaders in other countries,
especially in Eastern Europe, will learn from Poland’s experience in
criminalizing drug possession, a move that clearly fell short of its goals.
Such a policy failure should not be repeated anywhere else in the world."</span></i><i><span lang="CS"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white;">
<i><span lang="CS"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"East European leaders should press for a halt to incarcerating
people for possessing small amounts of drugs for personal use and should start
treating drug addiction as a public health issue.</span></span></i><i><span lang="CS"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"</span></span></i><i><span lang="CS"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></i></div>
<div style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>Basiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16366091360771480581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-89158657310693127462013-05-31T11:04:00.000+01:002013-05-31T15:08:56.281+01:00A Q&A: Drugs, Legal Regulation and Brazil<br />
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<i></i><br />
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<i><br /></i></div>
<i>
</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Transform's Steve Rolles </i></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>and</i></span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Lisa Sanchez </i></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>were interviewed by Willian Vieira for t</i></span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">he Brazilian magazine <a href="http://www.cartacapital.com.br/">Carta Capital</a>. </i><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As only a few sections of the interview were used in the final printed feature (and it was in Portugese) we have copied the complete interview below in English.</i></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<br /><br /><b>Carta Capital: Even the U.S., who has supported war on drugs policies for the last decades worldwide (Colombia is the best example), has seen a shift, at least in terms of population
approval. New polls suggest Americans are tired of spending so much money and having such poor results. Is it a sign of change for the rest of the world, that tend to follow American policies? Will it have an impact on UN? </b></span><br />
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the US there is now a majority that supports legalisation of marijuana for the first time, and more than 70% think the war on drugs is not working. These are hugley important shifts, particularly in the context of historic and ongoing bi-partisan opposition to substantive reforms such as legalisation. But the changes go beyond public opinion - rhetoric from the
White House and ONDCP has notably shifted away from the more hawkish 'war on drugs' tough-talk towards a greater emphasis on health and treatment. Even though policy change has yet to match this rhetoric it is striking that the US Drugs Tsar has said that he 'ended the war on drugs' and Obama has said legalisation is now 'a legitimate topic for debate'.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is also more than just debate. As well as 14 states decriminalising possession of marijuana and 18 allowing provision of medical marijuana, Washington and Colorado states have become the first jurisdictions anywhere in the world to legalise and regulate non medical cannabis production, sale and use. So the US, even though it is the spiritual home of the 'war on drugs' is ironically now also leading the way on drug law reform, at least for cannabis. It is adding to the global momentum for change but also following the wider global trend in looking for alternatives to the historic failings of the punitive enforcement based approaches. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The reforms in the US are creating space for long held views critical of the status quo and supportive of reform to be publicly aired in high level political forums around the world, and this is nowhere more true than in Latin America. With challenges to prohibition unfolding within US borders, the authority of the U.S. to impose its 'war on drugs' in its bilateral relations, in regional forums, and at the UN are dramatically diminished. We can already see this dynamic playing out - objections to Latin state reforms are now much more muted than a decade ago; the OAS has undertaken the first ever review of alternatives approaches; at the request of Latin governments the UN has agreed to a General Assembly Special Session in 2016 to look at the impacts of the current system and consider alternatives. Calls for change from Latin countries are becoming more frequent, vocal and confident- and are no longer just the preserve of former presidents. Now it is
sitting presidents getting directly and publicly involved. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Carta Capital: In its 2008 World Drug
Report the UNODC acknowledged that choosing an enforcement-based approach
was having a range of negative "unintended consequences", including the
creation of a vast criminal market, displacement of the illegal drugs trade
to new areas, diversion of funding from health, and the stigmatization of
users. Its costs are soaring. But when Uruguay defended its new policy in
the UN, the answer was lukewarm, if not negative. Why has UN been so afraid
of taking action? Why international agencies like UNODC are so cautious
about changing its policies, policies that so clearly don't work? </span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These comments in the 2008 WDR were a hugely significant acknowledgement,
even if they were lost on page 216 of a huge report and have only recently
found broader exposure. Whilst the UNODC can generate this sort of
analysis, ultimately is duty bound to reflect the will of member states -
and whilst the consensus behind global prohibition is fracturing, it still
just about remains in place. The global drug control system has created its
own bureaucracy, interest groups and power structures - many of which
intersect with other geopolitical and strategic interests. These groups are unsurprisingly now defending those interests, but their ability to stifle
dissent is rapidly evaporating in the face of ever growing public discontent
with expensive failure. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The 'war on drugs' paradigm has, however, become deeply entrenched in the
political system and it is very difficult to challenge. By adopting a
narrative based around the 'evil' of drugs that we have a duty to 'combat'
(this is the language used in the preamble of the 1961 UN convention on
drugs) any questioning of that system is seen as weakness, surrender or
somehow being 'soft on drugs'. The harms of drug misuse and addiction have
also become confused and conflated with the harms of drug law enforcement;
the negative 'unintended consequences</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">'</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> the UNODC and NGOs such
as <a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/">www.countthecosts.org</a> have identified. This single amorphous 'drug
threat' fuels a circular logic in which harms created by the drug war are
used to justify its continuation or intensification. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is important to acknowledge that like the US, the rhetoric of the UNODC has started to shift - while they still oppose treaty reform the have spoken
of the need to make the treaties 'fit for purpose', acknowledging that they
were drafted in a world very different to today (the key 1961 treaty was drafted in the 1940s and 50s). UNODC rhetoric has also increasingly
emphasised the need to focus on public health and human rights and has given
tacit if not explicit approval to decriminalisation of drug possession and
use. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Uruguay and other reform minded countries are not attempting to undermine or
overthrow the global drug control system, but instead preserve its
undoubtedly useful functions - including regulation of medical drugs -
whilst introducing flexibility for states or regions to experiment with
alternative models of drug control including regulated markets. Demand for
drugs exists whether we like it or not; we can choose to have the markets
that meet this demand controlled by governments or gangsters - there is no
third option in which drugs magically disappear.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is also important to be clear that, as the UNODC has acknowledged (in the
1997 WDR - under the then UNDCP), the drug treaties 'are not written in
stone'. As with all treaties, mechanisms exist for their renegotiation and
reform. More importantly perhaps is that to effect such reform would require
a critical mass of states to demand they are updated to make them more
appropriate to the challenges we are facing today. The importance of Brazil
in any such process cannot be understated.
It is also worth noting that New Zealand is introducing new legislation this
year that allows for Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) not covered by
existing international legislation to be legally brought to the market if
they meet certain safety criteria and are produced and sold within a very
strict regulation framework. When this model was proposed at the UN - framed
as a tough response to an intractable problem - it was met with a
surprising level of support, including from the UNODC. In many different ways
it is clear that the groundwork is being laid for a more fundamental reform
of the international drug control regime. The days of of an inflexible
dogmatic global prohibition model are numbered. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Carta Capital: The "After the War on
Drugs: Blueprint for Regulation" offers specific models for regulating drug
offer, with a 'hierarchy' among different drugs and specific systems to
offer and control its use. Some specialists talk about a different violence
level here and deeper social problems. How possible would it be to apply such a
system in Brazil and other Latin American countries, for instance? </span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is important to be clear that we are not talking about an overnight
revolution but a period of phased change over a number of years. This
process will be defined by a gradual shift from punitive enforcement to more
pragmatic health and social interventions. In practice it is likely to begin
with wider decriminalisation of possession, more innovative harm reduction
responses, and experiments with cannabis market regulation. It will involve
pilot studies and careful evaluation to test the validity and impacts of
different models and can be informed by experiments elsewhere in the region,
and the world.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The possibilities for regulation of certain stimulants - at
some stage potentially including cocaine - will proceed cautiously but are
likely to be informed in particular by innovative emerging models for NPS ('legal highs') regulation such as those in New Zealand.
Reforming the laws to allow decriminalisation or legalisation and regulation of
certain drugs is not a panacea, but it could bring significant benefits to
Brazil, the region and indeed the world as drug profits for organised crime reduce, and the crime, violence and corruption problems associated
with those markets contract as well. There is potential for the substantial
resources currently spent on futile and counterproductive enforcement to be
redirected into other policing priorities, proven health interventions and
social programs, and building the institutions that will be needed to regulate
drugs in a post prohibition world.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No regulation model can be perfect - but any level of government regulation
seems preferable to the current situation where market control defaults to
violent organised crime networks. Institutional capacity will need to be
strengthened and this will be a challenging process, but the reality is that
the crime and corruption fueled by the war on drugs actively undermines
institutions; moving towards greater market regulation and disempowerment of
organised crime creates an environment in which institution building becomes
possible, as well as freeing up resources to facilitate the process. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Carta Capital: Brazil has its
peculiarities. It has major drug trafficking gangs controlling whole areas
(selling cocaine, mostly) and has a crack problem, that afflicts mostly poor
areas and poor people. Would legalising marijuana (and other drugs)
possession for users make possible to spend better the money on fight the
social problems of drugs, like crack addiction? And also diminish the gangs
influence? What could be the best model to adopt, the Portuguese, the Dutch,
the Uruguayan? </span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the specific challenge Brazil is facing with crack, innovative
harm reduction responses can be explored as a starting point, based on
evidence and pragmatism rather than populist enforcement responses. An
example may be experimenting with cannabis as a substitute for crack that is
now being tried in Bogota. In the longer term the key will be to use
market regulation to progressively change the nature of drug using culture -
this could involve, for example, making less risky stimulants more
available, and putting increasingly heavy restrictions on the more risky
products. The illegal market does the exact opposite - creating incentives
to market the most potent, risky but profitable products to the most
vulnerable members of society. There are no perfect solutions but we can do
better if we think creatively, have the courage to experiment and are
willing to follow the evidence.
It is vital that Brazil more actively engages with regional and global
debate on drug policy reform. With its power and influence Brazil can be a
potent advocate on the international stage in highlighting the tragic
failure of the war on drugs and leading the debate around alternative
approaches that can help deliver our shared goals of a safer healthier
society.
</span></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>Basiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16366091360771480581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-33260924720063550492013-05-17T18:07:00.002+01:002013-05-21T12:10:01.117+01:00Organization of American States launches groundbreaking report exploring alternatives to the war on drugs<div class="tr_bq">
<br /></div>
<i>Note: The following press release was issued today by the Latin American Programme for Transform Drug Policy Foundation and México Unido Contra Delincuencia. T<a href="http://www.oas.org/documents/eng/press/Introduction_and_Analytical_Report.pdf">he full OAS analytical report is available in English (pdf).</a> <a href="http://www.oas.org/documents/eng/press/Scenarios_Report.PDF">The full OAS scenario report is available here (pdf)</a></i><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Organization of American States launches groundbreaking drug policy report exploring alternatives to the war on drugs </b></span><br />
<br />
<b>On Friday, 17 May, in Bogotá, Colombia, Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General José Miguel Insulza will present Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos with the groundbreaking outcomes of a high level drug policy review. Mandated by 34 heads of state – including the US - at the 2012 Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, this report marks the first time in history that a high level multilateral agency has given serious consideration to the failings of current policies and potential alternative approaches, including decriminalisation and legal regulation. </b><br />
<br />
Lisa Sanchez, coordinator of the Latin American Programme for Transform Drug Policy Foundation and México Unido Contra Delincuencia, and also a expert member of the OAS scenario planning team, speaking in Bogotá, Colombia, said: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<i>“We welcome the reports from this ground-breaking high level initiative. Drug policy reform has been a taboo issue for decades - but for the first time representatives from 34 countries across the Americas have had the courage to break that taboo and envision real alternatives to the war on drugs. It is a clear acknowledgement that the global prohibition has failed to deliver what was promised and that a range of alternatives should be meaningfully explored.”</i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>“The heads of State across the hemisphere who initiated the project can be proud of the fact that it has produced a set of four plausible scenarios, including one for the legal regulation of cannabis and other drugs - including the necessary reform of international law. And that, far from than being a disaster - the regulation scenario foresees a shift to legal regulation capable of producing positive outcomes.” </i></blockquote>
<br />
This report provides a groundbreaking visualization of alternatives to the existing regime – in the form of four scenarios of how drug policy and law could develop between now and 2025. These scenarios significantly include one involving the emergence of legally regulated markets for some currently prohibited drugs and explores how the international drug control system evolves to incorporate these developments. <br />
<br />
Steve Rolles, Transform Senior Policy Analyst said: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“The reform scenario explored in the OAS report is already unfolding in reality, as Washington and Colorado move to tax and regulate cannabis for non-medical use, with Uruguay likely to follow suit later this year. This OAS project sets the scene for a vibrant high level debate on alternative approaches in the run up to the UN General Assembly Special Session in 2016 - where the reports will feed into the global debate on policy reform. It will rightly be seen as a watershed moment for the doomed global war on drugs.” </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<br />
<i>“We are urging governments in the region - and beyond - to take the opportunity created by these reports to initiate national dialogues on their central theme: alternatives to the war on drugs that can deliver the safer and healthier communities we all seek.” </i></blockquote>
<b><br />ENDS </b><br />
<br />
<b>Notes to editors: </b><br />
<br />
<b>Contacts: </b><br />
<br />
· Lisa Sánchez: 00 52 (1) 553 2007 029 (in Bogotá, Colombia from 14 to 19 May. In Mexico City from 20 to 24 May) <br />
<br />
· Steve Rolles: +44 (0)7980 213 943 London UK <br />
<br />
The OAS reports will feed into a number of political processes in coming weeks and years: <br />
<br />
<ul>
<li> May 20-22: in Washington, the OAS report will be presented and discussed at the 53rd Regular Session of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD). </li>
<li>June 4 – 6: The OAS will hold its next General Assembly in Antigua, Guatemala. Drug policy will be the main item on the agenda. See also the <a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?WashingtonOfficeonLa/84664f0366/TEST/fc4c2e21d4">civil society declaration to inform the General Assembly</a>, which included mention of legal, regulated markets for cannabis.</li>
<li> March 2014: The UN Commission on Narcotic drugs meets in Vienna for its annual gathering including the 5 year half way review of the current 10 year drug strategy (very much rooted in the status quo that the OAS report is critiquing). </li>
<li>2016: The United Nations General Assembly has convened a special session on drugs in 2016, at the behest of the same Latin countries that instigated the OAS drug review process. The OAS reports will doubtless be a major shaping influence on the UNGASS preparations and discussions. </li>
</ul>
<b>Background </b><br />
<br />
The heads of states of the Americas, gathered in April 2012 at the Sixth Summit in Cartagena, Colombia, chaired by President Santos, entrusted the OAS (Organization of American States) with the task of preparing materials for a hemispheric debate about the disappointing results and unintended negative consequences of current drug policies in the Americas and to explore new approaches for responding more effectively to the problem <br />
<br />
For terms of reference see here: <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cicad.oas.org/Main/Template.asp?File=/Main/policy/default_ENG.asp">http://www.cicad.oas.org/Main/Template.asp?File=/Main/policy/default_ENG.asp</a> <br />
<br />
and <br />
<br />
<a href="http://transform-drugs.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/how-organization-of-american-states.html">http://transform-drugs.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/how-organization-of-american-states.html</a> <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>Steve Rolleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11487781869462634203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-27893316163780912662013-05-17T11:50:00.000+01:002013-05-18T09:20:11.104+01:00The 10 most UN-likely critics of the war on drugs<br />
The United Nations' role in shaping and enforcing global drug prohibition becomes stranger with each passing day. On the one hand, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) implements the three UN drug conventions that form the legal basis for the global 'war on drugs' and ensures member states don't deviate from the punitive enforcement model the UN system has built. On the other, the wider family of UN agencies is concerned with guaranteeing UN principles of health, human rights, peace, development and security.<br />
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The war on drugs has, even by the UNODC's analysis, both failed to deliver on its stated goals, and had <a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/alternative-world-drug-report">a series of disastrous unintended consequences</a> - specifically undermining health, human rights, peace, development and security. This has inevitably created tensions between various UN agencies and led to increasingly contorted rhetoric from within the UNODC itself - as it attempts the impossible task of reconciling drug-war rhetoric and overwhelming evidence of prohibition's failure with the principles of the UN.<br />
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These tensions and contradictions become all too evident in the public statements from many UN officials, now often openly or implicitly critical of the letter and spirit of UN's own prohibitionist drug policy and legal systems. Even Executive Directors of the UNODC itself have departed from the prohibitionist orthodoxy. The range of views held by officials in other UN agencies also reflects the lack of <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2122381">"system-wide coherence"</a> within the UN, with many questioning the criminalisation of users at the heart of the punitive paradigm (particularly in relation to HIV and people who inject drugs), with others going even further and advocating market regulation approaches, specifically outlawed by the UN conventions.<br />
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Below is a selection of some of the most high-profile critics of the war on drugs to come from within the UN itself.<br />
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<b><u>Incumbents</u></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAIlMBOSXHyuA44YxyLmtat5PetiEOZNi4pb1Dl6griQD9k_U78Ujs49mIsacRJjPwU66nC5ENhQS-zuTLpsPn9zHvoAGUSMDUAGeMFgYfpaq2RhYBOobdWlnBGT8KmqXCnaMeJg/s1600/ban-ki-moon.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAIlMBOSXHyuA44YxyLmtat5PetiEOZNi4pb1Dl6griQD9k_U78Ujs49mIsacRJjPwU66nC5ENhQS-zuTLpsPn9zHvoAGUSMDUAGeMFgYfpaq2RhYBOobdWlnBGT8KmqXCnaMeJg/s1600/ban-ki-moon.jpg" /></a><b>Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General</b><br />
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The incumbent Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, voiced his opinion on the war on drugs in 2008, following the publication of <a href="http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2008/20080326_report_commission_aids_en.pdf">a report by the Independent Commission on AIDS in Asia</a>. The report was critical of drug-war policies, stating that:<br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>"[initiatives such as] large-scale arrests of young drug users under the 'war on drugs' programmes ...</i><i> can be counterproductive and can keep large numbers of
at-risk groups and people living with HIV from accessing even the limited
services being provided by the countries." </i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: black;">Ban Ki-moon</span> <a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/sgspeeches/statments_full.asp?statID=206#.UZOTILVwpBm">thoroughly endorsed</a> <span style="color: black;">the report's findings, saying:</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>"we
need to to review legislation that risks hampering universal access -
in cases where vulnerable groups are criminalized for their lifestyles" </i></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">"I look to the United Nations family and the donor community
to help advance the implementation of the report’s recommendations, including
through financial and technical resources."</span></i><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><i> </i></span></div>
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<b><u> </u></b><br />
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<b>Yury Fedotov, Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime</b><br />
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Despite being the current head of the specific UN agency charged with overseeing the global drug control system, Fedotov is surprisingly receptive to the idea of legally regulating certain drugs, although only, it would appear, ones that for arbitrary historical reasons, sit outside the UN convention sheduling system. This year, he wrote an article on the staggering array of 'novel psychoactive substances' (NPS or 'legal highs' ) now legally available. But rather than calling for their outright prohibition, he endorsed <a href="http://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministry/legislation-and-regulation/regulatory-impact-statements/new-regulatory-regime-psychoactive-substances">innovative approach being taken in New Zealand</a> bring certain lower risk NPS within a strict a system of legal regulation, <a href="http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/speeches/op-ednewpsychoactovesubstances220213.html">He said:</a><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>"Today, we are staring at a new drug horizon where those willing to take these substances have become the participants in a lottery that puts lives at risk. Users are potentially one tweaked molecule away from death … </i><i>Innovative approaches should be applied. For example, New Zealand has enacted creative legislation that places the onus of proving the substance is safe on the seller."</i></span><br />
<i></i><br />
Fedotov is also <a href="http://www.cndblog.org/2013/03/ngo-dialogue-with-unodc-executive.html">on record</a><a href="http://www.cndblog.org/2013/03/ngo-dialogue-with-unodc-executive.html"> apparently endorsing a decriminalisation of users approach, saying:</a> <br />
<br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">"We must look into what must be done in national frameworks to see what can be done to protect the health and rights of people, so that people are not treated as criminals, but as patients, in full respect of their human rights."</span></i><br />
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How such statements will translate in a substantive shift in UNODC mandated policy and law remains to be seen, but they at least highlight the inconsistency in holding such views while at the same time maintaining the prohibitionist status quo.<br />
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<b>Antonio Maria Costa, then Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime</b></div>
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Fedotov's predecessor, Antonio Maria Costa, famously drew attention to some of the disastrous effects of the international drug control system, the system that his agency is responsible for. In a <a href="http://transform-drugs.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/unodc-director-declares-international.html">groundbreaking report</a>, he outlined the negative<i> "unintended consequences"</i> of global drug policy, which include:<br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">the creation of a huge criminal black market;</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">the balloon effect, whereby if supply is squeezed in one area, it is simply displaced</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">the marginalisation of public health principles in favour of enforcement; and </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">the discrimination faced by many people who use drugs. </span></li>
</ul>
His conclusion?<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>"there is a spirit of reform in the air, to make the [UN drug control] conventions fit for purpose and adapt them to a reality on the ground that is considerably different from the time they were drafted".</i></span></div>
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This perhaps helps explains why Costa went on to make a number of <a href="http://transform-drugs.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/cnd-report-human-rights-and-unodc.html">bold reform statements</a>, again adopting a clear decriminalisation of possession and use offences position, for example declaring that the UN drug control conventions<i>:</i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">"permit parties to respond to [drug-related activities] proportionally, including through alternatives to conviction or punishment for offences of a minor nature"</span></i>, and arguing <i><span style="color: #0b5394;">"it is clear that the use of non-custodial measures and treatment programmes for offences involving possession for personal use of drugs offer a more proportionate response and the more effective administration of justice." </span></i><br />
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<b>Helen Clark, Head of the United Nations Development Programme</b></div>
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The former Prime Minister of New Zealand, now heading up the UN's development work, clearly recognises the <a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/seven-costs/undermining-development-and-security-fuelling-conflict">negative impact</a> that the war on drugs has on developing countries, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/15/us-un-drugs-idUSBRE92E01W20130315">declaring:</a></div>
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<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">"To deal with drugs as a one-dimensional, law-and-order
issue is to miss the point ... We have waves of violent crime sustained by drug trade,
so we have to take the money out of drugs ... The countries in the region that have been ravaged by
the armed violence associated with drug cartels are starting to think laterally
about a broad range of approaches and they should be encouraged to do that ... They should act on evidence."</span></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Some of the political tensions within the UN are visible from the defensive <a href="http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/articles/2013/03/14/undp-sets-record-straight-on-drugs-debate/">press release</a> that UNDP immediately issued following Clark's comments.</div>
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<b>Anand Grover, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the
Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health</b><br />
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In his investigation into the effects of the current international drug control system <a href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64663568/library/Right%20to%20highest%20standard%20of%20health.pdf">for a UN report commissioned by and presented to the General Secretary</a>, Anand Grover - whose mandate is derived from the UN Human Rights Council - recommended to the UN drug control agencies <i><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">"that there is a need in the long term to consider alternatives to the current drug control system. One such alternative model may be the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, in which certain controlled medicines would be regulated in a manner similar to tobacco."</span></i><br />
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He <a href="http://transform-drugs.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/un-expert-calls-for-fundamental-shift.html">also urged</a> governments around the world to:<br />
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<ul>
<li><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Decriminalize or de-penalize possession and use of drugs;</span></i></li>
<i>
</i></ul>
<ul>
<li><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Repeal or substantially reform laws and policies inhibiting
the delivery of essential health services to drug users, and review law
enforcement initiatives around drug control to ensure compliance with human
rights obligations; and</span></i></li>
</ul>
<ul><i>
</i>
<li><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Amend laws, regulations and policies to increase access to
controlled essential medicines.</span></i></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
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<b>Michel Sidibé, Executive Director, UNAIDS</b></div>
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At the 2010 International AIDS Conference, the head of the UN agency responsible for HIV/AIDS policy, joined other leaders in endorsing the <a href="http://www.ihra.net/files/2011/02/12/IHRA_and_ICHRDP_Amicus.pdf">following statement</a>:</div>
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<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">“We resolve: that harmful laws that criminalize sex work,
drug use and drug possession, homosexuality and same-sex relationships, and HIV
transmission must be repealed and must not be replaced by a regulatory system
that is equally prejudicial. Not only do these laws lead to serious human
rights abuses, but they grievously hamper access to HIV services.”</span></i></div>
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In the introduction for HRI's <a href="http://www.ihra.net/global-state-of-harm-reduction-2012">2012 Global State of Harm Reduction</a> he again made clear his support for decriminalisation of drug users:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>"Punitive laws and policies, whether via prohibiting the provision of
sterile injecting equipment and opioid substitution therapy,
criminalising drug use,possession of injecting paraphernalia, or denying
HIV treatment to people who use drugs, violate people’s right to health
and harm the community.</i>" </span><br />
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<b>Former senior UN figures who sit on the <a href="http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/">Global Commission on Drug Policy</a> </b><br />
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Alongside the critique of the the 'war on drugs' in the Commissions flagship report, are a number of recommendations including:<br />
<br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>"End the criminalization, marginalization and stigmatization
of people who use drugs </i><i>but who do no harm to others. Challenge rather than
reinforce common misconceptions about drug markets, drug use and drug
dependence.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Encourage experimentation by governments with models of
legal regulation of drugs to undermine the power of organized crime and
safeguard the health and security of their citizens."</span></i><br />
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<b>Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General</b><br />
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<b>Louise Arbour, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights</b><br />
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<b>Thorvald Stoltenberg, former UN High Commissioner for Refugees</b><br />
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<b>Asma Jahangir, former UN Special Rapporteur on Arbitrary, Extrajudicial and Summary Executions</b><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>George Murkinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040268517591626609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-40864615093207702572013-04-29T11:42:00.000+01:002013-04-29T23:26:47.503+01:00Unitarians vote overwhelmingly in favour of Royal Commission on Drugs<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Last week, at the Unitarian and Free Christian Churches' General Assembly meeting at Nottingham University, the Unitarians became one of the first faith groups in the UK to speak out on the drugs issue and call for a Royal Commission on Drugs or an independent inquiry into drug policy. The reolution was passed with overwhelming support; 154 voting in favour, 3 against and 1 abstention. <br />
<br />
The vote followed presentations from David Barrie, Chair of Make Justice Work, and Jane Slater, Head of Operations at Transform Drug Policy Foundation.<br />
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The motion stated:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“This General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches asks the UK Government to establish without delay a Royal Commission or an interdepartmental public inquiry to:</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>1) examine the present UK drug-related health and crime situations and compare those in other countries</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>2) examine and review the efficacy of current UK legislation in relation to drugs both those which are illegal and those which are legal</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>3) review options for alternatives to the current criminal justice-based approach, drawing on the experience of other countries, including the appropriateness of the medicalisation and decriminalisation of drug substances and the treatment of addictions.”</i></blockquote>
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The Unitarians are now embarking upon a campaign to persuade the government to set up a Royal Commission or interdepartmental inquiry, which would give alternative approaches the consideration they deserve and represent an important first step away from counterproductive prohibitionist policies.<br />
<br />
The Unitarians now join a growing list of public figures and organisations who want to see a review of UK drug policy:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Nick Clegg DPM, personally</li>
<li><a href="http://transform-drugs.blogspot.com/2010/12/legalise-and-regulate-drugs-says-uks.html">Bob Ainsworth MP</a>, former Labour Home Office drugs minister and secretary of state for defence</li>
<li><a href="http://transform-drugs.blogspot.com/2010/12/legalise-and-regulate-drugs-says-uks.html">Peter Lilley MP</a>, former Conservative Party deputy leader</li>
<li>Caroline Lucas MP, Green Party leader</li>
<li>The Home Affairs Select Committee</li>
<li>The All Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform</li>
<li>Liberal Democrats (almost unanimously at Conference 2012)</li>
<li>Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood</li>
<li><a href="http://player.vimeo.com/video/17157092">Carel Edwards</a>, former Head of the European Commission's Anti-Drug Coordinating Unit</li>
<li><a href="http://www.ukpha.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are.aspx">Professor John R Ashton CBE</a>, Chair UK Public Health Association</li>
<li><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10990921">Professor Sir Ian Gilmore</a>, outgoing President of the Royal College of Physicians </li>
<li><a href="http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/">Professor Richard Wilkinson</a>, Author of 'The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better'</li>
<li><a href="http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/drugmisuse/staff/profneilmckeganey/">Professor Neil McKeganey</a>, Centre for Drug Misuse Research, University of Glasgow</li>
<li><a href="http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/law/research/rec/bowling.html">Professor Ben Bowling</a>, Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice, King's College London </li>
<li><a href="http://www.fead.org.uk/video263/Nick-Heather-on-the-alcohol-field-and-the-relative-irrationality-of-the-drugs-field.html">Dr Nick Heather</a>, Emeritus Professor of Alcohol and Other Drug Studies at Northumbria University</li>
<li><a href="http://www.uws.ac.uk/schoolsdepts/socialsciences/lindacusick.asp">Dr Linda Cusick</a>, Reader in Substance Use, University of the West of Scotland</li>
<li><a href="http://profdavidnutt.wordpress.com/">Professor David Nutt</a>, Chair of Neuropsychopharmacology, Imperial College London, and Chair of the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs</li>
<li>A range of other organisations including the Prison Governors Association, Health Poverty Action, The Howard League for Penal Reform, and Human Rights Watch.</li>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15263261726046054614noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-65793886057846420092013-04-25T00:01:00.000+01:002013-04-25T07:45:10.811+01:00News release: Prison Governors Association criticises the War on Drugs and calls on government to explore alternatives<br />
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<b>News release 25/04/13</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLykZ7zrqoirxBWsGaaw7o9GfgqW22Z6jU_hQSc3goWYOJ2stnvaNpdorhhi1nxz32TGnUumYMRPufl1Vt3FqMJ9UDjs0IPwI50OJwCa0kv2Bcgtn8xoJ2_xxEUG6S0Xi4cUltOg/s320/Count-the-Costs222.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>This week the <a href="http://prison-governors-association.org.uk/" target="_blank">Prison Governors Association</a> became the latest organisation to sign up in support of
an international initiative that calls upon the government to </b><i>“quantify the unintended negative
consequences of the current approach to drugs, and assess the potential costs
and benefits of alternative approaches”.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/" target="_blank">50 Years of the War on Drugs – Time to Count the Costs</a>, is a
global project that has the support of nearly 70 NGOs around the world and two
former presidents.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Eoin McLennan-Murray of the PGA said:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<i>“The blanket prohibition on class A drugs allows criminals to control
both the supply and quality of these drugs to addicts who turn to crime to fund
their addiction. The Prison Governors'
Association believe that a substantial segment of the prison population have
been convicted of low level acquisitive crimes simply to fund that addiction. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The current war on drugs is successful in creating further victims of
acquisitive crime; increasing cost to the taxpayer to accommodate a higher
prison population and allowing criminals to control and profit from the sale and
distribution of Class A drugs. A fundamental review of the prohibition-based
policy is desperately required and this is why the Prison Governors'
Association are keen to support the 'Count the Costs' initiative.” </i></blockquote>
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<b>Martin Powell,
co-ordinator of the Count the Costs initiative said:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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"We are delighted the Prison Governors Association - whose members
witness the day to day futility of the <st1:place w:st="on">UK</st1:place>'s current enforcement-led
approach to drugs - is supporting the global Count the Costs initiative.
Increasingly, those involved in picking up the pieces of our failed war on
drugs want to see alternatives to prohibition explored. The coalition should
heed the PGA's call, and commission a comprehensive policy review as a matter
of urgency."</blockquote>
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<b>ENDS</b><br />
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<b>Contact:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Eoin McLennan-Murray: </div>
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Martin Powell, Count the Costs Co-ordinator: 07875 679301</div>
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<b>Notes for Editors:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Supporters of the Count
the Costs initiative include:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Human Rights Watch, the Howard League for Penal Reform, the
International AIDS Society and the <st1:state w:st="on">Washington</st1:state>
Office on <st1:place w:st="on">Latin America</st1:place>.</div>
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<b>Fernando Henrique Cardoso</b>, Former President of <st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></div>
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<b>Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León</b>, Former President of Mexico and Director of the Yale Centre for the Study of Globalization <br />
<br />
Michael Kazatchkine, Former director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria <br />
<br />
Sir Richard Branson, Founder and chairman of Virgin Group <br />
<br />
For the full list of supporters see: <a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/supporters">http://www.countthecosts.org/supporters</a><br />
<br />
At the PGA Conference in 2010 the following motion was passed: <br />
<br />
“This conference believes that the current “War on Drugs” is expensive and ineffective and mandates the NEC to engage with the prisons minister to consider other ways of tackling the drugs problem both within prisons and the wider community.” <br />
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/c3jcd3h">http://tinyurl.com/c3jcd3h</a><br />
<br />
A recent letter organised by rap mogul Russell Simmons attracted a wide range of signatories, including: <br />
Susan Sarandon, Justin Bieber, Harry Belafonte, Cameron Diaz, Jim Carrey, Will Smith, Ron Howard, Mark Wahlberg<br />
<a href="http://globalgrind.com/endthewarondrugs/">http://globalgrind.com/endthewarondrugs/</a><br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>George Murkinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040268517591626609noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-42931262410734413172013-04-24T14:02:00.000+01:002013-04-25T14:16:50.181+01:00Academic refutes 'soft on cannabis' media claimsOn 5 April the Daily Mail published this news article: <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2304261/The-price-going-soft-cannabis-Labours-experiment-pushed-hard-drug-use-crime.html">The price of going soft on cannabis: Labour's experiment 'pushed up hard drug use and crime'</a>.<br />
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<br />
The public letter reproduced below and <a href="http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Nils-Braakmann-letter.pdf">here</a> (PDF) from Dr Nils Braakmann of Newcastle University emphatically refutes the way that the Mail and a number of newspapers reported his research.<br />
<br />
Contrary to the news reports, his research (which were only provisional findings presented at a conference, not yet published in a peer reviewed journal) did <i>not</i> show that reclassifying cannabis from Class B to Class C led to an absolute increase in cannabis use or crime. He says that he never looked at this, and the research results: <i>"should not be interpreted as evidence that the declassification was “bad”. "</i><br />
<br />
He goes on to say:<br />
<br />
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"...our estimates do not contradict potential aggregate crime reducing effects of cannabis depenalisation. As stated earlier, it is quite possible that the aggregate or regional effects of cannabis depenalisation are positive."</i></blockquote>
<br />
The Daily Telegraph piece making similar inaccurate claims for the research has now been removed, but the other reports mentioned in Dr Braakmann's letter, including by the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2304261/The-price-going-soft-cannabis-Labours-experiment-pushed-hard-drug-use-crime.html">Daily Mail,</a> remain online. The report was cited again in the Mail on Sunday in <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2312441/National-Pot-Smoking-Day-2013-Hundreds-pro-cannabis-campaigners-light-Londons-Hyde-Park.html">this article from 21 April</a>.<br />
<br />
It was robustly challenged by Ewan Hoyle of Lib Dems for Drug Policy Reform on Politics.co.uk in an article titled <a href="http://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2013/04/07/comment-the-sloppy-journalism-misrepresents-cannabis-use">'The sloppy journalism that misrepresents cannabis use'</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.kent.ac.uk/news/comment/stories/Criminologist-Refutes-Crime%20increase-Cannabis/2013">Prof Alex Stevens</a> of the University of Kent also challenged <a href="http://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/6121" target="_blank">another piece of research</a> discussed in the coverage, carried out by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which relates specifically to the experiment with tolerant cannabis policing in Lambeth (London), and was cited by the Mail and the Telegraph as further evidence of the negative impact of cannabis depenalisation.<br />
<br />
This story provides yet another example of how the need to support a particular policy perspective can distort objective science reporting. Whilst a common theme in science reporting generally, drug policy has a particularly poor record. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Dr Nils Braakmann's letter</b></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>11 April 2013 </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>To the interested public, </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Some further comments on the press coverage and contents of my research on cannabis consumption, consumption of other drugs and crime. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>I am the lead researcher on the cannabis research piece that received (somewhat distorted) coverage in the Daily Mail and the Telegraph on Friday, April 5, 2013, and the Daily Star on Saturday, April 6, 2013. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Several members of the interested public have contacted me to ask questions about the research in question. The following is a brief reply to these questions. It is also an extension to our initial reaction to the press overage published on https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/nubs/ on Friday, April 5, 2013. I also recommend the excellent <a href="http://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2013/04/07/comment-the-sloppyjournalism-misrepresents-cannabis-use">comment and summary</a> of our findings (as well as those by Adda, McConnel and Rasul) by Ewan Hoyle. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>First and foremost, this research is in its early stages and was presented in front of a professional audience at the Royal Economic Society annual conference on Friday. It was never intended to reach an audience beyond professional scholars at this conference. The paper is not publicly available, we never made any press release and we never talked to any journalist. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>My personal opinion is that research should only influence public policy or public opinion after undergoing peer review, not necessarily because all peer-reviewed research is correct, but because (a) peer review ensures that the work has at least received some outside scrutiny and (b) only after peer review and the final publication of a piece of research can we be sure that the respective study will not change anymore (of course, results can still be overturned by later research – and often are as human knowledge progresses). </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>As such, I am deeply unsympathetic towards premature press coverage of work in progress. Of course, I understand the freedom of the press to cover any story in the public domain, but I think it is vital that the press and the public are aware that academic conferences are not press conferences. Discussion of early-stage academic work at conferences is a necessary step in the development and maturing of academic papers, but results are often still preliminary and work at this stage will regularly undergo changes. As such even competent and best-case coverage of such work always runs the risk of commenting on results that might not be there in the next revision of an academic paper. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>In this case my work has also been misquoted and misrepresented by sections of the press. While I would still prefer not having to discuss the results in the open at this point in time for the reasons explained above, I feel it is important to be clear about the things we do, the things we find and in particular the things we do not find: </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>1) Contrary to press reports, we do not find any absolute increase in cannabis consumption, (a) because we never looked at absolute increases in cannabis consumption and (b) because as far as I know there has never been any absolute increase in cannabis consumption. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>2) We also do not find any absolute increase in crime, essentially for the same reasons. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>3) We also do not evaluate the 2004 declassification. Our interest was whether cannabis consumption might lead to increased criminal behaviour among consumers. The obvious difficulty here is to rule out that criminal behaviour causes cannabis consumption or that things like lifestyle changes cause both cannabis consumption and criminal behaviour. The 2004 declassification provides a relatively clean experiment to answer this broader question as it should only influence cannabis consumption but not the other things. Our basic idea is that the declassification and the associated changes in punishments has different effects on different groups of people: There are some people who did not consume cannabis under the old punishment regime but start doing so after the declassification. For some of these people, deterrence through the earlier tougher punishments mattered. We compare the behaviour of the previous non-consumers with the behaviour of people who already smoked cannabis prior to the declassification. The 25% reported in the press is the relative difference in the change in annual consumption between those two groups (note that this is slightly simplified and the actual piece is more technical). It arises as previous non-consumers have increased their consumption post-2004, while previous consumers decreased theirs. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>4) As pointed out by <a href="http://www.kent.ac.uk/news/comment/stories/Criminologist-Refutes-Crime%20increase-Cannabis/2013">Professor Alex Stevens</a> from the University of Kent there is a risk that these changes just reflect that consumption for non-consumers can only increase, while it can change in both ways for the other group. We are aware of this possibility and are currently looking for ways to investigate and possibly get around this issue. One reason why we present research at conference is to have an informed conversation with other academics about such problems and look for solutions. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>5) Again somewhat simplified: We find similar changes for (low-level) crime and behavioural problems. We do not find anything for cannabis consumption and the consumption of other drugs. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>6) We make it very clear in the paper that our study does not say anything about the overall effect of the 2004 declassification and our results should not be interpreted as evidence that the declassification was “bad”. To quote from the conclusion: “Overall, the estimates indicate that cannabis consumption may induce people to adopt a riskier lifestyle that goes hand-in-hand with low-level criminal activities, such as criminal damage, anti-social behaviour, fighting and victimisation. One should keep in mind that our estimates do not say anything about whether individuals are turned towards a life of crime – in fact this seems somewhat unlikely given the choice of criminal activities and the overall picture that emerges from the estimates (after all hardened criminals do not necessarily spend their time spraying graffiti). […] </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Finally, it should be stressed that our estimates do not contradict potential aggregate crime reducing effects of cannabis depenalisation. As stated earlier, it is quite possible that the aggregate or regional effects of cannabis depenalisation are positive as found in Adda, McConnel and Rasul (2011).”</i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>I hope this clarifies a few things. I am very happy to have a further discussion with the wider public on these results, but I would suggest that this should wait until a point in time when this research is finished and published. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Kind regards, </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Dr Nils Braakmann</i></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>Martin Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16428672192550235474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-13966895699428121892013-04-22T16:40:00.004+01:002013-04-22T16:40:56.276+01:00Transform is recruiting<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]-->We are currently looking for an Administrator, to work in our head office in Bristol (21 hours per week).<br />
<br />
The main duties are to oversee the financial and operational administration of the organisation. For a full job description and person specification, please download the files below.<br />
<br />
Now is a great time to join the drug policy reform movement, so if you think you have the required skills and would like to apply, please send your CV and cover letter to <a href="mailto:jane@tdpf.org.uk">jane@tdpf.org.uk.</a><br />
<a href="mailto:jane@tdpf.org.uk"><br /></a>
<b>The closing date for all applications is Friday 10th May at 12.00 noon </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Interviews will take place on Friday 17th May 2013. </b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.tdpf.org.uk/job_description_administrator.pdf" target="_blank">Job description (PDF)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.tdpf.org.uk/person_spec_administrator.pdf" target="_blank">Person specification (PDF)</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15263261726046054614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-50080996440220278412013-03-18T10:09:00.001+00:002013-03-18T17:30:38.591+00:00Drug Courts: A cause for celebration or a misguided attempt at progress?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In 1989 the first known drug treatment
court was established in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Miami</st1:place></st1:city>
in response to a crack epidemic. Two decades later, such courts are widespread
across the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
offering treatment instead of prison time to some defendants arrested for
drug-related felonies. Who is offered treatment is entirely at the discretion
of the judge and defendants are usually required to plead guilty in order to be
considered. Those who are offered and accept treatment are routinely drug
tested throughout the process. Additionally judges can reward or punish the behaviour of those in treatment; incentives used includes certificates, cards
and applause from the courtroom while sanctions include admonishments, assigned
essays and, disturbingly, increased drug testing and court appearances or even
a few days in jail. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJxvPx-RgtObpWvQDyrrjdwXQZElOrYRElnX6frk_abNsj_GresFUPp5CdsIrWPrkaHvzR4L5Des3OyQGR25RookMOMKAxAARyYgMm1ZxxMvQOqQU58CAbZ6ev1Hc-3gBBxJt/s1600/drug-courts-location-map-lr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJxvPx-RgtObpWvQDyrrjdwXQZElOrYRElnX6frk_abNsj_GresFUPp5CdsIrWPrkaHvzR4L5Des3OyQGR25RookMOMKAxAARyYgMm1ZxxMvQOqQU58CAbZ6ev1Hc-3gBBxJt/s320/drug-courts-location-map-lr.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US">This year, according to the National
Association of Drug Court professionals, <a href="http://www.thefix.com/content/drug-courts91363?page=1" target="_blank">120,000 people will be tried in 2734 drug courts spread across all 50 states</a>. The question of whether these courts
are a step in the right direction, towards viewing drug addiction through the
sphere of public health as opposed to criminality, has never been so pertinent. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The clear positive aspect of this model is
that less people are going to prison for drug offences. Many people convicted
for non-violent drug-related offences are offered an opportunity to reclaim
their lives and access the treatment they need. It is also worth celebrating
that people under this model can be saved from needless incarceration and that
fewer families will be arbitrarily separated as a result of this. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/-%20http://www.thefix.com/content/drug-courts91363?page=1" target="_blank">A reported 75% of people who complete the drug court programme are not arrested again for 2 years.</a> This also means that
one in every four is, usually for another drug-related offence. <a href="http://www.thefix.com/content/drug-courts91363?page=2" target="_blank">Judges acknowledge that relapse is extremely common for an individual fighting an addiction</a>, and the role of a strong support network along the road to recovery
cannot be emphasized enough. Given that drug courts appear to subscribe to a
model of addiction that allows for relapse, it is odd that relapse is punished
and treated as ‘non-compliance’. Could it be that the pressure of an
environment in which failing to complete the program successfully could result
in incarceration is not conducive to effectively battling an addiction? Perhaps
being publicly admonished in a courtroom in front of others who are in
treatment, being given a telling off at the point when support and compassion
are most needed, is not the best incentive to give up drugs. The use of a few
nights in jail as a sanction is an incredibly irresponsible part of any
treatment program and can only be a means by which to satisfy the public’s
desire to see criminals punished. Given the high levels of stress, helplessness
and guilt often associated with attempted recovery, especially in the first
year, an experience as stressful as being given jail time, even for only a few
nights, could easily push someone back into relapse. It is also likely that not
everyone successfully completing ‘treatment’ is addicted to drugs: given that
some people have been offered treatment as opposed to sentencing for the crime
of possession, it is probable that some recreational users have accepted
treatment as preferable to jail. The success rate with genuine
addicts would t</span>herefore be lower than 75% in reality.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.examenequitesalariale.gc.ca/eng/pi/rs/rep-rap/2006/rr06_7/rr06_7.pdf" target="_blank">The figure of 75% becomes even less impressive when we consider that a meta-analysis by Latimer, Morton-Bourgon and Chrétien indicates that 45% of those admitted to treatment via drug courts drop out.</a> It is likely that these 45% who
are let go by the treatment system are in fact the most in need. What happens
to them instead is that they face jail time and, often, an increased sentence
for ‘non-compliance’ with the treatment. The drug courts’ treatment program
fails nearly half of those attending. <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2184815" target="_blank">The International Drug Policy Consortium claims that judges are biased towards those who are perceived as ‘easy’ cases</a>;
in their eagerness to prove that the increased federal funding is justified,
judges choose cases in which they believe the individual has the greatest
chance of success under the minimum financial and institutional effort. This
systematically excludes the most problematic users who are the most in need of
help.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The problem with an arrangement that twins
principles of treatment and punishment is that it cannot deliver treatment
effectively. The drug court is first and foremost an instrument of the law, and
therefore treatment is compromised because the program is still a part of the
justice system, and the punitive element will always dominate this arrangement. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjelonnskP9gNgnITuZe97o_LH_0IZGSWwwLCNsd3IE69SCy4fy2f_Sy28MApR1KlNaQujUgr1Mli6m0NTajZvLUqKl02vqU_shqfs-FXQosAqSQzTemNq4EY35JDRsgsQUveV4/s1600/gavel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjelonnskP9gNgnITuZe97o_LH_0IZGSWwwLCNsd3IE69SCy4fy2f_Sy28MApR1KlNaQujUgr1Mli6m0NTajZvLUqKl02vqU_shqfs-FXQosAqSQzTemNq4EY35JDRsgsQUveV4/s320/gavel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US">There is a huge tension between the act of
sending someone who is in court for a drug-related felony to a treatment
program and sending anyone failing this program to prison. While judges apparently understand that <a href="http://www.thefix.com/content/drug-courts91363?page=all" target="_blank">‘relapse is part of addiction’</a>, and try to
accommodate this, individuals who are unable to do what the court asks of them,
including abstaining from drugs, are let go from the program and are
incarcerated. If the court recognizes, at the point at which treatment is
offered as an alternative to prison, that an individual’s criminality derives solely
from their dependence on drugs and that they need and deserve help, how then do
they justify punishing those addicts who fail the program and are surely the
most in need by forcing them to carry out a prison sentence? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/habits-most-drug-users-are-happy-successful-people-with-a-taste-for-the-good-life-1292155.html" target="_blank">Most drug users are not problematic drug users.</a> However, for those who are, it is important to ask ourselves, why did it
take choosing treatment over prison for these people to receive help? Why were
these people allowed to find themselves in court </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">–</span> in some cases for stealing to
fund their addiction <span style="font-size: 12pt;">– </span>and be processed by the legal system before they could
be identified and helped by a health professional? The illegality of certain drugs, as well as the media's perpetuation of the stereotype of drug users as feckless and
incompetent, <a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/sites/default/files/Stigma-briefing.pdf" target="_blank">stigmatises those who use them</a>, including and especially those who
are addicted.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Public antipathy towards people who are
dependent on drugs is widespread, and this is fuelled by irresponsible and
offensive media reporting. Stigmatising language such as ‘junkie’ is used in
the media as bywords for social deviance; their effect is to dehumanize the
subject, reducing the sum of a person’s character to their drug use. This
heavily perpetuated stigmatisation can make it extremely difficult for an
individual to admit to their doctor, their family or even themselves that their
drug use is no longer recreational and has become problematic. The specific
stigma associated with illegal drug use, on top of the more generalised stigma
towards seeking help that exists in capitalist Western societies, means that
many individuals who need professional help are not getting it. Attempts to
recover from an addiction without the professional help of any kind can be incredibly dangerous if an individual decides to go cold-turkey
and suffers the effects of a sudden withdrawal. In addition to the social stigma, <a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/sites/default/files/Health-briefing.pdf" target="_blank">many drug users are denied or have restricted access to healthcare.</a> The fear of judgement and arrest deters the
hardest-to-reach individuals from seeking treatment. The lack of empathy by
many hospital staff towards drug users further exacerbates this. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To this extent, the existence of drug
courts is a good thing, because many people who may not have otherwise sought
help are offered treatment. However, there is also a risk that drug courts can
increase the stigmatisation associated with drug use, and specifically with
those who are in rehabilitation from drug addiction. The fact that the
treatment is accepted only to avoid prison unavoidably links treatment with
punishment in an unhealthy way. People in this treatment program are made to
attend court frequently, and one of the
punishments handed out for ‘non-compliance’ is having to attend court more
often. This is creates an environment in which recovering addicts feel like they are there to be punished more than helped. Moreover, in wider society, if people see judges handing out treatment programs as sentences, this can only
further entrench the stigma attached to all people in recovery from drug
addiction, whether voluntary or not. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Another problem with the treatment program
offered by drug courts is the metric by which they measure success. Due to prohibitionist drug laws, these treatment programs are abstinence-only. Many
people fail at abstinence and, surely, <a href="http://www.ihra.net/files/2010/08/10/Briefing_What_is_HR_English.pdf" target="_blank">a harm reduction program of treatment</a> would be preferable to incarceration? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-US">Furthermore, it's interesting to look at who benefits from the
massive amounts of discretion given to judges in deciding who should be offered treatment. Despite the fact that there is almost no difference in drug use between Black and White people in the US, Black people are over <a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/sites/default/files/Stigma-briefing.pdf" target="_blank">10 times more likely</a> to be imprisoned for a drug offence than White people. African Americans are more significantly more likely to be
stopped and searched, arrested and prosecuted for drug-related offences than
people of any other race in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
The NYCLU report that Black people and Latinos combined make up 90% of those
imprisoned in <st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state> for drug offences. Most
illegal drug users in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>
are White. </span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpTipHwiCoE2zr5HAmmcf88_TI1l01kKab42he5I_RYjWETKWs6n7QfIX3AIILS_a3fbMSM5cl3sw8sohg8OqgS8IEjzHqK816d6O_dTE9ktQ3QT8xrFDQvHmHkZbhcF8p3aL/s1600/black-in-prison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpTipHwiCoE2zr5HAmmcf88_TI1l01kKab42he5I_RYjWETKWs6n7QfIX3AIILS_a3fbMSM5cl3sw8sohg8OqgS8IEjzHqK816d6O_dTE9ktQ3QT8xrFDQvHmHkZbhcF8p3aL/s320/black-in-prison.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US">Surely then, if the judges exhibit no
institutional racism, and 90% of those tried in court for drug-related offences are African-American, then around 90% of people going into treatment should also be
African-American. However, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/-%20http://www.thefix.com/content/drug-courts91363?page=2" target="_blank">figures from the Brooklyn Drug Treatment Court</a> show
that this is not the case: 75-80% of people tried in this court are Black, 15%
Latino and 10% White, yet Black people are at least 30% more likely than White
people to be expelled from drug court than White people being tried for the
same offence. </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It appears that when judges are allowed
large margins of discretion, the same institutional racism that poisons much of
the justice system at the level of ‘random’ stop-and-searches, and at the level
of detainment and arrest, is apparent in the court room. Given the close
correlation that still exists between race and class in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">US,</st1:country-region></st1:place> and given that richer
individuals can afford to deal with a struggle with addiction in a private
setting, the all too familiar treatment of African Americans within the drug
courts seems even more pernicious. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While it is tempting to celebrate the
expansion of drug courts as a progressive step towards a more tolerant attitude
to drug use, the reality is far removed from this image. In reality, drug courts
are just as rife with institutionalised racism as much of the justice system,
focus narrowly on those who are the least in need of help, and take
a punitive attitude to recovery because they are, </span>by necessity, bound up with the criminal
justice system.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295607004937797223noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-14698611637567352402013-03-08T15:59:00.000+00:002013-03-08T17:40:55.043+00:00The war on drugs: time to count the costs to women<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<i>The below post is reproduced from the <a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/blog/war-drugs-time-count-costs-women" target="_blank">Count the Costs blog</a>. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/seven-costs/promoting-discrimination-and-stigma" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqcRwOK3wHVPc8UlO_yALDzObTeAax_KplMPMsZzJkb_UdEKTuAR47c36ZZSEBlxEac9Uo1GnPnUL7MX89HmzZP3uM9lJzhG12UBqAR32NrNqgkPL74sjbAqVC5wAxJBhIeDLocQ/s200/stigma-2.jpg" width="141" /></a>Given that today is <a href="http://www.internationalwomensday.com/">International Women’s Day</a>, it seems an appropriate time to highlight the fact that the war on drugs has disastrous effects for not only men, but women too. The below extract is taken from the Count the Costs <a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/seven-costs/promoting-discrimination-and-stigma">stigma and discrimination briefing</a>, and outlines the particular ways in which the drug war causes undue suffering to women across the globe. (See the full briefing for references.) If you work for, or are a member of, an organisation that promotes women's rights, please email <a href="mailto:info@countthecosts.org">info@countthecosts.org</a> to join our <a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/supporters">list of supporters</a>.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Although most commonly convicted for low-level, non-violent drug offences, and not the principal figures in criminal organisations, women are disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.<br />
<br />
Mandatory minimum sentencing for trafficking often fails to distinguish between quantities carried, and even lower-end sentences can be very harsh. Rigid sentencing guidelines often limit judges’ discretion, preventing them from considering mitigating factors that might reduce the sentences handed down. The result has been that many women involved in drug supply at a relatively low level are subject to criminal sanctions similar to those issued to high-level market operatives and large-scale traffickers.<br />
<br />
This results in particularly severe sentences for so-called “drug mules” – those women who carry illicit drugs from one country to another either in their luggage or inside their person. Usually coming from socially and economically marginalised backgrounds, such women are commonly driven to drug trafficking either by desperation (a lack of wealth and opportunity), or by coercion and exploitation from men further up the drug trading hierarchy. The prison sentences drug mules can receive are all the more excessive considering that these women are often characterised by low levels of literacy, mental health or drug dependence issues, and histories of sexual or physical abuse. Any dependents of these women are a frequently overlooked additional population of drug-war casualties.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<img height="266" src="http://www.countthecosts.org/sites/default/files/_MG_0662.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<br />
The war on drugs contributes to the sexual abuse and exploitation of women, with sex sometimes used as currency on the illicit drug market, or women being forced to have sex to avoid arrest or punishment by law enforcement. Reports from Kazakhstan, for example, have described police performing cavity searches on female injecting drug users found in areas near to known dealing points – with any seized drugs reclaimable in exchange for sex.<br />
<br />
Expending resources on criminal justice responses to drug use, rather than investing in effective public health measures, further places an undue burden on women. Gender-specific treatment programmes that allow women to live with their children are often lacking (where they exist at all), and in certain countries, pregnant dependent drug users do not have access to the safest and most appropriate treatment practices, compromising both their health and that of their unborn children.<br />
<br />
Drug taking is often equated with negligence or mistreatment of children, as a woman’s drug use or dependence can be grounds for removing a child from her care. This is blanket discrimination on the basis of a lifestyle choice or health condition, often fuelled by populist political and media stereotypes (the term “crack mom” is a notable example). Such weighty decisions should in fact be made on an individual basis, taking into account the real risk of abuse or neglect in each case.<br />
<br />
Drug-related violence, the victims of which have historically been young men, is now also claiming the lives of women. In Central America, some of this violence has been attributed to “femicides” – the murders of women who are killed because of their gender. Although a concrete link between the drug war and such killings is difficult to demonstrate, there is a growing consensus that in many regions the atmosphere of violence and impunity created by the drug cartels has led to an environment in which women are deemed disposable and, as such, can be subjected to horrific forms of abuse.<br />
<br /></blockquote>
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li><blockquote>
Globally, women are imprisoned for drug offences more than for any other crime</blockquote>
</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li><blockquote>
One in four women in prison in Europe and Central Asia are incarcerated for drug offences, with levels as high as 70% in some countries</blockquote>
</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li><blockquote>
From 1986 to 1996, the number of American women incarcerated in state facilities for drug offences increased by 888%, surpassing the rate of growth in the number of men imprisoned for similar crimes</blockquote>
</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li><blockquote>
In Eastern Europe, women who have experienced domestic violence can be refused entry into women’s shelters if they are active drug users</blockquote>
</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li><blockquote>
In Russia, opioid substitution therapy – which is an important and internationally recognised treatment option for pregnant women who use opioids – is not available and is actively opposed by the government</blockquote>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>George Murkinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040268517591626609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-57543083231662630132013-02-28T16:47:00.002+00:002013-02-28T16:47:48.075+00:00Where now for opponents of cannabis law reform?<div id="content-header">
<h1 class="title">
</h1>
</div>
<div class="content">
<div class="node-release-date date">
</div>
<i><br />This opinion piece appears in the <a href="http://www.drugfoundation.org.nz/matters-of-substance/february-2013">Febuary edition of 'Matters of Substance'</a>, the magazine of the <a href="http://www.drugfoundation.org.nz/">New Zealand Drug Policy Foundation. <br /></a></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib5HQ9qMiWVWM8Uxn9h2fXNDO_9_9FJi6X5-OY0vNvpFFQmmzvTjxKFYHIMUq_xgmsP5kxn4lIW83-loWF_FP73zd_iyw0NP-_llw0R8mEV7CWhUZIl6Rb3xUTsPTVWDn9TDrXhQ/s1600/MOS-Front-cover-Feb-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib5HQ9qMiWVWM8Uxn9h2fXNDO_9_9FJi6X5-OY0vNvpFFQmmzvTjxKFYHIMUq_xgmsP5kxn4lIW83-loWF_FP73zd_iyw0NP-_llw0R8mEV7CWhUZIl6Rb3xUTsPTVWDn9TDrXhQ/s640/MOS-Front-cover-Feb-13.jpg" width="452" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
<b><i>As a new high-profile group is established in the US to fight legalisation, Steve Rolles, a long-time advocate for regulating drugs, considers how recent reform victories are reshaping the landscape of the oldest debate in drug policy.</i></b><br />
<br />
The debate around the legalisation and regulation of cannabis has been with us since the 60s, but recent years have seen it move increasingly from the margins into the political mainstream. In the US, support for legalising cannabis has crossed the 50 percent threshold; even in the spiritual home of the War on Drugs, and despite bipartisan political hostility, a majority now support an end to cannabis prohibition. <br />
<br />
Last November, the issue made the decisive move from theoretical debate to political reality as the states of Washington and Colorado passed ballot initiatives that not only legalised personal cannabis possession for adults but also set in motion the first regulated markets for non-medicinal cannabis anywhere in the world. If, as seems likely, the laws are implemented (the federal government is still considering its response at time of writing), this will represent the first real breach in the global prohibitionist regime. <br />
<br />
While reform advocates have been understandably jubilant, for opponents, a strategic rethink has become necessary, perhaps best represented by a new group called <a href="http://learnaboutsam.com/">Smart Approaches to Marijuana</a>. This initiative is led by Kevin Sabet, a US Office of National Drug Control veteran under three administrations and probably the highest profile opponent of cannabis legalisation in the US with hundreds of print and broadcast credits to his name. Sabet is supported in the SAM leadership team by former congressman Patrick Kennedy, journalist David Frum and a group of academics and medical professionals. <br />
<br />
The SAM project appears to represent a clear strategic repositioning for Sabet and, by inference, the wider coalition of cannabis law reform opponents. Most striking is the recommendation that cannabis possession should become a civil offence and that criminal records for possession be expunged. The additional requirement for a <i>“mandatory health screening and marijuana-education program as appropriate”</i> has met with indignation amongst some US reformers, but suggestions that SAM advocates mandatory rehab are not supported by the text on the site (referrals to treatment are specifically advocated only <i>"if needed"</i>). <br />
<br />
While the term <i>‘decriminalisation’ </i>does not appear, it is precisely what is being advocated by most <a href="http://bma.org.uk/news-views-analysis/in-depth-drugs-of-dependence/full-report">definitions used in drug policy</a> (closely mirroring the Portuguese decriminalisation model, albeit only for cannabis). It is a significant shift for Sabet who, as recently as <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20120422-kevin-sabet-why-obama-is-right-to-oppose-drug-legalization.ece">April 2012</a>, was writing of decriminalisation that <i>“such a policy may actually make us worse off”</i> and flat out that it <i>“won’t work”</i>. <br />
<br />
It would be gratifying to think his group has been convinced by reform arguments or <a href="http://www.ihra.net/files/2012/09/04/Chapter_3.4_drug-decriminalisation_.pdf">evidence from 14 US states and 25 or so other countries</a> around the world that have already adopted decriminalisation models. However, equally plausible is the dawning realisation that decriminalisation, at least of cannabis, is now a political inevitability and Canute-like defiance is futile. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2012/12/14/obama-ive-got-bigger-fish-to-fry-than-pot-smokers/">Obama’s recent statement</a> that <i>‘we’ve got bigger fish to fry’</i> (than arresting cannabis users) suggests that SAM may also be echoing (or informing) shifting priorities at federal level. There is certainly considerable convergence between the SAM proposals and the US Office of National Drug Control Policy’s talk of a third way (between the extremes of legalisation and a War on Drugs) and retreat from more hawkish War on Drugs rhetoric. <br />
<br />
Some hardline prohibitionist groups, however, seem determined to dig in. The World Federation Against Drugs for example, <a href="http://www.wfad.se/images/articles/Statement_from_the_Congress.pdf">describes advocates of decriminalisation</a> as “driven by greed, disrespect of human rights and lack of understanding of the harms of drugs and of addiction”. SAM by contrast, appears to be conceding on decriminalisation but drawing a line in the sand on legalisation regulation. <br />
<br />
The arguments against legalisation are familiar, with, perhaps unsurprisingly,<i> “cannabis use is harmful”</i> front and centre, supported by extensive detail and references. For Transform, debating the risks of cannabis is a distraction from the more salient point that, however risky cannabis is, it is more risky when produced and supplied via an unregulated criminal market (and this is quite aside from the harms of that criminal market). Cannabis needs to be legally regulated because of its risks, not because it is safe. <br />
<br />
More interestingly, SAM places <a href="http://learnaboutsam.com/marijuana-is-like-tobacco/">great emphasis</a> on the threat of the commercialisation of a legal cannabis market, dwelling on the spectre of Big Tobacco. This, certainly, is a legitimate concern but, in fairness, hardly one that has been ignored.*<br />
<br />
Regulation is a blank slate; governments can establish any legal and policy framework they deem appropriate. As demonstrated by <a href="http://www.druglawreform.info/en/country-information/uruguay">Uruguay’s proposals</a> for a state monopoly on cannabis supply and the <a href="http://www.druglawreform.info/en/publications/legislative-reform-series-/item/1095-cannabis-social-clubs-in-spain">emerging non-profit cannabis cooperatives in Spain</a>, a commercial model is far from a given, let alone one that <i>“will act just as the tobacco industry acts”</i> as SAM dramatically proclaims. <br />
<br />
Indeed, the tobacco industry has seen increasingly strict regulation of dosage, price, packaging, public consumption, branding and marketing over past decades. In much of the West, even in the US, these <a href="http://www.who.int/fctc/en/">smarter approaches to tobacco</a> (regulatory tools are impossible under prohibition) have helped dramatically reduce tobacco use in a matter of decades at the same time as cannabis use has been rising. <br />
<br />
It’s hard to escape the observation that SAM may be making a case against free-market legalisation while actually supporting a strictly regulated market model. Maybe having seen the light on decriminalisation, they will soon join principled reformers in helping design the optimal regulatory frameworks for legal cannabis that can deliver the shared goals we all seek<br />
<br />
*<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">see for example see p.105 of Transform's 2009 <a href="http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Transform_Drugs_Blueprint.pdf">'Blueprint for Regulation'</a>, p37, p.51 of Transform's 2006 <a href="http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Tools_For_The%20Debate.pdf">'Tools for the Debate'</a>, or <a href="http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Transform%20DoH%20tobacco%20consultation.pdf">Transform's submission</a> to the UK Govt 2008 consultation on tobacco policy</span></i> <br />
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>Steve Rolleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11487781869462634203noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-52464679866189601392013-02-19T00:01:00.000+00:002013-02-19T00:01:00.184+00:00New Ipsos MORI poll shows 53% of GB public want cannabis legalised or decriminalised<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">News release</span></span></b></b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; font-weight: bold; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<b><b>Embargoed
until 00:01 Tuesday 19 February</b></b></span></span></b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span></span><b><b><span style="color: #0099ff;"><span style="color: #0099ff; line-height: 150%;">Tel:</span></span></b></b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"> 07980 213 943
or 07970 174 747<br />
</span></span><b><b><span style="color: #0099ff;"><span style="color: #0099ff; line-height: 150%;">Web:</span></span></b></b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"> <a href="http://www.tdpf.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #336699;"><span style="color: #336699;">www.tdpf.org.uk</span></span></a><br />
</span></span><b><b><span style="color: #0099ff;"><span style="color: #0099ff; line-height: 150%;">Registered
charity number:</span></span></b></b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"> 1100518</span></span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">New
Ipsos MORI poll shows 53% of GB public want cannabis legalised or
decriminalised, and 67% want a comprehensive review of our approach to
drugs</span></span></b></b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">A new poll by Ipsos MORI, commissioned by
Transform Drug Policy Foundation, shows that over half of the public
(53%) support cannabis legalisation (legal regulation of production and
supply) or decriminalisation of possession of cannabis. Only 1 in 7
support heavier penalties and more being spent on enforcement for
cannabis offences. In addition, the survey shows that around two thirds
(67%) support a comprehensive independent review of all the possible
policy options (from legal market regulation to tougher enforcement)
for controlling drugs.<br />
<br />
The findings indicate that 45% of mid-market newspaper readers
(including Daily Mail and Express readers) support cannabis
legalisation (legal regulation of production and supply) or
decriminalisation of possession of cannabis, with less than one in five
(17%) supporting heavier penalties and more being spent on enforcement
for cannabis offences. For tabloid readers these figures are 47% and
20%. Around 65% of mid-market newspaper readers and 66% of tabloid
readers support a full review of all drug policy options.<br />
<br />
Additional survey findings include:</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">53% of the public support
legal regulation or decriminalisation of cannabis - 50% of
Conservative supporters and 55% of Labour supporters also support
these options, as do 46% of Daily Mail readers</span></span></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Only 14% of the public (and
17% of Daily Mail readers) support tougher enforcement and heavier
penalties for cannabis offences</span></span></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">67% want a comprehensive
review of all policy options. 70% of Conservative supporters and
69% of Labour supporters also feel this way, as do 61% of Daily
Mail readers</span></span></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">When outcomes from Portugal
were briefly described, almost 40% of the public support the
Portuguese-style decriminalisation of small quantities of drugs
for personal possession</span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">A
spokesperson for Transform said: <i><i>“These results show just how far ahead
of politicians the public are. Whilst Labour and Conservative
politicians shy away from the debate on drugs, around half of their
supporters want to see legal regulation of cannabis production and supply
or decriminalisation of cannabis possession, and a significant majority
want a comprehensive review of our approach to drugs – including
consideration of legal regulation. The poll demonstrates that even
amongst Daily Mail readers, almost half support less punitive
approaches to cannabis, and a majority back an independent review of
all options, which may come as a surprise to the paper’s editors.</i></i><br />
<br />
<i><i>“Politicians
have repeated their ‘tough on drugs’ propaganda for so long
that they assume the public are more fearful of change than they really
are. In fact the world has changed, and the public are far more
progressive than was thought, right across the political spectrum. At
the very least the government should heed long standing and growing
calls for a review of all policy options, including legal regulation.
And as a matter of urgency the coalition should engage in experiments
in the Portuguese style decriminalisation of possession of drugs for
personal use. Now is the time for the heads of all parties to show the
leadership citizens surely deserve.” </i></i><br />
<br />
<b><b>Contact</b></b><br />
<br />
Danny Kushlick, Head of External
Affairs: 07970 174 747 <a href="mailto:danny@tdpf.org.uk"><span style="color: #336699;"><span style="color: #336699;">danny@tdpf.org.uk</span></span></a><br />
<br />
Steve Rolles, Senior Policy Analyst: 07980 213 943 <a href="mailto:steve@tdpf.org.uk"><span style="color: #336699;"><span style="color: #336699;">steve@tdpf.org.uk</span></span></a><br />
</span></span></span></span></div>
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<b><b>Notes</b></b><br />
<br />
1. The full poll data is available here: <a href="http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Ipsos_MORI_TPDF_poll.pdf"><span style="color: #336699;"><span style="color: #336699;">http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Ipsos_MORI_TPDF_poll.pdf</span></span></a><br />
<br />
<b><b>Technical
Details</b></b><br />
<br />
Ipsos MORI carried out the survey, on behalf of Transform Drug Policy
Foundation, between 25<sup>th</sup> January and 5<sup>th</sup> February
2013. A sample of 946 British adults aged 18+ completed a face-to-face
survey via the Ipsos MORI omnibus. The data has been weighted by
gender, social grade, age, region, working status, housing tenure and
ethnicity to reflect the known local population profile.<br />
<br />
<b><b>Questions /
Definitions</b></b></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Given the subject matter,
questions were presented to respondents on showcards with options
reversed for some respondents. Respondents read out a letter to
indicate their response.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Q1 was a split sample
question: half sample were asked Q1A half sample were asked Q1B.</span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Q1A.</span></span></b></b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"> Possession of illegal drugs is
currently a criminal offence in the UK. Some other countries
have ‘decriminalised’ possession of small quantities of
illegal drugs for personal use. This means that possession of a
small quantity for personal use is usually punished with fines (like a
speeding fine), or attendance at a drug treatment or education
programme, rather than arrest. Under ‘decriminalisation’,
drugs are still confiscated. Production and supply to others remain
criminal offences that may result in punishments carrying a criminal
record, for example a prison sentence, fines or community service.<br />
<br />
With this in mind, which of the following comes closest to your view of
the law in the UK?</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<ol start="1" type="a">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">The law in the UK
should stay as it currently is, so that possession of illegal
drugs remains a criminal offence.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">The law in the UK
should be changed, so that the possession of small quantities of
illegal drugs is ‘decriminalised’, as described.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">An experimental trial of
‘decriminalisation’ should take place for a limited
time period in some parts of the UK, to allow its
effectiveness to be evaluated.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Other</span></span></span></span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Q1B.</span></span></b></b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"> Possession of illegal drugs is
currently a criminal offence in the UK. Some other countries
have ‘decriminalised’ possession of small quantities of
illegal drugs for personal use. This means that possession of a
small quantity for personal use is usually punished with fines (like a
speeding fine), or attendance at a drug treatment or education
programme, rather than arrest. Under ‘decriminalisation’,
drugs are still confiscated. Production and supply to others remain
criminal offences that may result in punishments carrying a criminal
record, for example a prison sentence, fines or community service.<br />
<br />
Since this was introduced in Portugal in 2001, and
resources were instead spent on healthcare, overall use of drugs rose
at a similar rate to neighbouring countries. However, there were higher
numbers accessing drug treatment, the justice system spent less time
and resources on drug-related crime, and there were falls in
problematic drug use, and drug use amongst school age children also
fell.<br />
<br />
With this in mind, which of the following comes closest to your view of
the law in the UK? </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<ol start="1" type="a">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">The law in the UK
should stay as it currently is, so that possession of illegal
drugs remains a criminal offence.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">The law in the UK
should be changed, so that the possession of small quantities of
illegal drugs is ‘decriminalised’, as described.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">An experimental trial of
‘decriminalisation’ should take place for a limited
time period in some parts of the UK, to allow its
effectiveness to be evaluated.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Other</span></span></span></span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Q2. </span></span></b></b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Would you support the government
commissioning a full independent review of drug policy, that compared
our current system of criminalisation with alternatives, including:
increasing the criminal penalties for production, sale and use of
drugs; decriminalising drug possession as described; and the
legalisation and state regulation of production and supply for some
currently illegal drugs?</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<ol start="1" type="a">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Yes, I would support a review</span></span></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">No, I would not support a
review</span></span></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Other</span></span></span></span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Q3.</span></span></b></b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"> Here are a number of different
options for regulating the production, supply and use of cannabis (also
sometimes called marijuana, pot, hash, grass, skunk, weed, spliff or
joints). Please read through this card and then read out the letter
next to the option which you think best matches how you think cannabis
should be regulated.<br />
</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">
</span></span></span></span><br />
<hr align="center" size="2" width="100%" />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">
</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Scenario A. Legal – minimal
control</span></span></b></b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<b><b>Legal to
produce and sell cannabis</b></b> <b><b>with minimal control and
regulation. </b></b><br />
<br />
Similar to tea and coffee, there is unrestricted advertising and
availability. Only basic trading standards and quality controls
apply, with prices, location and number of outlets decided by the
market.</span></span></span></span></div>
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</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Scenario B. Legal – moderate
control</span></span></b></b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
<b><b>Legal
production and availability of cannabis</b></b> <b><b>with moderate government
control and regulation</b></b><br />
<br />
Similar to the current system for tobacco and alcohol, but cannabis is
only available from licensed shops or premises. The number and location
of outlets is decided by the government, which also influences prices
through taxes or setting minimum prices. Packaging carries health
warnings, and advertising and age restrictions apply.<br />
<br />
If you are underage and in possession of cannabis, it may be
confiscated. Licensed premises selling the drug to anyone underage will
be fined, and may lose their license. All unlicensed sales are illegal
and may result in punishments that carry a criminal record, for example
a prison sentence, fines or community service. </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">
</span></span></span></span><br />
<hr align="center" size="2" width="100%" />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">
</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Scenario C. Legal – strict control</span></span></b></b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
<b><b>Legal
production and availability of cannabis</b></b> <b><b>with strict government
control and regulation</b></b><br />
<br />
Like controlled medicines, cannabis is only available either with a
doctor’s prescription for medical uses, and/or bought over the
counter from a licensed retailer similar to a pharmacist, trained to
give health information and advice. The government decides
prices, maximum quantities sold, and the number and location of
outlets. Users may be registered, age restrictions apply.
Packaging carries health warnings, and branding and advertising are
banned.<br />
<br />
Any licensed retailers selling cannabis to anyone underage will be
fined and may lose their license. All unlicensed sales are illegal and
may result in punishments that carry a criminal record, for example a
prison sentence, fines or community service. </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">
</span></span></span></span><br />
<hr align="center" size="2" width="100%" />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">
</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Scenario D. Illegal – decriminalise
possession</span></span></b></b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
<b><b>Illegal to
produce and supply, but possession of cannabis</b></b> <b><b>does not lead to a criminal
record</b></b><br />
<br />
Supply of cannabis is only through the illegal market where
manufacture, distribution and sale are unregulated. Those found in
possession of a small amount of cannabis for personal use would not be
given a criminal record. But the drug may be confiscated, and the user
given a fine (similar to a speeding fine), or a requirement to attend a
drug treatment or education programme. <br />
<br />
Production and supply of cannabis to others remain criminal offences
that may result in punishments carrying a criminal record, for example
a prison sentence, fines or community service.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">
</span></span></span></span><br />
<hr align="center" size="2" width="100%" />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">
</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Scenario E. Illegal – current laws apply</span></span></b></b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
<b><b>Illegal to
produce, supply and be in possession of cannabis</b></b> </span></span><b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050;">–</span></span></b></b><b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"> all lead to a
criminal record</span></span></b></b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Supply
of cannabis is only through the illegal market where manufacture,
distribution and sale are unregulated. Production, supply and
possession for personal use, or to supply others, can result in
punishments that carry a criminal record, for example a prison
sentence, fines or community service.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">
</span></span></span></span><br />
<hr align="center" size="2" width="100%" />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">
</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">Scenario F. Illegal – much heavier penalties
apply</span></span></b></b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
<b><b>Illegal to
produce, supply and be in possession of cannabis</b></b> </span></span><b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050;">–</span></span></b></b><b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"> all carry a
prison sentence</span></span></b></b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
Supply of cannabis is only through the illegal market where
manufacture, distribution and sale are unregulated. Possession for personal
use is always punished with a prison sentence, or a young
offenders’ institution for under 18s. Production and supply to
others is punished with an automatic life prison sentence.
Substantially more money would be spent on enforcement against suppliers
and users. </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<b><b><span style="color: #505050;"><span style="color: #505050; line-height: 150%;">ENDS</span></span></b></b></span></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #505050; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%;">
</span></span></span><br />
<hr align="center" size="2" width="100%" />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #505050; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #505050; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%;">
</span></span></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>Steve Rolleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11487781869462634203noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28543539.post-77517332583192194782013-02-15T10:10:00.000+00:002013-02-15T10:12:35.555+00:00This critique of drug prohibition was written 45 years ago<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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These are pages from<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="fn"><span dir="ltr"> <a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Limits_of_the_Criminal_Sanction.html?id=gncxJvRGyR0C">'The Limits of the Criminal Sanction'</a> written by Herbert L. Packer in 1968. <span style="font-size: small;">I<span style="font-size: small;">t<span style="font-size: small;">'s striking how <span style="font-size: small;">spot on Packer was, and how </span>little the critique has changed. The only real difference is that the<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span>s<span style="font-size: small;">cale of the problems he identifies <a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/">ha<span style="font-size: small;">s</span> become </a></span></span></span></span><a href="http://www.countthecosts.org/">far<span style="font-size: small;">, for </span>greater</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">HT @stra<span style="font-size: small;">yan</span></span></div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">This blog has many contributors; blog entries or comments posted to blog are not necessarily the views of Transform Drug Policy Foundation. For official comment or position statements on any given topic, or with any feedback or queries, please contact Transform. Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity No. 1100518</div>Steve Rolleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11487781869462634203noreply@blogger.com0