72 hours to End the War on Drugs

[herbal_hindsight]

 

In 72 hours, we could finally see the beginning of the end of the ‘war on drugs’. This expensive war has completely failed to curb the plague of drug addiction, while costing countless lives, devastating communities, and funneling trillions of dollars into violent organized crime networks.

Experts all agree that the most sensible policy is to regulate, but politicians are afraid to touch the issue. In days, a global commission including former heads of state and foreign policy chiefs of the UN, EU, US, Brazil, Mexico and more will break the taboo and publicly call for new approaches including decriminalization and regulation of drugs.

This could be a once-in-a-generation tipping-point moment -- if enough of us call for an end to this madness. Politicians say they understand that the war on drugs has failed, but claim the public isn't ready for an alternative. Let's show them we not only accept a sane and humane policy -- we demand it. Sign the petition and share with everyone -- when we reach 1/2 million, it will be personally delivered to world leaders by the global commission.

For 50 years current drug policies have failed everyone, everywhere but public debate is stuck in the mud of fear and misinformation. Everyone, even the UN Office on Drugs and Crime which is responsible for enforcing this approach agrees -- deploying militaries and police to burn drug farms, hunting down traffickers, and imprisoning dealers and addicts – is an expensive mistake. And with massive human cost -- from Afghanistan, to Mexico, to the USA the illegal drug trade is destroying countries around the world, while addiction, overdose deaths, and HIV/AIDS infections continue to rise.

Meanwhile, countries with less-harsh enforcement -- like Switzerland, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Australia -- have not seen the explosion in drug use that proponents of the drug war have darkly predicted. Instead, they have seen significant reductions in drug-related crime, addiction and deaths, and are able to focus squarely on dismantling criminal empires.

Powerful lobbies still stand in the way of change, including military, law enforcement, and prison departments whose budgets are at stake. And politicians fear that voters will throw them out of office if they support alternative approaches, as they will appear weak on law and order. But many former drug Ministers and Heads of State have come out in favour of reform since leaving office, and polls show that citizens across the world know the current approach is a catastrophe. Momentum is gathering towards new improved policies, particularly in regions that are ravaged by the drug trade.

If we can create a worldwide outcry in the next 72 hours to support the bold calls of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, we can overpower the stale excuses for the status quo. Our voices hold the key to change -- Sign the petition and spread the word.

We have a chance to enter the closing chapter of this brutal 'war' that has destroyed millions of lives. Global public opinion will determine if this catastrophic policy is stopped or if politicians shy away from reform. Let's rally urgently to push our hesitating leaders from doubt and fear, over the edge, and into reason.

Click here to sign the petition and tell your friends!

Edited May 31, 2011 by herbal_hindsight

[Sheather]

Curious. I wonder if it's the result of wishful thinking though. And I'll bet even if it does go through Australia won't implement the changes...

Meanwhile, countries with less-harsh enforcement -- like Switzerland, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Australia -- have not seen the explosion in drug use that proponents of the drug war have darkly predicted.

They've certainly done their research!

[chnt]

i signed up, it's almost reached target..

[Blood Trance Fusion]

Target breached and continuing steadily haha. Not that it's a surprise that the general populace supports this.

[Sheather]

Target is pretty damn small though considering it's a worldwide thing. I'd expect over half a million just in Australia. Half a million at the very, very least. Target raised to 750k? Will they continue to raise it perpetually?

[Halcyon Daze]

Awesome, thanks for posting this!

[Distracted]

Target is pretty damn small though considering it's a worldwide thing. I'd expect over half a million just in Australia. Half a million at the very, very least. Target raised to 750k? Will they continue to raise it perpetually?

 

Well it started out at 1 million and they reduced it to 500,000 after the signitures slowed down.

[herbal_hindsight]

I agree with you Sheather

That's why I posted it as soon as I had stumbled across it myself...

something like this should have been spread much sooner and marketed a lot better!!!

I posted it on my fb page but expect a lot of the people on my friends list will ignorantly see it as supporting drug use rather than what it's really about.

To anyone who has seriously thought about the war on drugs and payed even the slightest bit of attention it has done nothing to stop drug use let alone trafficking and all the money from the illegal market has funded professional criminals but then I guess you could almost say giving the money to the government is no better depending how it gets used.

I have a bit of hope regarding the outcome but am not going to hold my breathe...

better to have tried and failed than not to have tried at all though it's def a step in the right direction

[qualia]

it's a nice idea, i personally don't feel petitions count for much though. especially i think the us has too much invested at this stage, to just walk away. so as usual us is as us does, australia will hold the same position. even if something positive did come from it, and believe me i hope it does, it looks like there may be a return to conservative governments very soon, at least in australia (not sure what the current political climate is in the us though), so wont be for some years yet any positive steps will be taken.

[Distracted]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13624303

The global war on drugs has "failed" according to a new report by group of politicians and former world leaders.

The Global Commission on Drug Policy report calls for the legalisation of some drugs and an end to the criminalisation of drug users.

The panel includes former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the former leaders of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, and the entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson.

The White House rejected the findings, saying the report was misguided.

As well as Mexico's former President Ernesto Zedillo, ex-Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria, the 19-member commission includes the former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker and the current Prime Minister of Greece George Papandreou.

The panel also features prominent Latin American writers Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa, the EU's former foreign policy chief Javier Solana, and George Schultz, a former US secretary of state.

'No harm to others'

Their report argues that anti-drug policy has failed by fuelling organised crime, costing taxpayers millions of dollars and causing thousands of deaths.

It cites UN estimates that opiate use increased 35% worldwide from 1998 to 2008, cocaine by 27%, and cannabis by 8.5%.

The authors criticise governments who claim the current war on drugs is effective:

"Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately: that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem, and that the war on drugs has not, and cannot, be won," the report said.

Instead of punishing users who the report says "do no harm to others," the commission argues that governments should end criminalisation of drug use, experiment with legal models that would undermine organised crime syndicates and offer health and treatment services for drug-users.

It calls for drug policies based on methods empirically proven to reduce crime and promote economic and social development.

The commission is especially critical of the US, saying it must abandon anti-crime approaches to drug policy and adopt strategies rooted in healthcare and human rights.

"We hope this country (the US) at least starts to think there are alternatives," said former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria.

"We don't see the US evolving in a way that is compatible with our (countries') long-term interests."

The office of White House drug tsar Gil Kerlikowske rejected the panel's recommendations.

"Drug addiction is a disease that can be successfully prevented and treated," said a spokesman for the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

"Making drugs more available - as this report suggests - will make it harder to keep our communities healthy and safe."

[tripsis]

Of course the White House rejected it, they couldn't bear to be seen as losers in any war. By the time the message is hammered through the skulls of the thick politicians that make up the White House, the effects of this "war" will be a global travesty.