“However, where long-term data is available, it does point to systematic failures in drug policies”. Those risks [to drug use] include punishment by the justice system. However, there too the efficacy of policy is highly questionable. The Brookings Institution published an overview of global counter-narcotics policy in 2008 which compared three different approaches: “the punishment…
“Number Ten: We’re wasting human resources. The large majority are men in their prime. Given the right opportunities, an illegal cannabis grower or a meth dealer could use their knowledge and ingenuity…” Globally, tens of millions of nonviolent people have ended up in prison for drug offenses. The large majority are men in their prime.…
Led by Psymposia and the Psychedelic Society of Brooklyn (one of at least 50 city-based such societies around the world), they took on the question of why use, support, or call for the legalization of the consciousness-changing drugs by providing their own answers under the format of “Psychedelics Because…” Earlier this month, scientists examined the…
“These member states will have no opportunity to debate the UNGASS Outcome Document because, bizarrely, the document is set to be agreed at the beginning of the meeting.” “Any proposed language that challenged the failings of the current system, or called for meaningful changes to the status quo, was systematically ignored, marginalised, vetoed, watered down,…
The letter signed by former presidents of Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Switzerland and others, was made public yesterday in advance of a UN special session on the topic beginning April 19. It was released by the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance. The letter says that for decades, governments have focused resources on repressing drug use, resulting…
“These percentages are lower than those of most other states, but they still represent a sizable incentive to seize”. Oregon law enforcement agencies are required to report details of seized and forfeited property to the Asset Forfeiture Oversight Advisory Committee, which aggregates the data and publishes annual reports online. However, data are missing for 2009…
“The question is whether the UN is ready to soften its stance or whether it will plough on despite mountains of evidence suggesting its zero-tolerance approach has failed.” On the face of it, the UN meeting looks set to be a damp squib, with the three existing UN Drug Conventions unlikely to be superseded by…
“[Recalling that] more than eighty percent of the world´s population carries a huge burden of avoidable pain and suffering with little or no access to such medications. “ …harmonization of drug control and Human Rights and development principles. The group membership should represent a balanced selection of experts from Member States and regional organizations, relevant…
“It’s time for us to rethink our approach to global drug policies, and put scientific evidence and public health at the heart of drug policy discussions.” “The goal of prohibiting all use, possession, production, and trafficking of illicit drugs is the basis of many of our national drug laws, but these policies are based on…
“We’re confronted now with the fact that the U.S. cannot enforce domestically what it promotes elsewhere,” a member of the U.N.’s International Narcotics Control Board, which monitors international compliance with the conference’s directives, told me. When the [United Nations] General Assembly convenes [in April 2016], it also will have to contend with the startling fact…
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