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Drug war will change course in 2013
Andrés OppenheimerThe Miami Herald (US)
Thursday, April 26, 2012
When the recent Summit of the Americas in Colombia decided to commission a study on whether to decriminalize drugs, many thought that would be the end of it, and the whole thing would be quickly forgotten. Well, maybe not. For starters, it was the first time that such a large group of heads of state ventured into that once taboo area. And there are several other non-related factors that may contribute to put decriminalization in the front burner later this year, or in early 2013 -
Residents prickled over site of injection room
Location choice causes some of Vesterbro’s local residents to square off against the City Council
The Copenhagen Post (Denmark)
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Many residents of Vesterbro have lived alongside the local homeless and drug-addict populations for decades. But for the sake of the drug users’ health – as well as the hope to reduce crime and avoid exposing children to drug culture – many have long demanded that the city provide a room where drug users can inject their drugs under the supervision of healthcare experts. -
The drug war spreads instability
EditorialThe Globe and Mail (Canada)
Thursday, April 26, 2012The war on drugs doesn’t just cause human misery. It contributes to the political instability of many parts of the world. Countries such as Mali, Guinea Bissau and Liberia are ill-equipped to confront drug traffickers, and the judiciary and police are vulnerable to corruption. Cocaine seizures are worth more than some countries’ entire security budgets. Why should fragile states continue to bear the brunt of a futile anti-narcotics crusade? Instead, the world should strengthen the defences of states under attack, and help them build alternatives to the drug trade. Consumer countries should focus on reducing demand. Prohibition is far from being an adequate answer.
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It's time to transform the global war on drugs
EditorialThe Globe and Mail (Canada)
Wednesday, April 25, 2012At the recent Summit of the Americas, Latin America's leaders pressed Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama to study alternatives to the failed war on drugs; even Mr. Harper, architect of mandatory minimums for minor drug offences at home, acknowledged the current approach isn't working. The 31 hemispheric leaders agreed to appoint a panel to study reform of global drug policies. The panel could spare itself the trouble and endorse the groundbreaking report of a blue-ribbon Global Commission on Drug Policy.
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War on drugs: There has to be a better way
The Miami Herald (US)
Tuesday, April 24, 2012The most important story of the Summit of the Americas was the Latin American demand to open the debate on an alternative to the ‘war on drugs’. The emergence of an increasingly independent and assertive Latin America insisting on a change of direction on drugs reflects an important shift in the terms of the relationship with the United States. Clamor for “democratization” of the debate and a search for new alternatives stems from the perception that Latin American societies pay a disproportionate price in lost lives, hijacked justice systems, abuses in overcrowded prisons, and displaced small farmers, because of the U.S.-led strategy that has prioritized stemming the supply of drugs over reducing its own demand.
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Cannabis : la «modération» plutôt que l’abstinence
Libération (France)
Mardi, 24 avril 2012Non seulement la prohibition n’empêche pas une consommation massive depuis quarante ans, mais elle crée des «effets pervers» comme l’économie parallèle et le trafic. Quant à la répression des usagers que Hollande entend maintenir, elle ne résout rien, et s’applique de façon «injuste et arbitraire», en ne touchant que certains consommateurs, souvent issus des quartiers populaires. Une «légalisation contrôlée», qui permettrait de «lutter contre le trafic et protéger la santé publique». Comment ? Créer une «Française du cannabis», régie nationale de production, disposant d’un monopole sur la distribution à travers un réseau de «cannaboutiques».
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Charities unite in opposition to government drugs policy
Charities have united to condemn the government's 'dangerous' and 'trivialising' approach to drug treatment
The Guardian (UK)
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
An alliance of influential charities has condemned a key government drugs strategy document, calling it an "ideological attack" on proven addiction treatments and "dangerously and deeply flawed". It warns that ministers will be putting lives at risk if proposed plans to push through "abstinence-based" approaches go ahead. -
10 provocative quotes about legalization for global pot day
CBC (Canada)
Thursday, April 19, 2012
The history of 4/20 is somewhat hazy, but it is widely thought to be the work of a group of teenagers who in 1971 made a pact to find an abandoned cannabis crop near their homes in San Rafael, Calif., and designating 4:20 p.m. as their meeting time. The number has since taken on a mythical quality, inspiring pot enthusiasts to stage an annual day of celebratory cannabis consumption. With 4/20 revelers expected to hold smoke-filled demonstrations across the country and around the globe, here’s a round-up of what world leaders and media commentators have said about the drug legalization issue in recent days. -
The legalisation debate broadens
Drugs at the World Economic Forum
The Economist (UK)
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Over the past six months the debate on drugs has moved into the open, as sitting heads of state have gone on the record for the first time to say that they would be prepared to consider legalising narcotics rather than fruitlessly fight them. One of the strongest advocates of radical reform has been Otto Pérez Molina. Mr Pérez, a former head of military intelligence, campaigned promising an “iron fist” against crime. He now suggests that the best way to crush Latin America’s drug mafias might be to remove their main source of revenue from the criminal economy by legalising it. -
What comes after the war on drugs
Dan GardnerThe Ottawa Citizen (Canada)
Thursday, April 19, 2012At the Summit of the Americas, Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed doubt about the war on drugs. “I think what everybody believes and agrees with, and to be frank myself, is that the current approach is not working, but it is not clear what we should do.” It’s admirable for a politician to admit uncertainty. And rare. Especially for a politician who has never expressed anything less than unshakable conviction in the Reaganite nostrums of drug prohibition. But Harper had good reason to be a little shaken.
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