World Leaders Encourage Countries to End Marijuana Prohibition
commondreams.org | Jun 2nd 2011
WASHINGTON - June 2 - Today, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, an
international organization consisting of high level current and former heads of
state and policy experts, released a report suggesting world governments give
up the war on drugs and consider more rational harm-reduction policies,
including removing all criminal penalties for the possession and use of
marijuana. The Commission, which included former U.N. Secretary General Kofi
Annan and former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, among many others,
urged leaders to consider alternatives to incarceration for drug use to shift
their focus toward treatment of drug abusers, rather than punishment and
interdiction for recreational users.
"These prominent world leaders recognize an undeniable reality. The use of
marijuana, which is objectively less harmful than alcohol, is widespread and
will never be eliminated,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana
Policy Project. “They acknowledge that there are only two choices moving
forward. We can maintain marijuana's status as a wholly illegal substance and
steer billions of dollars toward drug cartels and other criminal actors. Or, we
can encourage nations to make the adult use of marijuana legal and have it sold
in regulated stores by legitimate, taxpaying business people. At long last, we
have world leaders embracing the more rational choice and advocating for legal,
regulated markets for marijuana. We praise these world leaders for their
willingness to advocate for this sensible approach to marijuana policy."
This study comes as Portugal enjoys the tenth year of its experiment with
decriminalizing all drugs. Since making the bold policy move in 2001, Portugal
has seen crime, use rates, addiction rates, overdose deaths, and blood-borne
disease all decrease significantly. The study released today suggests that a
similar model could be adopted successfully elsewhere. It also stresses the
damage that prohibition policies do to society, including massive government
expenditure, enrichment of criminal organizations, and interference with
treatment and prevention of diseases like HIV/AIDS.
Original Page: http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/06/02-7
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