This is the only way to empower a movement of citizens aimed at bringing an end to a policy that invests billions in useless repression instead of education and health. Drug Peace March
The Drug Peace March to the Vienna International Centre, the seat of the
UNODC, was, with 400 participants, above all a symbolical gesture. But
with every step we took over the Danube river bridges, we knew that
millions of people, who for various reasons could not make it to Vienna,
were marching with us. Drug prohibition
Our footsteps were made heavier by the tragedies that occur daily because of drug prohibition, and by the time we reached the UN building, it became clear that the delegates who would meet there the week after were in reality only a tiny minority whose crimes are a way to protect its privileges. Of course, many more people should be in attendance next time. With a better planned publicity and press campaign, as well as more effective communication we should be able to get people out of their chairs to stand up against the lies that justify the war on drugs. Inspiration - Motivation
Those who lack inspiration to do so had plenty of opportunities to
motivate themselves at the that took place in the auditorium C of the
Vienna University on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 March. In 7 sessions of 2
hours each, the speakers presented the audience with their latest
findings on the reasons why drugs are prohibited as well as on the
benefits of a world in which they would no longer be. Xenophobic
Peter Webster (The Psychedelic Library) started off by explaining how
psychedelic drugs may have played a decisive role in the evolutionary
process from ape to man. First of all religious, and later political
authorities have used drug prohibition to deliberately activate a
collective xenophobic instinct in the population, a natural reflex to
define and exclude “the outsider”. Today, drug prohibition is nothing
else but a tool to control the world, a dogmatic basis for policies that
repeatedly fail to meet their declared objectives. As long as drugs are
generally conceived as an external threat, there is little hope for
improvement. In the end, the experience of unity, of oneness of all
life, may be the only effective antidote to the xenophobic instinct that
lends prohibitionist policy such power over the general public. Trillion Dollar Business
Clifford Thornton (Efficacy) developed his theory on the war on drugs as
being based on three pillars: greed, fear and overt racism. Greed is
found among most people who deal in drugs, but also among those who
fight them, either as doctors, policemen or politicians: in the past 4
decades, almost 1 trillion dollars have been spent on drug related law
enforcement in the USA alone. Fear is spread by those who exaggerate the
dangers of drugs, but deliberately ignore the basic reasons why people
wish to take them: to increase positive experiences or reduce negative
ones. And overt racism is what the war on drugs comes down to in
practical terms: for instance in the US, where black people make up only
12 % of the population, they account for more than 50% of the prison
population, 2/3 of whom are serving drug related sentences. If the white
population were affected by drug prohibition in the same way, it would
not last long before a public outcry would demand its immediate end. But
in the present situation, money is spent on repression instead of
education and welfare, so a group of people are deliberately held in a
corner where they have little alternative but to continue in disruptive
lifestyles. Racism
Overt racism seems also to be behind the declarations of both UNODC’s
Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa and International Narcotics
Control Board president Philip Emafo, who in the week leading up to the
CND meeting called upon the Bolivian and Peruvian governments to
prohibit the traditional use of coca leaves, claiming that this could be
considered as a form of drug dependency. Bolivian anthropologist Beatriz
Negrety Condori explained how these statements are in fact an insult to
indigenous peoples who have consumed coca leaves at least for the past
5.000 years. For the original inhabitants of the Andes, coca leaves are
not only a food supplement, an energy source and a medicine, but most of
all a central element in their social relations and cultural identity.
Current Bolivian president Evo Morales has started an active policy to
support the industrialisation of coca leaves into beneficial products.
If the coca leaf would be taken off the list of prohibited drugs, it
could become an option for sustainable development instead of what it is
now, a cause of continuous violence in the Andean region.
Consultation with civil society
If the UN drug officials have no problem in provoking governments, then
what about the chances of citizens’ associations being taken seriously
on the highest levels of the drug debate? Virginia Montañes and Joep
Oomen (ENCOD) described the perspectives of the so-called “consultation
with civil society” that has been recently implemented by the United
Nations as well as the European Union, in an effort to open up the
discussion to voices who represent non-governmental actors in the drug
field. The agenda of these meetings is imposed by the UNODC and a small
clique of (prohibitionist) NGOs that have close relationships to this
office. No representatives of producers of cannabis, coca or opium are
present in these consultations, and almost no grassroots organisations.
The way the meetings are organised ensures that no essential questions
can be dealt with. ENCOD may continue to attend these meetings just to
know what is going on, but we should not expect too much of them either.
Only by building a critical mass of public opinion and determination
concerning concrete practical solutions to urgent demands can we
establish true civil society alternatives to the current, higly
cost-ineffective drug policies. Cannabis
One of these alternatives was presented by Martin Barriuso, of the
association Pannagh in Bilbao. With 230 registered members, 60 % of whom use cannabis for therapeutical purposes, Pannagh is able to produce good quality cannabis for a fair price and still pay taxes, overhead costs
such as office space and utilities, not to mention a decent salary to
Martin, etc. Spanish legal authorities have accepted the existence of
this and other associations formed by adults who grow cannabis for
personal use. Cannabis Social Clubs are a health promoting, crime
preventing initiative that is not in violation with the UN drug
conventions. These Conventions do not refer to personal consumption – it
is the national governments that may decide to prohibit or regulate
this. In all European countries where personal consumption of cannabis
is not prosecuted, people could start up Cannabis Social Clubs. One of
these countries could very well be the Czech Republic, which according
to Bushka Bryndova, is on the brink of modifying the laws for personal
consumption of cannabis under pressure from an increasing acceptance of
the phenomenon by the population. Cannabis Cultivation
Ways to cultivate cannabis that can be tolerated by authorities are
especially interesting for those who use it for medicinal purposes. Dr.
Kurt Blaas from Vienna described the history and applications of medical
cannabis for a long list of health problems. Especially its properties
to improve the immune system and appetite do not need further scientific
evidence. Of course synthetic cannabis like sativex, dronabinol and
marinol is now licensed in various European countries, and new products
are being developed. In the Netherlands, a company is even growing
herbal cannabis for official sale to patients in the Netherlands and
Italy. However, the cheapest and easiest solution remains to be
homegrown cannabis, and it will be a question of time before local
judges start to understand this situation.
Gateway Theory
The presentation by Raimondo Pavarin (drug researcher from Bologna)
helped to neutralise some myths about the harm of cannabis. In his
studies he has found no basis for the claim that cannabis could be a
gateway to other drugs with higher risk for negative health effects.
Also there is no risk for overdose or increased mortality. His colleague
Peter Rausch (Nektar.at) explained that without the function of
endocannabinoids (active types of cannabis derivatives that human beings
have naturally inside their bodies) we could not exist, since they help
in regulating our ability to move physically, to relax, to stimulate
appetite and creativity, as well as to regulate our memory and general
mood. According to Peter it is only a question of time before cannabis
will be acknowledged as a solution to several problems that affect the
health and wellbeing of people, and this will end the war on weed. Iboga
Something similar might happen to ibogaine, the active element in iboga,
which is found in the root of a plant that grows in central Africa.
Iboga-experts Dana Beal, Boaz Wachtel and Patrick Venulejo explained the
technical details on how this substance is capable of minimising
withdrawal symptoms and cravings for drugs like nicotine, alcohol, but
also opiates and cocaine. Its regulating effect on the level of dopamine
in the brain (which are suppressed by various drugs) by introducing a
growth factor (gdnf) is self reinforcing, whereas ibogaine leaves
information in the body that tells it how to make even more gdnf. Financial Vs Paractical
Iboga therapies have resulted in successful treatment of addiction as
well as disorders as a result of traumas resulting from psychological
disorders. Still, there appears to be no interest from pharmaceutical
companies to consider its introduction in the formal healthcare system.
Most probably the reason is that it does not have any financial
potential, since the true interest of our current healthcare system does
not lie in solving addiction problems. Perspectives
French journalist Jacques de Schryver explained his personal experience
with iboga in France and Africa. These experiences taught him how to
increase his ability to cope with bad luck, and recognise future
perspectives even in difficult situations. Things feel new, clear and
simple after taking iboga, which helps to amplify your personality, so
it brings out both the good and bad things in oneself. It is not a drug
that can be taken in a recreational way. Commission on Narcotic Drugs
The direct impact of all this on the meeting of the Commission on
Narcotic Drugs that took place from 10 to 14 March was, as expected,
limited. In the CND, decisions are made by consensus. This means that
the USA, fully prepared to apply its economic power and to threaten
countries that need development aid, can simply obstruct the formation
of consensus and force opposing countries to have its way. Already
before the meeting started, it was clear that the “consensus position”
would consist of explaining the failure of the drug control strategy of
the past ten years by calling it "containment", and establishing a “year
of reflection” to consider what decisions to take concerning the future
in the CND meeting of 2009. Fredrick Polak
“During the five-day event, more and more groups of well-dressed men and women from all over the world could be seen standing and sitting in the corridors and near the coffee and sandwich stand, discussing papers,
draft statements and resolutions, because the phase was nearing in which
consensus had to be reached on each of these texts. Most of them
concerned details, but among all these papers a few contained serious
substance”, writes ENCODs representative to this meeting, Fredrick Polak
from the Dutch Drug Policy Foundation in his report. Director Costa
On his own, Polak tried his best to obtain a clear reply from UNODCs
director Costa on the fact that although cannabis is openly available to
adults in the Netherlands, its use is lower than in many other
countries. Costa refused to answer, and later issued a statement in
which he called the participants of a Drug Policy Reform Conference in
the USA “lunatics” and urged civil society "to promote consumer boycotts
against the fashion houses, recording companies, and sport enterprises
that hire celebrities proud, rather than shameful, of their drug addiction." UNODC
Now that UNODC is showing its real face toward concerned citizens who
ask critical questions or just attend conferences, doing their best to
help solving drug problems, it becomes clear that diplomatic efforts
alone will not be enough to reform drug policies. We must do all we can
to get the discussion on alternatives to prohibition on the agenda.
Otherwise, most of the disastrous consequences of drug prohibition will
continue, a little softened in some countries, but even more repressive
in others. ENCOD - Vienna 2009
Our plans for Vienna 2009 will depart from the conclusion that UNODC is
in need of a true civil society opponent. While the United Nations
reflects on their future course of action, ENCOD and its members will
continue to act for peoples’ right to choose the substances they
consider necessary to maintain or improve their wellbeing. By Joep Oomen (with the help of Peter Webster)
EUROPEAN COALITION FOR JUST AND EFFECTIVE DRUG POLICIES
Lange Lozanastraat 14 – 2018 Antwerpen - Belgium
Tel. + 32 (0)3 293 0886 – Mob. + 32 (0)495 122644
www.encod.org |
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