Non-violent drug users should face no penalty—a call from the Global Commission on Drug Policy

BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL Original article: click here. Opinion piece by Ruth Dreifuss, former President of Switzerland and Chair of the Global Commission, and Pavel Bém, former Mayor of Prague and member of the Global Commission.   We urgently need pragmatic reform to develop effective and humane drug policies, including regulated

Continue reading

British Medical Journal calls for legalisation of drugs

The British Medical Journal has called for the legalisation of illicit drugs for the first time. Prohibition laws have failed to curb either supply or demand, reduce addiction, cut violence or reduce profits for organised crime, the journal argued, saying the so-called ‘War on Drugs’ had been a failure. It

Continue reading

War on drugs has failed says one of the world’s top medical journals

The British Medical Journal’s warning is echoed by Lib Dem MP Nick Clegg, who calls for medicinal cannabis to be legalised. The war on drugs has failed and doctors should lead calls for change, one of the world’s top medical journals has said. The British Medical Journal says illegal drug

Continue reading

Progress on the war on drugs

While Election Day in the US has left many of the causes we hold dearly at risk, there was a bright spark in efforts to end the failed war on drugs. California, Massachusetts and Nevada all legalised marijuana, while Florida, Arkansas and North Dakota all approved medical marijuana. As the

Continue reading

Interview with Commissioner Obasanjo: “Der Drogenhandel in Westafrika muss durchdachter bekämpft werden”

Wohl wird nur ein Bruchteil des weltweit geschmuggelten Kokains in Westafrika umgeschlagen. Die erzielten Umsätze übersteigen aber die Budgets mancher Staaten. Eine intelligentere Antidrogenpolitik müsste sich auf die Bekämpfung der Folgen in den einzelnen Ländern konzentrieren. Dafür braucht Westafrika die Hilfe seiner Partner. „Die Polizei nahm mich fest. Als wir

Continue reading

L’échec de la répression: la prohibition du cannabis ne fonctionne pas, plaide l’ex-présidente de la Suisse

GENÈVE | L’ex-présidente de la Suisse Ruth Dreifuss ne mâche pas ses mots lorsque vient le temps de donner son avis sur la répression actuelle en matière de stupéfiants, une mesure qu’elle qualifie de «stupide, contre-productive et contraire aux droits de l’homme». La prohibition du cannabis ne fonctionne pas, plaide

Continue reading

Regional drugs response reflects global policies

Co-signed by Ruth Dreifuss, former President of Switzerland and Chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson-Miller, former Prime Minister of Jamaica, and Senator Mark Golding, former Minister of Justice of Jamaica The Caribbean has been a major cocaine trafficking route for the last 50

Continue reading

Commissioner Cardoso in Globe and Mail on “Colombia’s long, difficult path to peace”

Fernando Henrique Cardoso was president of Brazil from 1995 to 2003. He is also a founding member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy. For the first time in more than half a century, a child was born in a peaceful Colombia. She was delivered on Sept. 27, minutes after

Continue reading

To the President of the Philippines

The Global Commission on Drug Policy was born from the recognition that the prohibitionist and repressive “war on drugs,” which has persisted for the past 50 years, has failed. Drugs have always existed and have existed everywhere, and it is illusory to believe that their use can be eradicated completely,

Continue reading

Descriminalización de drogas

COLABORADOR INVITADO / Olusegun Obasanjo y Ricardo Lagos y Ruth Dreifuss 07 Sep. 2016 El 2016 ha sido un año fundamental para la política de drogas a nivel global. La evaluación de más de cincuenta años de un régimen prohibicionista ha resultado en reformas en países tan diversos como Jamaica,

Continue reading