Drug policy on the move: 2013 in progress

Keeping you informed on the global trends and major events in drug policy reform in 2013A review in reverse chronological order.

More details on http://www.world-war-d.com/

Uruguay to launch a broad debate about its mj legalization project

With opposition to MJ legalization still at around 64%, President Mujica decided to slow down the project last December.

In order to achieve greater consensus, the secretary general of the National Drug Board, July Calzada, announced On January 28 the launch in February of a broad debate on the issue in coordination with lawmakers.

January 30: Colombia to debate legalization of synthetic drugs

Colombia's Justice Minister, Ruth Stella Correa, has said a new drugs bill would legalise the personal use of synthetic drugs, such as ecstasy.

The new drug bill is expected to be put forward to the Colombian Congress in the next few months.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-21254907

January 26-27: Drug policy reform debated at 1st summit CELAC-EU

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) is essentially an OAS (Organization of the American States) minus the US and Canada, and with the prominent presence of Cuba. CELAC is a clear regional statement of independence from the Northerly Big Brother, and its close ally, little brother Canada as the region is experiencing unprecedented economic growth and starting to flex its political power.

Perez Molina reiterated his assessment of the war on drugs and called for an urgent revision of the 1961 convention on narcotic drugs.

He received the explicit support of presidents Juan Manuel Santos (Colombia), Laura Chinchilla (Costa Rica), Enrique Peña Nieto (México) and Dilma Rousseff (Brasil).

Also at the CELAC-EU meeting, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos ask for Europe support of drug policy debate

January 23: Tikal Summit on drug policy reform announced at Davos

President Otto Pérez Molina and the Soros foundation will convene a summit in Tikal, Guatemala in the second semester of 2013 to analyze drug policy reform and legalization. The summit will be attended by political and business leaders as well as scientists and activists. Besides the Soros Fund Management, participants include the Carter Foundation and the Beckley Foundation

January 22: WA governor encouraged by marijuana talk w/ AG Holder

After meeting with Attorney General Eric holder, WA governor Inslee felt encouraged to move forward implementing MJ legalization, and called the conversation “very satisfying” and a “confidence-builder.” “[We will] continue with rule-making and nothing I heard should dissuade us,” Inslee said.

As pressure for global drug policy reform keeps building up, It seems quite likely that the US federal government will allow the Colorado and Washington experiments to move forward.

January 19: Guatemalan president asks the West to end the War on Drugs

In a landmark interview to the UK-based Observer, Otto Pérez Molina says regulated narcotics market must be introduced to forestall threat to democracy from drug cartels. Pérez Molina will bring up the issue at Davos forum in Switzerland. Guatemala and its neighbors Honduras, Salvador, Nicaragua and even Costa Rica have been devastated, caught in the crossfire between the Mexican drug cartels.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/19/war-on-drugs-has-failed

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/19/central-america-battle-drug-cartels

Otto Pérez Molina

January 18: Marijuana Legalization Bill Introduced in Hawaii

House Speaker Joseph Souki and majority leader Scott Saiki introduced House Bill 150, the Personal Use of Marijuana Act, that would allow adults 21 years of age and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and to cultivate a limited number of marijuana plants in a secure and locked location. It also would allow for licensed and regulated marijuana retail stores, as well as licensed facilities to cultivate, manufacture and test marijuana.

The beginning of a nationwide trend?

Marijuana legalization bills are expected to be introduced this year by lawmakers in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. 2013 could end with marijuana legalized in up to 8 states.

Medical marijuana bills have already been introduced in six states: Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, New Hampshire, New York, Kansas and Idaho. Another six states may follow: Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Medical marijuana states are poised to pass 20 later on this year and may reach the 25 count.

January 16: British Medical Association Report

, The British Medical Association, a professional association and registered trade union for doctors, published a comprehensive report on drug policy in the UK making clear the role they feel medical practitioners should play, not only in improving care of problem drug users, but also in becoming involved in the political debate over drug policy.

January 14: UK all-parliamentary Group For Drug Policy Reform

In the UK, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Drug Policy Reform issued a report: recommends sweeping changes to current drug policies and decriminalization of all drugs with legalization of the least dangerous ones. The report was promptly rejected by Prime Minister David Cameron, claiming that the current approach to drugs in the UK is “the right one and is working”, making one wonder what he has been smoking lately. Meanwhile, his Deputy Prime Minister and partner in the ruling coalition, Nick Clegg, declared that the “drugs war is lost” and “current drugs policy have not been delivering for a while”.

January 11: UN victory on coca leaf for Bolivia

Bolivian president Evo Morales set an important international precedent when his country rejoined the United Nations’ 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs with reservations, as the U.N. recognized the traditional use of the coca leaf and Bolivians’ right to chew the coca leaf in their territory.

Marijuana moving to the mainstream in the US?

In the aftermath of the decisive victories for marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington, recent polls conducted since then reveal a rapidly widening support for medical marijuana as well as full legalization, and this support is now reaching into the Southern states that have traditionally been strongly opposed even to medical marijuana.

The fight is just starting

While there is a definitive change in public attitude, the fight is far from over. In many ways, it just started. The victories of 2012 will mobilize opposition to reform and while prohibitionism may just eventually crumble under the weight of its own contradictions, we need to ready ourselves for a long fight. After the heady victories of 2012, we must get ready to go down to the trenches.

Stay informed

The surest path to change starts with educating yourself and people around you, dispelling the lies, the myths and propaganda, getting a clear vision of the issues and the challenges.

"World War D – The Case against prohibitionism, roadmap to controlled re-legalization" is the most comprehensive book on the issue; the reference book on the War on Drugs and prohibitionism; a guide to psychoactive substances and substance abuse; a pragmatic blueprint for global drug policy reform and controlled legalization - http://www.world-war-d.com/

What you can do

The groundbreaking victories of 2012 didn’t fall from the sky. They were the result of the hard work and dedication of activists fighting in the trenches, working with legislators, educating the public, implementing harm reduction programs in the field. More than ever, they need your support. Underneath is a link to the major advocacy groups out there. http://www.world-war-d.com/legalization-activism/legalization-advocacy-groups/

2013: What to expect

Uruguay should finalize its controlled legalization of Marijuana. Other countries may follow

The number of medical marijuana states is likely to reach 20, with Illinois, New York and New Hampshire likely candidates.

States such as Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, California, Oregon and Montana may try the state legislature route to marijuana legalization.

The Organization of American States is reviewing the impact of current drug policy on the region, with report expected in June. Will more Latin American countries break away from the War on Drugs orthodoxy?

Already legal in Spain, cannabis social clubs are spreading all over Europe, a trend likely to accelerate in 2013. In France, between 150 to 200 cannabis social clubs plan on coming out of the closet next February.

2012, a tipping point for global drug policy?

A momentous year in review

Global trends at the end of 2012

Harm reduction practices, such as needle exchange, maintenance and substitution programs are being implemented in a growing number of countries.

Drug use is decriminalized across most of Latin America

Medical marijuana is legal in Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Finland, Italy, Spain, Israel and Portugal and soon Czech Republic.

December 14: Obama has "bigger fish to fry"

Under pressure to react, President Barack Obama declared that federal law enforcement agencies have "bigger fish to fry" than prosecuting marijuana users in Colorado and Washington. “we're going to need to have is a conversation about, How do you reconcile a federal law that still says marijuana is a federal offense and state laws that say that it's legal?"

December 13: Senate Judiciary hearing on MJ federal policy in 2013?

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is planning a hearing next year to discuss federal policy towards Colorado and Washington post-marijuana legalization. He offered a compromise solution to drug czar Gil Kerlikowske: “One option would be to amend the Federal Controlled Substances Act to allow possession of up to one ounce of marijuana, at least in jurisdictions where it is legal under state law.”

December 6: Czech Parliament Approves Medical Marijuana

The Czech Republic's lower house of Parliament has approved legislation to legalize cannabis for medical purposes. The bill still needs to be approved by the upper house to become law.

Cannabis is already decriminalized and widely tolerated in the Czech Republic.

December 5: Breaking the taboo

Launch of “Breaking the Taboo”, a global grass-roots campaign against the War on Drugs, by the Beckley Foundation, The Global Commission on Drug Policy, Virgin Unite, Avaaz and Sundog Pictures. The Mission Statement of the campaign, the Beckley Foundation Public Letter, calls for a new approach to the War on Drugs. It is signed by nine ex-Presidents, twelve Nobel prize winners, and many other world figures.

http://www.world-war-d.com/2012/12/14/breaking-the-taboo-2/

Breaking the Taboo reached over 1,300,000 views and was released in Spanish (narrated by Gael Garcia Bernal).The petition has been signed by 670,000 people worldwide

November 27: UN to hold an emergency drug policy summit

The UN General Assembly adopted a proposal to hold an emergency drug policy summit, scheduled for early 2016 after an intensive preparatory process that will begin next year.

• The proposal was introduced to the UN general Assembly by Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala on September 26 and backed by the majority of Latin American governments, as well as those of Spain and Portugal at the Ibero-American Summit in Cadiz, on November 17.

November 17: Ibero-American Summit call for drug policy debate

Spain, Portugal and the majority of Latin American governments call for drug policy reform at the Ibero-American Summit in Cadiz, Spain.

November 6: Marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington

Voters in Washington and Colorado approved marijuana legalization initiatives by wide margins.

Massachusetts became the 18th state to legalize medical marijuana in a landslide victory.

The historic vote sent shockwaves throughout the world and provoked strong reaction in Latin America.

October: Portugal debating legalization of cannabis social clubs

The Portuguese parliamentary group Bloco de Esquerda (BE) is debating a project of law of regulation of marijuana along a Spanish-style cannabis club model. The project is still in its draft phase.

September 26: request for global drug policy debate at the UN

Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala request an open global debate on drug policy reform at

the UN General Assembly.

August 12 –September 12:Javier Sicilia & Caravan for peace

To protest the violence ravaging his country and alert public opinion in the US, Mexican poet and activist Javier Sicilia led a month-long caravan for peace with justice and dignity throughout the US from San Diego to Washington DC.

June 19: Uruguay unveils plans to legalize marijuana under state control

Proposal: marijuana to be legally available under government control through a user registry

and subject to quality control and traceability. Objective: to combat insecurity and violence by

separating the markets of mj and hard drugsThe proposal was drafted by President José

Mujica and his government and requires parliamentary debate before final approval. If

adopted, Uruguay would become the first country in the world to establish a controlled

marketplace for marijuana.

April 14-15: Drug legalization debated at the summit of the Americas

At the request of Guatemala and with the support of Colombia, the 34 countries of the Organization of American States debated drug legalization at the Summit of the America in Cartagena, Colombia.

For the first time ever, drug legalization is debated at a major international summit, with 34 heads of states from the Americas and Caribbean, including USA, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentine, Chile

February 11: Guatemala calls for a tightly regulated marketplace

• On February 11th, Guatemalan president Perez Molina announced that he will propose drug legalization and control in Central America at the next meeting of regional leaders, the Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA). Members: Belice, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua y Panamá

January 14th, 2012:Otto Perez Molina

4 days after taking office on January 14th, 2012, Perez Molina started talking about drug policy reform.

“I believe that drug legalization would have to be a strategy agreed by the whole region”

Guatemalan president Otto Perez Molina

Prelude

Three key events paved the way for the momentous developments of 2012

December 6, 2011“Tuxtla System for Dialogue”

First region-wide official expression of discontent with the War on Drugs

Attended by the presidents of Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama,

Dominican Republic, and Chile, as well as First Vice-President of Costa Rica, and the Ministers

of Foreign Affairs of Belize, Colombia, and El Salvador.

“What would be desirable, would be a significant reduction in the demand for illegal drugs.

Nevertheless, if that is not possible, as recent experience demonstrates, the authorities of the consuming countries ought then to explore the

possible alternatives to eliminate the exorbitant profits of the criminals, including regulatory or market oriented options to this end. Thus, the

transit of substances that continue provoking high levels of crime and violence in Latin American and

Caribbean nations will be avoided.”

June 2011:Global Commission on Drug Policy Report

http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/ "The global war on drugs has failed, with

devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world."

“End the criminalization, marginalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs but who do no harm to others. Challenge rather

than reinforce common misconceptions about drug markets, drug use and drug dependence. Encourage experimentation by governments

with models of legal regulation of drugs to undermine the power of organized crime and

safeguard the health and security of their citizens.”

Commissioners include:

Aleksander Kwasniewski, Former President of Poland; César Gaviria, Former President of Colombia; Ernesto Zedillo, Former President of Mexico; Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Former President of Brazil; George Papandreou, Former Prime Minister of Greece; Jorge Sampaio, Former President of Portugal; Ricardo Lagos, Former president of Chile; Ruth Dreifuss, Former President of Switzerland; Paul Volcker, Former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, US; George Shultz, Former Secretary of State, US; Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, United Kingdom

March 2009: Report of the Latin American Commission on Drugs and

Democracy.

http://www.drogasedemocracia.org “Breaking the taboo, acknowledging the failure

of current policies and their consequences is the inescapable prerequisite for the discussion

of a new paradigm leading to safer, more efficient and humane drug policies.”

“Prohibitionist policies based on the eradication of production and on the

disruption of drug flows as well as on the criminalization of consumption have not

yielded the expected results. We are farther than ever from the announced

goal of eradicating drugs.”

Commissioners include:

• César Gaviria Trujillo, president of Colombia (1990-94) and secretary general of the Organization of American States (1994-2004)

• Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León, president of Mexico (1994-2000)

• Fernando Henrique Cardoso, president of Brazil (1995-2002)

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