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item0066A 960, 961
960
23 March 2004
PRESS
RELEASE
Friday 19
March 2004
EUROPEAN NGO'S
CAMPAIGN FOR LEGAL REGULATION OF DRUGS
On
Sunday 21 March 2004, the European NGO Council
on Drug Policy (ENCOD), a
platform of 73 Non-Governmental Organisations from 22 European countries,
will launch a "Springtime Campaign for the legal regulation of drugs". The
platform, representing tens of thousands of citizens affected or concerned
by the drug issue, calls prohibition of drugs an insult to human dignity
and a terrible waste of resources. Legal regulation is the only clever way
to reduce drugs-related problems for public health and community safety, the
NGOs say.
The campaign is addressed to European Governments and the United Nations,
who have failed to respond to increasing claims from civil society and
experts to reform the existing UN Conventions on narcotics, the basis of
drugs legislation in almost every country in the world.
According to ENCOD, the reform of the
Conventions is necessary to allow national and regional authorities to
implement drug policies that specifically fit to their needs and traditions,
without being obliged to use prohibition as the basic element of this
policy.
"In
the drug debate", says ENCOD,
"essential democratic values are at stake. While national governments
and UN bureaucrats are spending billions of tax money to fight a useless
struggle that only benefits organised crime, citizens are told to shut up
and co-operate. Meanwhile, authorities of cities and regions throughout
Europe
now know enough about drugs to understand that persecution of people
worsens the problems. Years ago, they embraced the principle of harm
reduction, establishing needle exchange, consumption rooms, controlled
distribution of heroin and a permissive policy towards the use and sale of
cannabis. But they also found out that, as long as national drug policies
are tied to the UN Conventions that prescribe prohibition, it is
impossible to reduce the most important cause of drug-related harm, the
fact that they are illegal."
Recently, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs
(UNCND) met in
Vienna
to discuss the results of a strategy agreed upon in 1998, which aims towards
the complete elimination of drug production and consumption in 2008.
Although the UN's own figures show that since 1998, production and
consumption of drugs have been increasing on a global scale, and the
strategy is having serious negative consequences for the lives of millions
of people, the UNCND meeting is expected to conclude that it should continue
unchallenged.
-
In
response, ENCOD calls on European
citizens to plant cannabis, coca and opium
plants in public places as a way to demonstrate their
disagreement with the UN strategy and to express themselves in support of
just and effective drug policies.
ENCOD will present its proposals for a
legal regulation of the drugs market in several occasions, among others
during the European Economic Forum in Warsaw, Poland - see
http://hyperreal.info/wiki/go.to/see/AES
On Saturday 1 May, and Saturday 8 May there will be
marches for the legalization of cannabis
throughout Europe. And on 26
June, ENCOD will hold its General Assembly in
Copenhagen, Denmark.
For more information on ENCOD and the Springtime Campaign, see
www.encod.org or contact
EUROPEAN NGO
COUNCIL ON DRUG POLICY
Lange Lozanastraat 14
2018 Antwerpen
Belgium
Tel. 00 32 (0)3 237 7436
Fax. 00 32 (0)3 237 0225
E-mail: encod@glo.be
Website:
www.encod.org
Are you prepared to march for
drugs legalisation, in May? Drop me a line
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961
24
March
2004
Letter from Labour Solicitor Peter
Fitzgerald, of Caerphilly
23 March 2004
Roger
Your account of the 2002
LIBERTY
Elections is depressingly familiar.
I was reminded of the article which I read today from
the Guardian Unlimited website by Terry Eagleton - 'Why ideas no
longer matter'. I know where he's coming from although his analysis
is philosophically weak. It now seems
commonplace for those in power to seek to neutralise any thoughts or ideas which do not correspond
with perceived 'facts'. In common parlance, if "your face
doesn't fit" — forget it.
This is nothing new, as you know.
LIBERTY,
in its earlier guise was called 'National Council for Civil Liberties' (NCCL).
It was - and is, as
LIBERTY
- a stepping-stone for aspiring Labour politicians. However, my
recollection of involvement with
NCCL
and in early
LIBERTY
days, was of an organisation that at least kept some intellectual distance
from political parties - so as to enable it to be more critical.
 I
became less involved with
LIBERTY
over the years when this distance was reduced to such an extent that the
officers became apologists for the Labour Party in power.
The most
prevalent example of what you experienced is now to be found in most
contested Labour Party
Constituency candidate selections
- both for Westminster and the National
Assembly. It bears all the marks of constituency politics, of
the
Big-Fish-in-Small-Pool, getting their way...
- NB: I
gather, from speaking with my mother-in-law recently, that the practice is
now rife in the life of non-conformist chapel-goers...!
So
you're in good company, Roger! We'll have to call it -
'The
Paralysis of Criticism: Institutions without Opposition'
Regards,
Peter
Thanks to Peter - do you have anything to add? Drop me a
line
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