The winners of the Contest
sarosip, March 9, 2009 - 13:26
We are happy to inform you that HCLU got a lot of excellent photo & video materials highlighting a diversity of important issues in a groundbreaking way. The jury had a difficult task to choose the best three videos and posters. It always makes me happy to select the best ones – and makes me upset to reject others. But those who did not win this time should not be upset: we will use all good materials we got sooner or later, they serve a good case!
However, we received a great number of posters & videos - some of them are very high quality - that did not fit for the purpose of our contest. Probably if we talk about drugs most people associate them with prevention: how to scare children not to use substances. Many people who did not read the contest announcement carefully sent us posters with a primary prevention message: “don’t take drugs”, “drugs are bad” etc. I don’t want to underestimate the value of drug prevention, but you have to understand that this contest was not about fear-based messages about the unintended harms of drugs – but about the unintended harms of drug policies.
| Unfortunately the jury could not consider those submissions that did not follow the contest rules. I would like to emphasize that this does not mean that we don’t acknowledge the artistic qualities of these pieces, but we launched this contest to gain materials for a public campaign, with a simple and straightforward message to people: the current policies do not work, we demand change. |
Let’s start with the videos!
1) Balázs Körmendi - Prohibition Does Not Work
This video combines a South Park-stlye absurd humour with easily digestible information on the negative consequences of drug policies. What we like is that it shows the huge gap between reality and the ivory tower of the UN drug control agencies, pointing out the two single most important unintended consequences of current drug policies: violation of human rights and lack of harm reduction. Some jury members had concerns about the final scene where the UN building collapses: may people associate it with the fall of the two towers in NYC? But I think the video is not offensive in any sense, the building symbolizes the structure of the international drug control system that is collapsing under the pressure of common sense, without any external act of terror.
2) Balázs Turai - Health Risk Assessment in D-Minor
You know what is great about this video? That it does not even mention drugs or drug policy, but still, its positive message cannot be more obvious than it is: drugs are risky if people abuse them, so let’s educate and equip them to avoid harms. This is the only reasonable public policy approach. If we don’t do that, if we deny reality, the results are disastrous.
3) Miha Ambroz - Handle with care
This video shows the dinamics of the illegal drug market: crime, uncertain quality, dirty money, corruption, violence, infections. This is a brutal world where money often changes hands and human lives have no value. There is no control and regulation: everybody fights everybody. The message is simple: stop prohibition and build a new drug policy based on solidarity and respect. We appreciated the professional quality of the clip: it is ready to broadcast on television.
And here come the winners of the poster category!
1) Beáta Berki - What makes them different?
We selected this poster for the best poster submission because it touches a very sensitive issue in the heart of current drug control: why do we prohibit some drugs and why do we make legally available others? Why responsible pot smoking is a crime and moderate wine drinking a tolerable, if not supportable habit? What makes a pot smoker and a wine drinker different? Not the risks. Not the harms. But a law based on prejudice, not on evidence. This piece encourages people to rethink their discriminative attitudes to people who use illicit drugs.
2) Tamás Fogarasy - Drug Law Isolates
This poster reminds me of Pink Floyd’s everygreen album, The Wall. Our governments aim to fight drug problems with criminal laws – but what they propose as a solution for the problem became now a part of the problem. We constructed a Wall from fear and ignorance and it leads to the marginalization, stigmatization and social exclusion of those people who are most affected by the harms of drug use.
3) Tamás Kovács - I’m Not a Criminal
I always thought that the drug reform movement needs more ordinary, otherwise law-abiding people to come out from the closet and speak out against prohibition. This poster shows two young people to contrast stereotypes with reality.
Posted by Peter Sarosi
Posters
Will we be able to get these Posters?
what do you mean?
Sorry, but what do you mean by "get these posters"? Please clarify.
what he means
I assume the poster would like to purchase or otherwise aquire a physical, print copy of the poster, which he/she would like to hang up somewhere.
G
use of the posters
Hi G, we are going to use the posters as banners at the demonstration tommorrow in front of the UN building in Vienna, so we printed out a couple of them - this was the major purpose of the contest. Probably later we can make printed copies accessible, we will let you know.
High resolution versions?
Could you post high-resolution versions of these powerful posters? Then people could print out posters locally. Also, would be helpful to have black + white versions.
Bravo
Great videos and posters. Wonderful work.
Harry Levine
New York City
my drug use
My counselor says I self medicate. Why? Well, we were beat on a regular basis whether we needed it or not. First my older sister was killed driving drunk. Then my older brother killed himself to escape the memories. I smoke pot. It calms me down. I did not beat or berate my children. If they got too much and I got all worked up-I locked myself in my bedroom and smoked one. It always helped. My children are now adults and I have 2 grandchildren that I do not have to worry about how they are being raised. I wish more abusers would smoke one and kick back. I know the world would be a better place.
Its about time
the stupid law got off its arse and started legalising and making this stuff safer.
The public is going to take drugs anyway, they may as well make it safer and keep the money in the economy instead of it disappearing down a black hole.
“Is this Harm Reduction or Maximization?”
Harm reduction is not only about drug use and its’ services. It is a policy concept defining realistic goal for dealing problems related with drug use. And, perhaps most importantly, it is about human rights.
In an attempt to have a drug free society, the majority of the civil society organisation and human rights agencies have remained silent over the invasion of privacy on drug users’ and families under the so called “ War on Drugs” launched by various anti-drug organisations and the law enforcers.
Manipur, a state infamously renowned for drug use, HIV/AIDS, armed conflict, insurgency and volatile law and order host the classic playground of innumerable rights violation.
In their enthusiasm to draw public support, many armed groups have issued diktats to people dealing and/or using drugs. Users’ are pursued and shot in their legs while dealers are awarded capital punishment. These dealers are long time users dealing in small quantity to sustain their dependency. Not to be left behind, many Anti-Drug Users Organisations also sprang up. Thrashing, tonsuring the heads and humiliation of drug users’ in every possible manner has been the usual sentence. while making the users’ make a confessional statement under coercion in the local paper along with their photos have become the conventional norms of punishment by anti drug organisations. People who have used clandestinely lies exposed to public x-rayed under this purview, have now acquired a sort of license to use more boldly.
On the other hand, police and other law enforcers exploit the draconian drug laws and low social status of drug users’ to arrest users’ unlawfully without any incriminating substances, pin NDPS act unjustifiably, and disregards standard due process. Extortion from the parents of users’ by police and enforcers has become the talk of the town. When negotiation are made between parent and enforcers on the amount to be paid for the release of their wards, several drug users’ said that they were given drugs by officials in detention with the purpose of coercing them to accept false charge/silencing their complaints of mistreatment. Users are caught between the deep sea and the devil. The state AIDS control society claimed to have control the increasing trends of HIV. What is happening on the ground? Does its official data reflect the ground reality? Various human rights agencies have remained a mute spectator to this gross violation of basic rights of people using drugs enshrined in many declarations. Dialogues and cooperation between the harm reduction community and the human rights community is badly needed in Manipur, which is subject to conflicting influences from various civil organisation and armed groups. Protection of human rights should be an integral part of any harm reduction strategy. What could human rights group do to defend the interest of drug users? It is clear why the harm reduction community is interested in cooperating with human rights group. But why would the human rights group be interested in such cooperation?
Drug users as a social group suffer from deprivations and therefore have a legitimate claim to the protective services of the human rights community. Further, the “War on Drugs” also contributes to the erosion of the rights of the majority in addition to the drug users group. If the human rights community wants to counteract the erosion of these rights, it has to attack the phenomenon at its roots. But will the various rights agencies be willing to be a part of this endeavour?
“If only human rights bodies could be more upright and humane for the cause of people using drugs”
The Contest
Police and other law enforcers exploit the draconian drug laws and low social status of drug users’ to arrest users’ unlawfully without any incriminating substances, pin NDPS act unjustifiably, and disregards standard due process. Extortion from the parents of users’ by police and enforcers has become the talk of the town. When negotiation are made between parent and enforcers on the amount to be paid for the release of their wards, several drug users’ said that they were given drugs by officials in detention with the purpose of coercing them to accept false charge/silencing their complaints of mistreatment.
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