HCLU in action: Stop the Global War on Drugs!
sarosip, March 13, 2009 - 00:01
On Wednesday morning we organized a demonstration at the entrance of the Vienna International Centre, the building where the UN high level meeting on drugs was held. Government delegates gathered here from March 11 to 12 to discuss the effectiveness of current drug control policies and to adopt a new Political Declaration on drugs. Despite the tremendous evidence on the failure and uninintended consequences of the global drug war, it was an open secret even before the meeting that governments will not break with the old "tough on drugs" approach. The draft text of the declaration did not even mention harm reduction, the most effective tool to reduce drug related deaths and disease! As we expected, the governments made a wrong decision and signed a declaration that in many ways simply repeated the irrealistic and harmful slogans of the 1998 document (read more about what happened at the official meeting here).
However, we, drug reform activists did not miss this opportunity to remind decision makers and the general public that the global drug control regime does not work and we need a new drug policy based on human rights and harm reduction.
We think it was a great success: all delegates and journalists who came to the meeting had to watch our banners: "Stop the Global War on Drugs", "Harm Reducton Saves Lives" and "Prohibition Does Not Work". We exhibited the best posters of our Unintended Consequences contest, the police to let the banners and posters stay for 2 days, so everybody who entered the building could see our message. We thank for all the enthusiastic activists who contributed to this event, especially those from INPUD, ENCOD and Youth Rise, who had their own banners and standed in the cages prepared by us to symbolize the isolation and exclusion of people who use illicit drugs!
At 9 AM we organized an open air press conference, the speakers (Balázs Dénes from HCLU, Matthew Southwell from INPUD, Frederik Polak from ENCOD and Kris Krane from the Students for Sensible Drug Policy) pointed out that there is a huge gap between reality and UN targets in the field of drug policy. All speakers gave interviews from inside the cages. HCLU - by favour of an OSI grant - provided scholarships for European journalists to attend and report the UN high level meeting - they were very active at press conferences and helped us to make the UN more transparent and accountable (read one of the early reports by Toby Green posted on The Independent World).
We installed some containers with symbolic urine samples on podiums to show delegates the absurdity of the war on drugs. We also distributed fake banknotes (US dollars) with the picture of Mr. Costa and a message in the name of In Memoriam Al Capone Trust, the international network of criminals, who congratulated the governments to keep drugs illegal, thus creating a huge tax-free income for them.
Watch the photo report from the demo (our videos are coming soon!):
Balázs Dénes, the head of HCLU and Freredik Polak from ENCOD are speaking at the press conference - from cages
In many countries drug offenders still can face the gallow: we must abolish death penalty!
Government delegates could not sneak in the building without being offered with our flyers
Tamas Varga, an HCLU activist dressed like a mafioso is distributing fake-banknotes with Costa's head
"United Nations of Prohibition"
"In Memoriam Al Capone Trust"
Governments need our urine? - here they got it...
INPUD activist calling for drug war peace - he is not collateral damage but a human being
This girl is not dancing in the cage - but protesting against prohibition
Peace demonstrators
Forced eradication of drug crops destroys livelihoods
Youth can't wait ten more years...
Young people demand harm reduction - now!
Please stop here and rethink drug policies
INPUD activists - drug users made their voice heard by government delegates
Before the press conference started
Interview from the cage
Press conference in cages - Kris Krane from SSDP on the left
Balázs Dénes addresses the journalists 
Frederik Polak speaks to journalists
Matthew Southwell speaks at the press conference 
I am not a criminal: do you think I am really that dangerous?
Dimitri Mugianis from INPUD
What makes them different? Only the law...
Even the children from kindergarden know: drug users are not criminals
Well done HCLU, INPUD, ENCOD - ALL of YOU
Great, wonderful stuff
Milly (my 19month old daughter) and I watched the CND from our sitting room. Even Milly knew that Costa needed some wake up calls.... she kept trying to bash the screen when he was on it!
I think it's important to note that both Evo Morales, & Caitlin Padget were applauded, even in that apparently strongly -prohibionist environment.. We had this in 1998, when two NGO speakers from our side of the argument addressed the gathered UNDCP (as it was then) throng, and so many people applauded passionately. It made us wonder what it was they appreciated so much
Could it be that actually we have more allies than we know at the CND, BUT they feel as unsure about how to dismantle prohibition as many of us do?
Dying to see your videos and anything in national press(es)
Sleep well y'all
You did a great thing this week
Andria efthimiou-Mordaunt
www.usersvoice.org.uk
Salute....For you ALL !
it was amazing thing friends!
i'm really proud to see that you did a great work during conference!
Cheers...!!!and lets smoke the weeds! HAIL YEAH...!!!
Eka.Panazaba
www.panazaba.org
great achievements
Thanks, many thanks you all that give this new bill, for sure the struggle is still going on.
FARId
GO AHEAD
GO AHEAD
CONGRATULATINS FROM CALI, COLOMBIA
OSWALDO RADA
That's what I call brave and motivated people
Very creative, wish i could take part too.
thanks
Thank you!
Good news: the most viewed blog in the US posted our video, click here!
The next-best thing to being there
is seeing you all doing it up right.
Great photos of great people doing a great service to humanity.
Thanks too all.
"the most viewed blog in the US posted our video" -- too cool, Peter.
Here're my thoughts for Mr. Costa
http://californiacannabisministry.blogspot.com/2009/03/dear-mr-costa.html
and Chakib's Facebook page; 21 members so far...
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/228426/13213246?m=c4bb4f3c
Also, does anyone know if Mr. Costa said he'd been a consumer of drugs? In this video (at 1:05 to 1:08)
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/vplayer.html?vf=/documents/video/cnd2009/UNCNDMeeting3.flv
To me it sounds like he says, "I used to be a consumer of nar--" and then the film cuts to the next segment.
Best wishes for peace,
Paul
I prefer the photos displayed on the webpage.
I prefer all the photos displayed on the web page!!!
Like the most.
Very new ideas about Drug Users.
ZZ
No learning effects...
Shame on UNDOC, WHO and UNO!
Even medical cannabis-patients are treated like criminals.
Patients with HIV, HCV, Cancer, ADHS are suffering from a political decision to support the Mafia - instead of using the power of the plants for better health conditions.
Shame on Al Costa-Capone!
aXXL
it´s time for another revolution
shame on our elected leaders ... or better shame on us, that we´ve elected kinda boneheads?
so "it´s time for another revolution" and "it´s about the peoples need"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WiTaOqmXSw
m.
Which kind of wasting...
...public capital for keeping undercover-dealing and money-laundering running on and on...
Which kind of dinosaur-brains are they to be allowed making decisions in this fascistic, discriminating, contemptible, awful manner! (Plants also do have a right to live on this planet - YES!)
They have to be ignored by all thinking people living around the world! IGNORE !!!
WHICH KIND OF WORLD ARE WE LIVING IN???
Good!
That's a good news for Drug usera. IGnore!!!!
Great thing this week
Could it be that actually we have more allies than we know at the CND, BUT they feel as unsure about how to dismantle prohibition as many of us do? Dying to see your videos and anything in national press(es) Sleep well y'all You did a great thing this week
If drugs are 'moderately
If drugs are 'moderately legalized' someday (like alcohol ultimately was, and indeed drugs used to be sold over the counter) they could be better controlled and many cartels would collapse. It won't stop all abuse but there would be no 'war' - http://www.ouvrelesyeux.net/get-well-soon.html . Instead there would be taxes coming in for rehab and a much greater knowledge and control of the drug trade routes.
If drugs are moderately... .
If drugs are moderately... .
If drugs were to be completely legalised and drug use in the health service rather than the criminal justice system, cartels would not be able to operate. But we speak as if this pragmatic approach to drug-policy had never been with us before. Until 1967 England was hailed as the 'envy of the world' for its foresightedness and pragmatic approach. Benefits over prohibition were easily seen by looking at America at this time. We called this the 'British System' or the 'Rollerston Commission/System' that proved to be much more effective than the results of the Harrison Act 1916.
In 1967 doctors in England could no longer prescribe as before and only DDU units led by London selected pychiatrists could treat drug addicts. Within months of this change of governance England experienced its first ever large consignments of heroin from Red China.
Much of this heroin was grade 4, called 'elephant', then 'Rhino' and down to 'Rice'. This was sold from China town in London U.K, the drugs were preferred over English parmaceutical heroin.
In the summer 1965 there were 427 individuals registered on the Home Office addicts Index, in the U.K.
Ian Harris
REFORM
If drugs were to be
If drugs were to be completely legalised and drug http://watch-movie-online.org/watch-the-ugly-truth-online/ use in the health service rather than the criminal justice system, http://watch-movie-online.org/watch-9-online/ cartels would not be able to operate. But we speak as if this pragmatic approach to http://watch-movie-online.org/watch-harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince-online/ drug-policy had never been with us before. Until 1967 England was hailed as the 'envy of the world' for its foresightedness and pragmatic http://watch-movie-online.org/watch-jennifers-body-online/ approach.
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