I will not tire of repeating here that in the 30 years I used drugs, the single biggest negative impact to my life came not from the drug use itself, but from the impact of law enforcement and the criminal justice system inflicted upon me for using them.
While I recognize that unchecked drug use causes serious problems in our communities and our families, the stigma and collateral sentencing consequences will forever impede an individual, long after they've entered recovery and are "clean and sober." Drug use is often a symptom of an underlying condition or set of circumstances; poverty, abuse, trauma, untreated mental illness, etc. Many of us who turn to drugs do so because the conditions of our lives are so intolerable that we lose hope things will ever change. Escape from our reality is preferable to continued awareness. Adding additional trauma and the collateral damage that comes with any criminal conviction locks most in a perpetual cycle of addiction, abuse, punishment and ever-fewer opportunities for recovery.
There are reams of empirical data available regarding the efficacy of treatment over punishment, and regardless of how you feel morally or ethically about the issue, the bottom line is a parallel track: ending the abuse and the best use of scarce resources.
To that end, we know that on average, drug treatment is much more effective in addressing the issues of drug use than incarceration. We know that when most people get clean, they want to make life better for themselves and those they've impacted while under the influence. They want to "give back" to their families and their communities. Criminal convictions seriously impede - in multiple ways - every one of these critically important components of recovery.
The criminal justice system has failed completely in combating drug use, not just in the US but around the world. It is time for a radically different approach in ending the scourge of addiction and drug use in our country. By decriminalizing drugs and shifting billions of dollars currently used to lock our citizens away into treatment and employment incentives for those convicted of drug crimes and enjoying sustained recovery, we stand to benefit in ways unimaginable under the current system.
Former UN Head Kofi Annan and Former President of Brazil Cardoso Call for Decriminalization of Drugs
Photo Credit: stocklight / Shutterstock.com
November 5, 2013
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In an op-ed on CNN.com, the two world leaders – both members of the Global Commission on Drug Policy – wrote:
“Each year, hundreds of thousands of people die globally from preventable drug-related disease and violence. Millions of users are arrested and thrown in jail. Communities all over the world are blighted by drug-related crime. Citizens see huge amounts of their taxes spent on harsh policies which are not working.”
They called for decriminalization of all drugs, a public health approach to drug policy, and allowing countries to experiment with models of legal regulation to undermine organized crime.
Saying that “drug policy reform is going viral,” they praised Colorado and Washington for legalizing marijuana, and applauded leaders in Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico and Uruguay for initiating reforms. They also highlighted New Zealand’s innovative new law to regulate synthetic drugs and the newly-formed West African Commission on Drugs.
Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, weighed in on the significance of Kofi Annan and President Cardoso’s advocacy.
“The Global Commission, led by President Cardoso, has played a pivotal role in transforming global dialogue about drug policy,” said Nadelmann. “Its influence will only grow now that Kofi Annan has embraced drug policy reform as a personal priority both globally and with respect to the work of his foundation in Africa. Policy options that were readily mocked and dismissed just a few years ago are now integral to planning for a 21st century global drug control regime to replace the failed prohibitionist regime of the last century."
Is it time to end the global war on drugs? |
We ask if decriminalisation can help reduce drug abuse and organised crime.
Inside Story
Last Modified: 07 Nov 2013 11:33
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The drugs industry is a multi-billion dollar one, driven by violent criminal gangs which has killed hundreds of thousands of people around the world, but is the so-called war on drugs working?
Criminalisation is creating a vast black market where it should not exist. When we're talking about things like cannabis, cocaine, heroin, these are minimally processed agricultural commodities. that are very simple to produce and cost in real terms pennies per dose, and yet because we have policies of prohibition and high demand around the world we create an astronomical price support for drug traffickers .... This is a self-inflicted wound that we have imposed upon ourselves.
Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, are the two world leaders who argue that repressive approaches to containing drugs have failed.
In a newspaper opinion piece they wrote: "'We called on governments to adopt more humane and effective ways of controlling and regulating drugs. We recommended that the criminalisation of drug use should be replaced by a public health approach.
"We also appealed for countries to carefully test models of legal regulation as a means to undermine the power of organised crime, which thrives on illicit drug trafficking."
Those in favour of reform see the war on drugs as a colossal waste of government resources. They argue regulation could instead yield billions in tax revenues; it would be a blow to organised crime and put drug dealers out of business; and it would cut street crime and violence related to drug trafficking.
Meanwhile, those against legalising drugs say it would create a huge black market, leading to yet more addicts and more crime. They also say that an increase in the use of soft drugs could see users graduate to harder drugs, and drugs could fall more easily into the hands of children.
Drugs became a symbol of youthful rebellion and social upheaval in the 1960s, and in the summer of 1971 US President Richard Nixon first declared the so-called 'war on drugs'.
It is estimated to have cost more than $1 trillion in the four decades since then, with the bill now running at $100bn a year.
The UN estimates the drug market itself to be worth $1.3 trillion and growing, and generating profits of around $435bn a year.
Latest UN figures show some 230 million people took illicit drugs in 2011, with estimates suggesting the number of drug-related deaths could be as high as a quarter of a million.
Calls for the decriminalisation of drugs are growing stronger around the world.
Portugal is seen as a pioneer as it decriminalised drug use twelve years ago, putting possession of a small amount of drugs on a par with illegal parking.
In the US, Colorado and Washington have legalised the recreational use of cannabis for those over 21.
Chile, Ecuador and Colombia have ruled that the possession of drugs for personal use is no longer a crime. And Uruguay is considering a passing legislation which would see the government growing and selling marijuana, for as little as a dollar a gram.
So, is it time for a fresh approach to the war on drugs based around legalisation and regulation? And can decriminalisation help reduce drug abuse and organised crime?
To discuss this, Inside Story, with presenter Hazem Sika, is joined by guests: Sanho Tree, director of the Drug Policy Project which works to end the domestic and international war on drugs; Amanda Fielding, a drug policy reformer and founder of the Beckley Foundation; and Manuel Pinto Coelho, president of the Association for a Drug Free Portugal.
"It's completely wrong to spend the vast majority of the money being spent by the tax payer around the world on catching people and incarcerating them, it's just not the right approach, we should be spending it on the protection of health and security and education."
Amanda Fielding, Beckley Foundation.
