• Drug War Chronicle 1060 -- Human Rights and Drug Policy, Guam Legalizes

    From Bobbie Sellers@21:1/5 to All on Sat Apr 6 07:48:56 2019
    XPost: alt.drugs, alt.hemp, rec.drugs.psychedelic
    XPost: talk.politics.drugs

    Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1060 -- 4/5/19
    Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psmith@drcnet.org https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/1060

    A Publication of StoptheDrugWar.org
    David Borden, Executive Director, borden@drcnet.org
    "Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"

    Table of Contents:

    1. TRANSFORMING GLOBAL DRUG POLICY: FROM A PUNISHER PARADIGM TO
    EMBRACING HUMAN RIGHTS [FEATURE]
    It's way past time for human rights to be accorded its proper place in
    the formulation of international drug policy. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/mar/19/transforming_global_drug_policy

    2. MARIJUANA LACED WITH FENTANYL? NO, JUST CLUELESSNESS BY WHITE HOUSE
    DRUG POLICY ADVISOR KELLYANNE CONWAY [FEATURE]
    Really, Kellyanne? https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/apr/05/marijuana_laced_fentanyl_no_just

    3. MICRODOSING PSYCHEDELICS "COULD BE BENEFICIAL," STUDY SUGGESTS [FEATURE]
    For the first time, rigorous science finds benefits in microdosing psychedelics. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/mar/14/microdosing_psychedelics_could

    4. ALTERNATIVE VALUES, ALTERNATIVE FACTS: UN EVENT ON MEDIA
    DISINFORMATION AND DRUG WAR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
    Tune in to Facebook Live -- or come to our event if you're at the UN --
    to learn about how Facebook and other media are being exploited by authoritarians in ways that are causing massive human rights violations, including in the drug war. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/mar/20/alternative_values_alternative_3

    5. MEDICAL MARIJUANA UPDATE
    An Arizona Walmart worker wins a drug testing case, CBD bills are on the
    move, no edibles for North Dakota, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/apr/03/medical_marijuana_update_0

    6. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
    A pair of New Jersey cops go rogue, prison guards go wild, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/apr/03/weeks_corrupt_cops_stories

    7. CHRONICLE AM: TRUMP DELAYS BORDER SHUTDOWN OVER DRUGS, MIGRANTS; NH
    HOUSE APPROVES LEGAL POT, MORE... (4/5/19)
    Trump pushes his threat to close down the border into the future,
    migrant workers in the state-legal marijuana industry are being denied citizenship, New Hampshire is one step closer to marijuana legalization,
    and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/apr/05/chronicle_am_trump_delays_border

    8. CHRONICLE AM: GUAM LEGALIZES POT, NEW MEXICO DECRIMINALIZES POT,
    ANDREW YANG TALKS DRUG PARDONS, MORE... (4/4/19)
    A US territory legalizes weed, a US state decriminalizes it, Florida
    medical marijuana battles continue, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/apr/04/chronicle_am_guam_legalizes_pot

    9. CHRONICLE AM: CO DRUG DEFELONIZATION BILL ADVANCES, ND MOVES TO END
    CIVIL FORFEITURE, MORE... (4/3/19)
    Drug defelonization is advancing in Colorado, asset forfeiture reform
    heads to the governor in North Dakota, New Jersey bail reforms are
    having a dramatic impact, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/apr/03/chronicle_am_co_drug

    10. CHRONICLE AM: CHINA BANS ALL FENTANYL VARIANTS, DC GETS 76,000
    NALOXONE KITS, MORE... (4/2/19)
    China bans all fentanyl variants, Sri Lanka is to resume drug
    executions, marijuana sentencing reform bills advance in Iowa and Texas,
    and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/apr/02/chronicle_am_china_bans_all

    11. CHRONICLE AM: TRUMP DELAYS BORDER SHUTDOWN OVER DRUGS, MIGRANTS; NH
    HOUSE APPROVES LEGAL POT, MORE... (4/5/19)
    Trump pushes his threat to close down the border into the future,
    migrant workers in the state-legal marijuana industry are being denied citizenship, New Hampshire is one step closer to marijuana legalization,
    and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/apr/05/chronicle_am_trump_delays_border

    (Not subscribed? Visit https://stopthedrugwar.org to sign up today!)

    ================

    1. TRANSFORMING GLOBAL DRUG POLICY: FROM A PUNISHER PARADIGM TO
    EMBRACING HUMAN RIGHTS [FEATURE] https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/mar/19/transforming_global_drug_policy

    By its very nature, the global drug prohibition regime relies on the
    repressive apparatus of state actors to enforce compliance, and that has
    severe implications for human rights. Now, a coalition of United Nations
    member states, U.N. bodies, and leading human rights experts has
    launched a landmark set of international legal standards aimed at
    putting human rights concerns at the center of drug policy.

    The human rights implications of the global war on drugs cover a
    dizzying array of governmental abuses of their citizens. Whether it's
    the mass imprisonment of drug users in the US, the death squad-style
    atrocities of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody anti-drug campaigns, the spraying of herbicides on coca-growing peasants in
    Colombia, forced drug treatment camps in Southeast Asia, or the resort
    to the death penalty for drug offenses in any number of countries, the
    quixotic global effort to eradicate drugs has left a trail of human
    rights abuses.

    For years, human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and
    Human Rights Watch have championed the need to put human rights front
    and center when it comes to drug policy. But with the issuance this week
    of the International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy (https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/hiv-aids/international-guidelines-on-human-rights-and-drug-policy.html)
    recognition of the necessary centrality of human rights moves from the sidelines to the very center of the global drug prohibition regime.
    Released under the aegis of the U.N. Development Program and the Joint
    U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) with the endorsement of key member
    states, the guidelines create a comprehensive set of human rights
    standards to guide governments in developing drug policies that comply
    with basic standards of universal human rights.

    They also come at a key juncture in the global drug policy-formation
    process. The guidelines are being released as high-level governmental representatives are gathered at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in
    Vienna to shape a new global drug strategy. With decades of evidence
    showing the systemic failures of the punitive paradigm, including
    widespread human rights violations, the U.N. and member states are
    facing a rising clamor for a shift in policy -- one that not only
    respects human rights but also places global drug policy in line with
    broader U.N. objectives.

    "Drug control policies intersect with much of the 2030 Agenda for
    Sustainable Development (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/) and the
    pledge by Member States to leave no one behind. Approaches that violate
    human rights and fail to curb the illicit drug trade are leaving a trail
    of human suffering," said Mandeep Dhaliwal (https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/news-centre/news/2019/human-rights-and-drug-policy.html),
    director of UNDP's HIV, Health and Development Group. "For countries who
    are ready to place human dignity and sustainable development at the
    heart of their drug control policy, these guidelines offer valuable
    guidance to promote more effective and humane drug control policy."

    One focus of the guidelines is criminal justice and the rule of law, and
    they feature recommendations across the realm of the administration of
    justice. Whether it's arbitrary arrest and detention, discriminatory
    policing practices, or drug decriminalization, the guidelines bring the
    global state of human rights law regarding drug policy into full view, including ending the death penalty for drug-related offenses.

    Drug decriminalization gets particular attention. The guidelines note
    that at least 25 national governments have decriminalized the possession
    of drugs for personal use and that the U.N. system has jointly called
    for drug decriminalization as an alternative to arrest, conviction, and punishment of drug users.

    "Punishment and exclusion have been instrumental to the war on drugs"
    said Judy Chang, Executive Director of the International Network of
    People who Use Drugs. "The time has come to privilege human dignity over
    social isolation and champion human rights, putting an end to the
    shameful legacy of mass incarceration."

    But the guideline encompass more than criminal justice; they also make
    clear that a human rights emphasis is key in improving people's rights
    to health, an adequate standard of living, and to be free from torture.
    The guidelines say that states are obligated by their health obligations
    to ensure the availability and accessibility of harm reduction services,
    such as needle exchanges and safe consumption spaces. Those services
    must be adequately funded, appropriate for the needs of vulnerable
    groups, and respectful of the human dignity of their clients, the
    guidelines say.

    "Ninety-nine percent of people who inject drugs do not have adequate
    access to harm reduction services and are left behind in progress
    against HIV," said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. "More
    than 12 percent of people who inject drugs are living with HIV and over
    half have hepatitis C. The only way to advance progress is to put people
    at the center, not drugs."

    The guidelines also emphasize the importance of protecting the rights of farming communities -- especially women -- even to the extent of urging governments to temporarily permit the cultivation of illicit drug crops
    to allow farmers the chance to make a smooth transition to alternative
    crops. They cite Thailand's success in helping farmers move from opium production to alternative livelihoods.

    Issuance of the guidelines will help member states, multilateral
    organizations, and civil society in their fight to help the
    rights-supporting U.N. Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights
    assume their deserved central role in the formulation of both
    international and national drug policies. For too long, globally
    accepted human rights standards have been sidelined by repressive
    approaches.

    "Human rights should not just inform critiques of the response to drugs worldwide, they should also be the main drivers of its reform,
    underpinning checks and balances to break cycles of abuse" said Julie
    Hannah, Director of the International Centre on Human Rights and Drug
    Policy, University of Essex "Fighting inequality and injustice is a more effective way of addressing the global drug problem than prisons and
    police."
    ================ ...
    ___________________

    It's time to correct the mistake:
    Truth:the Anti-drugwar
    <http://www.briancbennett.com>

    Cops say legalize drugs--find out why:
    <http://www.leap.cc>
    Stoners are people too:
    <http://www.cannabisconsumers.org>
    ___________________

    bliss -- Cacao Powered... (-SF4ever at DSLExtreme dot com)

    --
    bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco

    "It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
    It is by the beans of cacao that the thoughts acquire speed,
    the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
    It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
    --from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)