XPost: alt.drugs.psychedelics, alt.drugs.pot, alt.hemp.politics
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
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================
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."
================ ...
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It's time to correct the mistake:
Truth:the Anti-drugwar
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http://www.cannabisconsumers.org>
___________________
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"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.
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