Challenging Prohibition: Is Prohibition Effective?

References:
1. Lenke, L. & Olsson, B. (1999) “Swedish drug policy in perspective”, i Derks, J., van Kalmthout, & Albrecht, H.-J. (red.) Current and future drug policy studies in Europe, Freibourg.
2. Centralforbundet for alkohol- och narkotikaupplysning, "Drogutvecklingen i Sverige 2006" Report number 98.
3. Transform Drug Policy Foundation, "What is the true cost of prohibition? Why we need an audit" from http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Policy_Economics_WhyWeNeedAnAudit.htm

Mexico Fights Back Against the Drug War

Levent Akbulut considers the recent rallies in Mexico against the drug war and suggests what they mean for our movement.

Just last week something amazing happened in Mexico. Tens of thousands of Mexicans took to the streets to call for an end to President Calderon's War on Drugs.

Since 2006 when Mexican authorities decided to crack down on the growing illicit drugs industry by bringing in the army, the violent reaction of the drug lords and their minions has skyrocketed. It turns out that people are willing to fight and commit horrendous acts when they live in poverty and there are few lucrative job options available. There are now over 30,000 Mexicans who have died since the conflict flared up and the murder rate does not seem to cease.

Mexico is a key transit and production point in the global underground illicit drugs trade. The demand of Northern countries for drugs in an unregulated market coupled with readily available weapons from the North and the violent reaction of the authorities to a growing market have all made their contribution to the bloodshed. When corruption is rife, and the people live with few options and then there is an easy source of cold hard cash the unintended consequences of the drug war make sense. More and more mass graves are found every week in this country and when at first children were usually exempt from the firing line of the drug wars and increasingly they are now targets. The only more shocking fact is the complete intransigence by many of the world’s leading powers to even consider the legal regulation of drugs.

In February last year, we joined our partners across the globe to highlight the murder of young people at a house party in the world’s most dangerous city, Ciudad Juarez,
Candle light vigils were held at university campuses, cities and in homes everywhere from Toronto to Mexico City to DC and to London. These actions were picked up by the world media, including the Guardian.

The answer to the problem may not be as simple as legalising drugs, but it must at least be considered as part of the solution. It is the failure of our societies to regulate drugs that has contributed to this plague of violent crime that has been crippling producer and transit nations for so many decades.

Is it moral for us to expect the people of Latin America to continue dying, to continue having their economies and lives destroyed? All to perpetuate this false impression of protecting the kids of Northern countries from the harms of drug use.

We know that the demand of drugs does not predominately correlate with their availability. People use illicit drugs for much the same reasons they use legal drugs like alcohol, because they can be fun, they use them to escape and when they use them to escape they are more likely to be socio-economically disadvantaged or damaged in some other way.

This is where our challenge lies- the Mexican people have started calling for an end to the War on Drugs. Like pro-reform advocates either side of the Atlantic, they are not so sure what the end goal should look like but that ultimately it would involve fewer lives being lost, less harms caused by drugs and the freedom to live in a society without having to worry about being shot in a gangland shooting.

On our campuses, in our communities and every opportunity we have we must tell people what our drug policies are doing to the people of Mexico and all other nations and communities caught in the crossfire of this dreadful war. Students for Sensible Drug Policy UK will continue to campaign alongside our allies across the globe for the right of the Mexican people to be free from drug war violence, which we believe will most likely be achieved when prohibition is ended.

Whether you are a member of SSDP, personally affected by the drug war or just a concerned citizen, tell you friends and family about it. Tell your member of parliament what our policies are doing. Let them know that you do not share the views of papers with a prohibitionist agenda. So that one day it will be acknowledged that the young people of Mexico and the young people of the UK caught up in gang violence were all victims of the War on Drugs and that we will never repeat the same mistakes again.

Conference, Congratulations and Challenges

Jess Bradley reflects on what we have learned during SSDP conference.

Whilst cleaning up after the recent SSDP conference, I had a bit of a realisation. Taking down the posters, and tidying away all the flyers, leaflets and other bumph from the conference, I was amazed at just how far our movement has come, and just how much out organisation has matured. After all, it wasn’t too long ago that I attended the first national meeting of SSDP UK in a cupboard-cum-office in the University of Bradford Students Union, where three or four students decided to turn international drug laws on their head without any real plan, resources or funding.

Bringing together youth and student activists from all across Europe for a conference is no mean task and our success at this is one measurable way to show how far we have come. Even comparing it back to last years conference shows how well we have matured as an organisation. Much like this year, last years conference pulled in a good range of big-name speakers, useful workshops and activists from the student movement. But our success should not be simply measured by the pedigree of the keynote speakers, but on all the smaller details; how smoothly the conference runs, the food provided, and the democratic structures in place and how we engage with them. Seeing as the food provided was more than cuppasoups and teas like last year, we have definitely come a long way.

But, as our keynote speaker Deborah Peterson Small pointed out, we still have far to go as a movement. Besides the fact that international drug laws are far from being reformed, our movement is far from engaging the vast majority of people on a meaningful level, which is something we are going to have to do if we are going to get anywhere near changing the law around drugs.

And of course, the speakers we invited are invariably the same old faces who tour the same conferences talking at each other every year. The reason why most of them a so keen to come to SSDP conference is because our status as a youth and student organisation at least brings some new faces into an otherwise largely stagnant movement.

Even our organisation, which has the most scope for engaging a mass movement for drug law reform is far from diverse. Looking around conference, it seems our movement is dominated by white middleclass straight men; the demographic who aren’t exactly considered the most vulnerable or most affected by the War on Drugs.

Deborah set us a challenge. A challenge to broaden the movement beyond the movement and in effect, to fundamentally change the movement itself by ensuring it is a movement created by and for those most marginalised by the War on Drugs; the services users, gang members, ex-gang members, women, queers, medical users, people of colour and people struggling under poverty.

The fact of the matter is that we are the organisation best placed to take up the challenge of creating a diverse and democratic mass movement for drug law reform. Students, when not struggling with deadlines, have the time and young people have the energy to breathe new life into a movement which really needs it, as long as we are serious about stepping out of our comfort zones (and off our campuses). The question remains: are you with us on this?

Leeds Metropolitan - Leading the way on Student Union Drug Policy (part 2)

For the lead up to this, if you haven't read already, please see the story so far.

As you may be aware, a policy motion was submitted to Leeds Metropolitan Student's Union, achieving 83.27% in favour at the referendum in March. However, due to low voter turn-out the policy was not automatically accepted and was to be taken to the Student Representative Council (SRC).

The policy motion, if adopted would mandate the union;

• To commit to a full, open and honest debate about drugs with as much of the membership as possible.
• To involve relevant agencies in our decisions.
• To seek to influence decision makers to review and radically overhaul the way the country views and controls these substances.
• To campaign to decriminalise the possession of substances for personal use.
• To oppose any cuts to primary health services which would be prejudicial to the public health.

On the 29th of March the SRC convened to discuss issues surround the running of the Union, including the two policy motions that received majority support at referendum. I had prepared a little speech for the meeting, however, due to the policy motion being discussed twice before at SRC, it was decided not to discuss these motions and to go straight to a vote.

I have to be honest, I wasn't too sure that the policy would pass. It's usually such an uphill struggle for institutions to accept what is commonly seen as a radical proposal. I was bracing myself for it to fail. Those in favour were asked to raise their hands first, a good number raised their hands but not enough to ensure it passing. Then followed those against, and for a few fleeting moments a real panic struck me as the first few hands started to raise. Luckily, after the initial few hands, none more followed.

The policy PASSED!

I have the great joy of being able to announce that after everything I've done to make this happen, Leeds Metropolitan University Student's Union is the first Student's Union in the country to accept the War on Drugs is a War on People and to oppose the victimization of millions of people every year. When I finish my time at university, and I still have at least two years left to achieve more, I can proudly say I made some level of a difference in trying to change our system in what can sometimes feel like an endless war.

I'd like to give a special thank you to Jo Johnson (Community and Well-being officer at LMUSU), and those at Leeds Metropolitan who've supported me over the last couple of months.

Love, peace, and all things nice,

until next time,

Ashley. x

SSDP UK Conference to be held at the St Thomas Conference Centre in Manchester

The European Student Drug Policy Reform Conference: Another Bloody Birthday will be held at:

St. Thomas Conference Centre
Ardwick Green North,
Manchester,
M12 6FZ

25-27th of March 2011

There is only just over a day left for students to apply for free accommodation at conference.
Register here now and apply for accommodation here!

Otherwise, the conference is open to all members of the public who want to be better drug policy activists!

See you there,

Lev
National Coordinator

Leeds Metropolitan - Leading the way on Student Union Drug Policy

Elections for University Union Exec. and Policy Referendums are some of the most important dates in a student activist's calendar. It's your chance to influence how your Union is run, and the direction it takes on important policy issues.

I'm currently studying at Leeds Metropolitan University, trying to get Leeds Metropolitan SSDP up and running on the campus, and have had good success running joint events between Leeds Met and Leeds Uni. Unfortunately I've found the task of setting up a LMSU SSDP a difficult task; the union does not share LUU's strangely political environment. But I've not been deterred in trying to make an impact upon the union politics, having become chair of the Unions' Drugs Forum, and got involved with other areas of campaigning where I can find the time.

As the chair of the Drugs Forum I have a seat on the Union's Council and I seconded a policy motion to go to Union Referendum. The Controlled Substance Policy would mandate LMSU to campaign for the decriminalisation of drug use, oppose any cuts to drug related health services, and have an open and honest debate about drugs on campus. Taking on the role of the Yes campaigner for the motion, I spent several days travelling around the University to open up the discussion about drugs on campus, collecting over 200 e-mail addresses whilst I was at it.

I received a mixed reaction from people, as always, with some just not being able to accept that anything other than banning drugs could reduce harm to society. No matter of explaining that the most harm that comes from drugs is where they're acquired, how they're taken, and how we as a society treat them. I was also able to get an article published in the student paper, here is an altered copy for a national audience;

The Losing War Against Drugs

The results of the referendum;

Yes

83.27% (418 votes)

No

16.73% (84 votes)

So a victory for sensible drug policy! Except it isn't... The Union has rules stating that referendum motions need 700 votes cast to be recognised. Which seems fair, until you learn that not a SINGLE policy has passed due to this factor. Luckily for me because the result was in favour, and by a big margin, it shall be brought to the next Union Council Meeting where I shall have to convince the Union it should enact the policy motion despite not reaching the bench-mark.

I'll let you know how it goes. :)

• You can read the full policy at: Controlled Substance Policy

To see how things went, please see the next part.

European Student Drug Policy Reform Conference

European Student Drug Policy Reform Conference: Another Bloody Birthday

Drug War Revisited

Students for Sensible Drug Policy UK’s Second Annual Conference

25th-27th of March 2011

On the weekend of the 25-27th of March 2011, activists from across Europe will meet in Manchester to mark the many drug war anniversaries that will take place this year. In 1961 member states of the United Nations signed the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs aiming to tackle the availability of certain substances.

Ten years later, Richard Nixon declared an all out War on Drugs. Since then the world has seen untold horrors in the struggle between those who wish to take drugs and those who wish to eradicate all use. Do we really need to wait another 40, 50 years to resolve this issue with compassion and reason?

Do not miss Another Bloody Birthday, a conference for students and activists from across Europe and beyond to share experiences as activists and learn about the failed global war on drugs. The event is open to the public and all people interested in becoming better activists.

Register here before the 22nd of March!