Civil Society & drugs conference

a Brief report on the issues raised at "the Civil Society and Drugs conference" organised by the directorate-general Justice, Freedom and Security of the European Commission which has just closed in Brussels, Belgium.
ENCOD (European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies), is a platform of 120 Civil Society Organisations from 24 European countries.
ENCODs coordinator, Joep Oomen, says: "By keeping the citizens away from the decision-making forums, they thought they could hide the truth about the war on drugs: that is a costly, failing and counter-productive affair."

"It is now well understood by a growing number of EU citizens that legal regulation of the drugs market would improve the living standards of millions of people, while significantly diminishing one of the world's major criminal income sources. These ideas could start to challenge traditional ways of thinking drug policies at a European level, and it is not sure that EU authorities are willing to cope with this".
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I normally eschew writing about drug policies on any indymedia space I contribute to, but think that the recent news that Ireland's minister of Justice (my old jesuit trained enemy) Michael mc Dowell has chosen not to "soften" the standard approach of Gardaí to those caught with hashish or (less common in ireland) marijuana means that some drug related issues might be of interest to the whole readership at this time.

"On Thursday 26 and Friday 27 January 2006, the European Commission has invited a limited number of EU civil society organisations to a Conference in Brussels, to discuss how civil society can contribute to the implementation of the present EU Action Plan on Drugs (2005-2008). This plan was designed and adopted (in July 2005) without any serious consultation of civil society."

"the European Coalition for Just & Effective Drug Policies (ENCOD) have presented a statement to the Conference that calls for an independent body to supervise a dialogue process with equal conditions for civil society and authorities."

"The two day Conference will be enough to get a clear indication if the EU Commission is serious about its commitments this time", says Oomen. "Citizens allover Europe are organising themselves to get rid of this absurd regime. At a time where the European Union has huge difficulties to bridge the democratic deficit with its citizens, its current drug policies are an extremely negative example of what kind of democracy the European Union pretends to be."

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Since 1961 a UN "Single Convention on Drugs" has prohibited the cultivation of several plants included amongst them
:-
canabis sativa (whence is produced Hashish and Marijuana)
Erythroxylum coca (whence is produced Cocaine, Crack.
Papaver somniferum (Opium - whence heroin and morphine.)

on the grounds that they are "mind altering".
Since that year millions of people have been castigated, punished, stigmatised, penalised, and criminalised for the production, cultivation, processing or consumption of those plants.

It is impossible to say exactly what the effect of systematic criminalisation has been on our societies. We may not estimate how many mostly young people have served prison sentances for *non-aquisitive nor *non-violent nor *anti-social "crimes". We do not know how many jobs or careers have been stopped because of a "spliff". We do not know how many people have lived in poverty because of the application of these laws. But we do know that the global drug market has not decreased, rather it has diversified.
We do know that the countries of raw material drug production are impovrished, corrupt, and prone to exceptional inteference by a plethora of agencies many of whom at times seem to work to completely contrary purposes.

We do know that the eradication programs of both opium and coca in the third world have never been associated with aid to the peasants or campesinos whose sole source of income is cash crops. And for that reason, the "new left" regimes of South America have moved to increasingly cut US sponsered "eradication programs".

We do know that coca production is directly linked to rain forest destruction. Coca grows on the edge of the forest, every new crop neccesitates deforestation.

We do know that despite not being a "taxed" or "regularised" global commerce, the price of "drugs" have not altered in the last 20 years. In fact, bulk cocaine and heroin are the sole commodities which have *not* suffered inflation.

We do know that "smack" is as much a consideration in Occidental geo-political machinations in Asia, former Soviet republics, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan as "oil".

We do know that many billionaires of great fame are directly linked to the production, distribution and cultivation of "hard drugs".

We do know that many "secret services" have used "hard drugs" as mechanisms of "social control".

We do know that smoking a spliff, or growing a marijuana plant is not the same as washing cocaine and selling crack. *non problem drug user* is someone whose use of drugs is: medicinal, therapeutic, recreational. (in that order). Other conditions in the criteria: frequency of habit, nature of compulsion (metabolic addiction, toxicity, etc).

I've always advised all thinking about these issue to consider the term *problem drug user* which is the standard term for: person whose drug use cuases serious disruption to both their own and other's lives, (bodily harm, pathogenic change, crime).
Crime may both be in order of priority in the global statistics referred to above acquistive and violent (abuse of partner/family).

We may not either as campaigners in Ireland or the World long ignore the drug debates. This is a global trade and touches upon all issues discussed merrily on other threads.

The closest most people in Ireland will ever come to the social reality of death squads for trade unionists, civil wars fueled by drug production and exportation is...
the traces of cocaine in the club toilet.
the joint that gets you through the night.
the cigarettes you reach for every hour.

Perhaps this debate never appears to really happen because drawing out the links is to embarassing or "complex" for many.

And often respected researchers are vilified for publishing opinions which are contrary to the "political status quo".

C/F
A "chipper" is someone who takes heroin on an occasional basis, "chippers" almost invariably become "junkies" but because withdrawl symtpoms are not felt by the "chipper" to be as acute as a "junkie on the street" they don't notice increased consumption of other drugs. Chippers tend to come from a different socio-economic background, typically with easier access to narcotics, such as medical professionals, nurses and indeed some security forces.
Anger in Scotland-
http://news.scotsman.com/health.cfm?id=128032005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4230145.stm

There is clear duality on "global drug issues" best epitomised by the seeming paradox that the FBI/DEA areoften the opposite side of the CIA in the "global war on drugs", which since Clinton's adjustment of South American policy in tandem with Bush's recent approach to African policy increasingly finds common ground with the "global war on terrorism" and the "global war on migration".

Maybe as this really is the subject that brings us to ponder the work of said FBI/DEA/CIA in the hall of mirrors subterfuge and lies which undoubtedly is "our world", we just leave drugs in the dark.

Since 1998 both the UN and EU have attempted to lump Canabis with psychoactive chemicals such as LSD25, MDMA, GBH etc.., The young who are equally encouraged to buy the products of capitalism's "entertainment industries" which are blatently drug inspired, are not to touch the inspiration. We may not estimate how much revenue would have been lost to the manufacturers of "decks" and "mixers" had club culture not raised the DJ to the sound of drugged up loved up dancing.

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There are many questions which I asked long ago on this newswire, which I use as a template when doing workshops on these issues exploring both the "local" and "global" dimensions.
here they are :-
Q. what do we wish to "de-criminalise".
Q. what do we wish to "legalise".
Q. what do we wish to do with those who sell Crack?
Q. what do we do for those who have taken Crack?
Q. how do we explain the difference between Cannabis and Crack?
Q. how do we explain the difference between narcotics and cannabis?
Q. what do we have to say about cultivation?
Q. what do we think of possesion?
Q. what do we think about importation?
Q. what do we think about fabrication?
Q. what do we think about the role of the state?
Q. what do we think about the role of community groups?
Q. what do we think of the role of the Health authorities?
Q. what do we think of the simple proposition that "Drug use is a Health issue not a Criminal Issue".
Q. what do we think of the simple fact that most petty crime is related to problem drug use?
Q. what do we think of the simple fact that most in ourovercrowded prisons are problem drug users?
Q. what do we have to say about the link between prostitution and problem drug use?
Q. what do we have to say about the link between problem drug use and re-offending?
Q. what do we have to say about company drug testing?
Q. what do we have to say about school drug testing?
Q. what do we have to say about drug offender's permanent criminal records?
Q. what do we have to say about rave parties?
Q. what do we have to say about cultivation of opium?
Q. what do we ahve to say about transgenetic canabis being sold to sufferers of selected illnesses?
Q. to which other country do we look for precedent and inspiration?
Q. did Amsterdam tolerance work?
Q. did NYC zero tolerance work?
Q. did the anarcho-police experiment of canabis tolerance in Brixton 2000-2002 work? (*I was directly involved in the brokership of that deal)
Q. did the Swiss approach work?
Q. did the Swedish approach work?
Q. are the distinctions of "soft to hard" understood, relevant, truthful?
Q. is the research data on Ecstasy use freely available and reported and diffused in a non political way?
Q. should ecstasy users be allowed free quality testing?
Q. how many people are killed every year because someone else is getting drugs?
Q. how many people get killed every year so that the drugs get through?
Q. are all drugs which are sold on the black market or previously were available to all mankind as *naturally occuring substances* to now be subject "Mc Dowell style" to "tobacco like restrictions"?
Irish hospitals and prisons house the living and dying of our society and thus far all those who fall ill in emergency circumstances whilst on holidays, being a refugee or just lost.
Illnesses associated with Tobacco smoking are many, that is to say there are many illnesses associated with Tobacco. Not just poverty, exploitation, absence of worker rights or anything far off the point like that.
Tobacco more than any other substance of abuse ought be most interesting for those interested in both the scope of the state and the possibilities of legislating for both personal right "autonomy" and collective good. We might note that Tobacco has been treated distinctly by lawmakers and lobbyists since 1968 and the first bans on advertising and consumer purchase age.

tobacco is truly a sticky topic : the most poisonous drug which they still haven't banned.

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previous article on this subject
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=69316
the single convention on narcotic drugs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_Drugs
my last article on drugs marked the 100th birthday of Albert Hoffman the inventor of LSD25
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=73750
other sundry links
http://narconews.com
http://ecstasy.org

Cannabis:
international association of Cannabis as medicine.
http://www.acmed.org/
Heroin:
http://www.herointimes.com/

Law enforcement agencies national:
Garda drugs unit.
http://www.garda.ie/angarda/gndu.html
PSNI drugs unit.
http://www.drugsprevention.net/drugs/default.asp?s=B&d=B2

Global:
United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention.
list of all resolutions relating to drugs.
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/resolutions.html
analysis and statistics.
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/analysis_and_statistics.html?id=19
UNODCCP works closely with both the DEA and FBI.

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ENCOD is the European Coalition for Just & Effective Drug Policies (ENCOD).
They have presented a statement to the Conference that calls for an independent body to supervise a dialogue process with equal conditions for civil society and authorities. ENCODs coordinator, Joep Oomen, says: "Until today, EU authorities have been trying to close the box of Pandora that has been created with the prohibition of drugs. By keeping the citizens away from the decision-making forums, they thought they could hide the truth about the war on drugs: that is a costly, failing and counter-productive affair."

Lange Lozanastraat 14
2018 Antwerpen
Belgium
Tel. + 32 (0)3 237 7436 (Joep)
Mobile: + 33 6 148 156 79 (Farid Ghehioueche)
Fax. +32 (0)3 237 0225
encod@glo.be
http://action.encod.org/portal/faces/public/exo/action/news/ecconf

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