Drug policy group urges countries to decriminalize drugs
A group made up of former presidents, politicians and intellectuals called The Global Commission on Drug Policy urged world governments to adopt policies to end their war on drugs and legalize drugs.
The Commission's website states, "The purpose of the Global Commission on Drug Policy is to bring to the international level an informed, science-based discussion about humane and effective ways to reduce the harm caused by drugs to people and societies."
The Global Commission on Drug Policy had prepared a proposal for governments and had called for legalization of cannabis in a statement they released in 2011. This year's proposal goes beyond that and recommends legalization of many drugs, with some exceptions.
A member of the commission, the former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, said they are aiming for the legalization of "as many of the drugs that are currently illegal as possible, with the understanding that some drugs may remain too dangerous to decriminalize," The New York Times reported.
Former Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan is also a member of the commission along with the former president of Poland Alexander Kwasniewski, the former president of Colombia Cesar Gaviria, the former prime minister of Greece George Papandreou, and Louise Arbour, a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The commission called on countries to pursue drug cartels and gangs involved in crime, instead of pursuing and incarcerating users. It also emphasized that offering treatment for drug addicts would be more effective than throwing them into the criminal justice system.
Some countries are already moving forward with these drug policies. Last year Uruguay became the very first country with a state-run cannabis market. A national drug policy change has become an agenda for Colombia. In Europe, law enforcement in many countries have long stopped making arrests for marijuana possession.
