• Drug Policy

    The Beginning of the End of the Drug War: Top 10 Stories of 2013

    Drug Policy Alliance Top 10 Stories of 2013

    December 16, 2013 – By Tony Newman

    2013 will go down in history as the beginning of the end of our disastrous war on drugs. 58% of Americans nationally support marijuana legalization. World leaders like former UN head Kofi Annan are calling for an end to the drug war. US Attorney General Erik Holder is speaking out against racist mandatory minimum drug laws and mass incarceration. Celebrities like Will Smith, Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Hudson joined 175 other celebrities saying No More Drug War in a letter to the President. Just last week, Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalize marijuana. Below are some of the top stories that made 2013 a watershed year in the fight to end America’s longest failed war.

    http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/beginning-end-drug-war-top-10-stories-2013

  • Drug Policy - Hot Off The 'Net

    CDPC 2013 Top Ten Drug Policy Moments

    Canadian Drug Policy Coalition Top Ten Drug Policy Moments in 2013.

    “One can clearly see the cracks appearing in the old international regime that has stifled the discussion of alternatives to the war on drugs for over 40 years. Now countries are beginning to look for approaches that are less punitive for people who use drugs and more targeted on the violent actors in our communities.”

    2013 Top Ten Drug Policy Moments

  • Cannabis & Hemp - Hot Off The 'Net

    Cannabis: the Exit Drug

    Philippe Lucus
    By Philippe Lucas, CARBC

    Cannabis is neither completely harmless, nor is it a cure-all, but with polls showing that Canadians overwhelmingly support cannabis policy reform, it’s fair to assume that most people no longer believe that legalization would lead to the end of the world. Yet, some who support reform nonetheless have concerns that adding yet another legal drug (alongside alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceuticals) for society to struggle with might result in an increase in use.

    But what if the legalization of adult access to cannabis also resulted in a reduction in the use of alcohol and other drugs? What if rather than being a gateway drug, cannabis actually proved to be an exit drug from problematic substance use? A growing body of research on a theory called cannabis substitution effect suggests just that.

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  • Drug Policy - Hot Off The 'Net

    Getting To Tomorrow: A Report on Canadian Drug Policy

    The report documents the failing role that current federal drug policies play in supporting safety and health and draws attention to the acute need for an improved system of supports for people who use drugs including harm reduction. The report’s authors found that Canada’s current federal government is openly hostile to evidence-based measures like harm reduction services and has clearly taken a punitive approach to addressing drug use problems.

  • Drug Policy - Hot Off The 'Net

    OAS Report Explores Alternatives To Prohibition

    On Friday, 17 May, in Bogotá, Colombia, Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General José Miguel Insulza will present Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos with the groundbreaking outcomes of a high level drug policy review. Mandated by 34 heads of state – including the US – at the 2012 Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, this report marks the first time in history that a high level multilateral agency has given serious consideration to the failings of current policies and potential alternative approaches, including decriminalisation and legal regulation.