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A high-level international commission has declared the global "war on drugs" to be a failure, and has urged countries to consider legalising certain drugs, including cannabis, in a bid to undermine organised crime.
The Global Commission on Drug Policy, in its report released on Thursday, called for a new approach to the current strategy of reducing drug abuse by strictly criminalising drugs and incarcerating users.
It said the new approach should focus on battling the criminal cartels that control the drug trade, rather than targeting drug users.
"The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world," the report said.
The study urged "experimentation by governments with models of legal regulation of drugs", adding: "This recommendation applies especially to cannabis, but we also encourage other experiments in decriminalisation and legal regulation."
It's good that some recognizable names have sighed.
Sorry I didn't read the report. I thought this was slashdot for a second....
Luke. : 2011-06-04 12:58:56
Read the report. Many important people made these recommendations including current Greek prime minister George Papandreou, former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, British businessman Richard Branson, former US secretary of state George Shultz, former Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo, former Swiss president Ruth Dreifuss, former EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and former US Federal Reserve chief Paul Volcker.
Beow. : 2011-06-03 17:41:44
Anonymous, you're splitting my sides.
dt. : 2011-06-03 16:15:15
@Anonymous
The name of the group isn't what carries weight. It's the individuals who signed it, supposedly powerful people who matter to other powerful people. It's not a "think tank" like Cato.
Anonymous. : 2011-06-03 13:57:58
This is all very cool, but I'm always a little skeptical when some "high-level commission" -- how I've never even heard of -- starts making pronouncements. Seriously, I doubt I'm the only person who's never heard of "The Global Commission on Drug Policy" before this very instant.
Who says it matters. I mean, the Cato Institute says things like this all the time, but as far as I can tell no one takes them seriously at all. Is this such another ideologically-driven organization?
It would be really cool if someone like, say, the UN issued the report. I've heard of them before, and people might actually listen!
thenightwatch/escapegoat. : 2011-06-03 12:43:06
but battling the cartels often leads to thousands of deaths, like has happened in juarez! as far as i can see drug prohibition in any form can only do more harm than good... =/ i pray that the world learns.
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The comments posted here do not reflect the views of the owners of this site.