Worldwide outcry, over 534,000 call on UN to end Drug War

Examiner
Deborah Dupre

A message representing the voice of over 534,00 people wanting an end to the failed "War on Drugs" and create a decriminalized and regulatory system based on human rights will be hand-delivered to world leaders Thursday, June 2 at a press conference in New York and to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday, June 3. Signatories of the message want the leaders to dismantle criminal empires rather than spend billions of dollars in a war on common people.

To address drug misuse, on Thursday, a global commission, including former heads of state and foreign policy chiefs of the UN, EU, US, Brazil, Mexico and others, will break the taboo and publicly call for new approaches, including decriminalization and regulation of drugs.

"The event will feature a live counter of petition signatures, so every one of us counts," say organizers through the non-profit organization, Avaaz that is fighting widespread corruption.

Avaaz means "voice" in several European, Middle Eastern and Asian languages.

In less than less than a few days, the group gained the signatories of the hundreds of thousands of citizens.

"We have a chance to enter the closing chapter of this brutal 'war' that has destroyed millions of lives. Global public opinion will determine if this catastrophic policy is stopped or if politicians shy away from reform."

Organizers and signatories believe this could be a once-in-a-generation tipping-point moment -- "if enough of us call for an end to this madness." 

These thousands of individuals are calling on Ban Ki-moon and all Heads of State to end the war on drugs and the prohibition regime. They want leaders to move toward "a system based on decriminalisation, regulation, public health and education," according to their statement.

"This 50 year old policy has failed, fuels violent organised crime, devastates lives and is costing billions," state organizers in the message to be presented Thursday and Friday.
"It is time for a humane and effective approach."

"For 50 years current drug policies have failed everyone, everywhere but public debate is stuck in the mud of fear and misinformation. Everyone, even the UN Office on Drugs and Crime which is responsible for enforcing this approach agrees -- deploying militaries and police to burn drug farms, hunting down traffickers, and imprisoning dealers and addicts – is an expensive mistake. And with massive human cost -- from Afghanistan, to Mexico, to the USA the illegal drug trade is destroying countries around the world, while addiction, overdose deaths, and HIV/AIDS infections continue to rise.

"Meanwhile, countries with less-harsh enforcement -- like Switzerland, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Australia -- have not seen the explosion in drug use that proponents of the drug war have darkly predicted. Instead, they have seen significant reductions in drug-related crime, addiction and deaths, and are able to focus squarely on dismantling criminal empires."

According to Avaaz, most politicians say they know the war on drugs has failed, but claim that, in a world that respects violence and revenge, the public is not ready for an alternative. Many fear not be re-elected due to their being "soft on drugs."

"Let's show them we not only accept a sane and humane policy. We demand it," state the organizers.
 Avaaz is a community of over 9 million global citizens taking action on major issues facing the world today.

To join the call to end to "War on Drugs," see "24 Hours to End the War on Drugs."