Announcement

Mexico City, February 8th 2012

INVITATION

México Unido Contra la Delincuenciais pleased to invite you to the International Forum “Drugs: A Balance to a Century of Their Prohibition”,to be held on February 14th, 15th and 16th at the National Museum of Anthropology, at the Auditorium Jaime Torres Bodet, in Mexico City. The Museum is located in Paseo de la Reforma and Gandhi Road s / n, Col. Polanco Chapultepec, Miguel Hidalgo, CP 11560, Mexico City, Mexico. The inauguration of the forum will be on Tuesday February 14th at 9:00 am.

We will have the presence of distinguished national and international experts, among which we highlight:

• César Gaviria: Former Colombian President, Member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy.
• Jorge Castañeda: Former Secretary of Foreign Affairs.
• Arturo Valenzuela: Professor of Government and Director, Center for Latin American Studies at Georgetown University.
• Fernando Henrique Cardoso: Former President of Brazil, President of the Global Commission on Drug Policy.
• Ethan Nadelmann, founder and Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance
• Alejandro Madrazo: Professor and researcher at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE)
• Jack Cole: Part of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP)
• Jorge Hernández Tinajero: A President of Collective for Integrated Drug Policy (CUPIHD)
• Luis Astorga: Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair "Economic and Social Transformations connected with the international drug problem."
• Mark Kleinman: U.S. Professor of the School of Public Affairs, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
• Maria Elena Medina Mora: Director General, National Institute of Psychiatry "Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz"
• Mike Trace: Executive Director of Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust (RAPT

Please RSVP with Karla Higuera 5246-0100 ext. 376 (khiguera@gcya.net) or Daniel Soto ext. 249 (dsoto@gcya.net)

Day 1: 14 of february

 

 

 

9:00AM – 9:30AM

Conference Héctor Aguilar Camín:  "Drugs: a balance after 100 years of prohibition."

9:45AM – 10:45AM

Conference George Will: "The failure of prohibition: chapter 2."

11:00AM – 1:15PM

Are there any alternatives? Ethan Nadelmann, Jorge Hernández and Donald McPherson Moderator: Andres Lajous

1:30PM – 2:45PM

Lunch: Restaurant Meridien

3:00PM – 5:00PM

Security Panel #1: Are drugs equal to violence? Strenghthening the institutions and reducing violence. Eduardo Guerrero, Mark Kleiman, Alejandro Hope and Luis Astorga; moderator Andres Lajous

5:15PM – 6:30PM

Panel: "¿Status Quo or Alternative strategis? An outlook":Jorge Castañeda

  

Day 2: 15 of february

 

 

 

9:00AM – 11:15AM

Security Panel #2: "The war on drugs: a judge`s experience:" James P.Gray                            

 

"The war on drugs: a change in paradigm": Sergio Ferragut,  Antonio Mazzitelli and James Gierach; moderator James P. Gray

11:30AM – 1:30PM

Health Panel #1: "Vision of a public health problem":Alex Wodak, Ernest Drucker and Larry Campbell; moderator Andrés Lajous

1:45PM – 2:45PM

Lunch: Restaurant Meridien

3:00PM – 5:00PM

"Public policy: a state vision": Video: President Cardoso/ Live panel: César Gaviria, Ruth Dreifuss and Mike Trace

5:15PM – 7:00PM

Health Panel #2: "International experiences emphazising a public health approach": Nuno Capaz (Portugal), Peter Blanken (Holanda)

 

 

Day 3: 16 of february

 

 

 

9:00AM – 9:45AM

"Economic drivers of the problem and possible solutions"

10:00AM – 11:00AM

"Violence and public force. A turning point: the future of police forces": Ernesto López Portillo, Jack Cole and Walter McKay (LEAP); moderator Andrés Lajous

11:15PM – 12:15PM

"The Mexican experience in public health": María Elena Medina Mora and Juan Ramon de la Fuente

12:30PM – 1:30PM

"A vision from the Mexican government."

1:30PM – 2:15PM

Conclusions and proposals: Alejandro Madrazo, Ernesto López Portillo and Jorge Castañeda

LULI REFFREGER BORDES

EVENTOS ESPECIALES
MEXICO UNIDO CONTRA LA DELINCUENCIA
OF. 55156759  // 52778311
CEL. 0445541408645

Envisioning America without the War on Drugs-a talk with Ethan Nadelmann

More than 1 billion dollars has been spent on America’s “War on Drugs” since its inception on June 17th 1971.   What would our policies look like if the war on drugs ended tomorrow?  What sorts of opportunities would there be for increased treatment, drug education and harm reduction activities?  In a time of increasingly scarce resources, what could the U.S. do with the money that is now spent on the “War on Drugs?”  How much money do we currently spend on pursuing these often devastatingly harmful policies under the pursuit of the drug war?

This talk is provided for free by Roosevelt University’s Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy and Students for Sensible Drug Policy (Roosevelt University chapter).

Ethan Nadelmann is the founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, the leading organization in the United States advocating for drug policies grounded in science, compassion, health, and human rights. Nadelmann was born in New York City, received his BA, JD, and PhD from Harvard, as well as a M.Sc. in International Relations from the London School of Economics, and then taught politics and public affairs at Princeton University from 1987 to 1994.  He has authored two books on international criminal law enforcement - Cops Across Borders and (with Peter Andreas) Policing the Globe – as well as many dozens of articles on drug policy in publications such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Science, International Organization, National Review and The Nation. Described by Rolling Stone as “the point man” for drug policy reform efforts, Ethan Nadelmann is widely regarded as the outstanding proponent of drug policy reform both in the United States and abroad.

When:  February 7th, 2012

Time: 4:30 to 6pm

Where: Roosevelt University, Congress Lounge, 2nd Floor

Cost: Free

RSVP: kkane@roosevelt.edu

My friend and colleague Siobhan Reynolds, founder of the Pain Relief Network (PRN), died in a plane crash this weekend outside Columbus, Ohio. The pilot of the plane, her partner Kp Byers, was also a pain activist, an attorney whose practice had focused since 1992 on defending medical professionals caught in the crosshairs of the drug war. Radley Balko has written an extensive tribute to Siobhan, online here. So does Jacob Sullum at Reason.

As Radley has noted and as many others will doubtless note, Siobhan's work organizing media and legal support for patients, doctors, pharmacists and nurses was a courageous one. An article in the New York Times last year by Adam Liptak shows the degree to which prosecutors and even some judges felt threatened by the scrutiny Siobhan and PRN had drawn to their handling of certain cases, and the lengths to which they were willing to abuse legal process to shut her down. Perhaps the daring of riding in a small plane is a mirror of the daring she showed in her career taking on the government.

PRN did shut down last year, the organization's financial resources and Siobhan's own resources depleted by the struggle. But Siobhan was working on forming a new patient advocacy organization, Radley noted. I hope that others will take up that torch in her name. The under-prescribing of opiates to many patients who need them, and the injustice of lengthy mandatory minimum drug sentences being leveled at doctors and others over prescribing practices that at worst are debatable, is one of the most challenging problems in the drug war to take on. There is far too little help -- medical, advocacy, or otherwise -- for the people most deeply affected. Among those people were her husband, the late Sean Greenwood.

The Pain Relief Network still has an online presence, and its home page provides Siobhan's reasons for the organization's closure and her hopes of what could happen in the future. Our own web site has an archive devoted to the pain under-treatment issue, much of the material in it about Siobhan's work.  Also, Siobhan wrote several articles this year on prohibition and the drug war's impact on the doctor-patient relationship, the articles linked to from her web site.

Last but not least, in the YouTube video posted below, "Being Unable to Help," Siobhan talks about what was impossible to do for her husband in the current medical and legal environment. Share it widely.

 

Hi David,

I know you're eager for more details about SSDP's 13th Annual International Conference, and since you've been to one of our previous conferences, I wanted to make sure you got first access to vital information about this once-in-a-lifetime event. 

Early bird registration
Register today to take advantage of significantly discounted early bird registration rates. 

• $45 - Students
• $65 - Alumni
• $95 - Non-students

Fees will increase on January 2, 2012. Included in each registration will be four meals (breakfast and lunch will be provided during both days of the conference), a tote bag, name tag and conference program.

Call for session proposals

SSDP wants this event to be the biggest, best conference yet, so we've decided to open a call or proposals for folks like you to come up with ideas for workshops, panels, talks, meetups, or other programming for us to consider including as part of SSDP2012.

More details and proposal submission form here.

Scholarships

Each year, SSDP establishes a scholarship fund to help make it affordable for our student activists to attend our national conference. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our SSDP2012 Scholarship Fund today. Last SSDP conference, we were able to award 165 student scholarships and we hope to be able to help even more this year! 

Students can learn more about scholarship opportunities and how to apply here. 

And more...

Check out the ssdp.org/conference for exhibiting opportunities, sponsoring the event, location information, frequently asked questions, and more.  Details and more information will be posted at ssdp.org/conference as well as on our blog, the Dare Generation Diary. You can also find this event on Facebook. Questions should be directed to conference@ssdp.org.

See you in Denver!

Best,

Stacia Cosner

Associate Director

 

WHO

Hundreds of SSDP chapter leaders, members, alumni, and supporters of drug policy reform from all over the world.

WHAT

SSDP2012: The 13th Annual International Students for Sensible Drug Policy Conference

WHERE

Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center
7800 East Tufts Avenue
Denver, CO 80237
Reserve your room using the SSDP discount here.

WHEN

March 24-25, 2012

WHY

To gather hundreds of individuals who know there are alternatives to the failed war on drugs and want to do something about it. The weekend will include expert panels, guest speakers, an awards ceremony, networking events, an alumni reunion, SSDP Congress, and more.

 

 

     

Students for Sensible Drug Policy
1317 F Street NW Suite 501, Washington, DC 20004 - (202)393-5280 - www.ssdp.org

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