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Richard Branson blogs about being invited onto the global commission, on virgin.com.
Richard Branson blogs about being invited onto the global commission, on virgin.com.

Big Name Panel Calls Global Drug War a "Failure" [FEATURE]

The Global Commission on Drug Policy, made up of former heads of state and other international dignitaries, is calling for fundamental reform of the international drug control system.

World Leaders Say End the Drug War

Not all of them just yet, but it's a start:

On Thursday the former presidents of several countries, former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, former U.S. secretary of state George Shultz, former U.S. Fed chairman Paul Volcker and other luminaries will release a report calling the global "war on drugs" a failure and encouraging nations to pursue legalizing and regulating drugs as a way to put a stop the violence inherent in the illegal drug market. (LEAP)
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druglordscelebratedrugwar.png

Drug Lords Celebrate the Drug War at the UN

This video is typical of the clever work I've come to expect from the HCLU. It deserves more exposure, so whoever's in charge of making things go viral, I hereby nominate this for consideration:

Drug Lords Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Global Prohibition (Video)

50 years ago the United Nations adopted the first international treaty to prohibit some drugs. The logic of the system was simple: any use of the drugs listed, unless sanctioned for medical or scientific purposes, would be deemed 'abuse' and thus illegal. As a result of this convention, the unsanctioned production and trafficking of these drugs became a crime in all member states of the UN. There is a small group that benefits phenomenally from the global war on drugs: organized criminals and terrorists. View this video from the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union and find out more.

Bolivia President Evo Morales Attacks Drug Reports

Bolivian president Evo Morales has accused the United States and the United Nations of conspiring to defame his government in two drug reports. He said criticism over Bolivia's handling of the war on drugs were part of a strategy to falsely link his government to drug trafficking. Morales said the US was trying to force him to invite American anti-narcotics agents back into Bolivia.
INCB head Hamid Ghodse (l) briefing reporters in Vienna (incb.org)
INCB head Hamid Ghodse (l) briefing reporters in Vienna (incb.org)

Most of World Lacks Access to Pain Drugs, UN Agency Says [FEATURE]

While the US wallows in a sea of pain pills, much of the rest of the world goes without, the International Narcotics Control Board reported Wednesday. Not to be too liberal, the INCB is also worried about the rise of designer drugs.
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coca-chew-in-3_0.jpg

Bolivians Hold Coca "Chew-Ins" Opposing UN Ban

As the US, UK, and Sweden file formal objections to Bolivian efforts to amend the UN 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs to end the proscription on coca leaf chewing, Bolivians take to the streets.

54th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs

The Economic and Social Council established the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in 1946 as the central policy-making body of the United Nations in drug related matters. The Commission enables Member States to analyse the global drug situation, provide follow-up to the twentieth special session of the General Assembly on the world drug problem and to take measures at the global level within its scope of action. It also monitors the implementation of the three international drug control conventions and is empowered to consider all matters pertaining to the aim of the conventions, including the scheduling of substances to be brought under international control.

For more information, see http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/commissions/CND/session/54.html

International Day of Action in Defense of Coca Chewing Underway

Coca growers from the Chapare (Cochabamba) and the Yungas (La Paz) — Bolivia’s two coca-growing regions — have travelled to Bolivia’s nine departmental capitals today to publicly chew the traditional leaf and to support the Bolivian government campaign to end the UN prohibition on coca chewing.