Comments on: Living Sensibly with Drugs

By: David Bratzer

David Bratzer — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:50:48 +0000

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition recently launched a daily blog about drug policy:

http://copssaylegalize.blogspot.com/

LEAP is an international non-profit group of 15,000 cops, judges & prosecutors who want to minimize crime, addiction and death by gradually legalizing and regulating drugs. We don’t support or encourage drug use, but we believe a system of drug regulation is more ethical and less harmful than absolute drug prohibition. We anticipate that legalizing and regulating drugs would significantly reduce human rights violations around the world.

LEAP was in New Zealand in 2004 for an educational drug policy tour and we will be in Australia this fall. If you’re interested in writing a post or an article about LEAP, please let me know as we would be happy to include a reciprocal link on our blog.

By: www.buzzflash.net

www.buzzflash.net — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:58:05 +0000

Portugal: Living Sensibly with Drugs…

The basic conclusion Greenwald came to was that the world hadn’t caved into hell after drugs were decriminalised, and drug use across most substances had either stayed the same or decreased; in his estimation a resounding success. Therefore it’s worth…

By: Jahnaya

Jahnaya — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:12:34 +0000

why does drugs occur in our little world

By: lyndon

lyndon — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:48:41 +0000

The other year I was in Lisbon. During a sunny day of tourism I decided I needed a hat. So at a stall at the bottom of Augusta Street I bough what I now call my Portugese drug-soliciting hat. I call it that because everytime I walked down Augusta Street wearing it, I was offered hashish at least once (and never mind the visibility of the cops). Absent the street and the hat, nobody haas ever tried to sell me drugs. The last time, I laughed, which must have disconcerted the poor chap in question. It's a sort of baker boy cap in brown sort himalaya-fabric. The shorts, tee and sunglass clip combination may also have helped.

By: Blair Anderson

Blair Anderson — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:49:15 +0000

An all together intelligent commentary on the Portugal initiative. Not withstanding that the EU itself is far more harm reductionist than that stalwart of drug prohibition, the USA it is very useful to note that the UN has recently been much more forthright in its harm reduction rhetoric. New Zealand would be greatly advantaged if in the Law Commission review of all drugs it was explained properly that deviation from prohibition ‘zero tolerance’ is not ANTI-UN or the international conventions and covenants that have been promoted as the excuse for ‘not going there’. NZ heard this explained by Law Enforcement Against Prohibition’s Judge Jerry Paradis (Canada) that any country is entitled to do what is best under health primitives and the conventions do not preclude such change.

The fact remains that the NZ’s innovative and UN compliant legislation adopted the weekend Rt Hon John Key became right and honourable provides for decriminalisation, depenalisation and legal regulation of any (and all) recreational psychoactive drugs with oversight given entirely to the Ministry of Health. No Police, No Justice required.

We should be so encouraged. Good on Portugal for leading the way!

By: bud

bud — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:58:13 +0000

Long live Portugal!! You Rock!