Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Red Cross calls for humanitarian drug policies that include decriminalization

Tuesday, April 17, 2012 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

(NaturalNews) Recognizing the utter failure of the perpetual war on drugs to accomplish anything beneficial whatsoever in the world, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the world's largest humanitarian network, has officially come out in open opposition to it, calling also for massive drug policy reform.


Speaking on behalf of the organization, Dr. Lasha Goguadze, Senior Health Officer at IFRC, told United Nations (UN) policymakers at the recent 55th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, Austria, that the continued criminalization of drug use is not the answer to the global drug abuse epidemic, and that rational, humanitarian drug policies are the only way to instigate any sort of positive change.

Commenting on how current drug policies force drug users "underground" and out of the public light, Dr. Goguadze explained in detail how this marginalization leads to greater problems in society than if the drugs involved were simply legal. Since drug users will still find drugs regardless of whether or not the state approves of them, it is important to focus on helping, rather than criminalizing and ultimately incarcerating, individuals with drug abuse problems.

Continues at naturalnews.com

3 comments:

billy pilgrim said...

i stopped at my favorite store yesterday and picked up a little bag of herbs. i don't know why the politicians won't decriminalize it when you can just walk into a store and buy it. it sucks leaving the discretion for arrest in the hand of some asshole cop who might be in a bad mood when you run into him.

texlahoma said...

Billy - Wow, I don't know the laws up there. You can buy it legally but can't possess it? Or maybe I misunderstand.

It's just all around illegal down this way, not even medical is legal.

Some people have the misconception that medical marijuana that is legal in their state is legal here, it's not.

TheWayfarer said...

Yes, but Der Schtaat couldn't create jobs for Papist relatives with legalization.

Blog Archive