In the introduction of Transform's 2009 publication 'After the War on Drugs, Blueprint for Regulation' (p.7) the nature of the war on drugs is discussed:

"...the presentation of drugs as an existential ‘threat’ has gener­ated a policy response within which unevidenced and radical measures are justified. Drug policy has evolved within a context of ‘securitization’, characterised by increasing powers and resources for enforcement and state security apparatus. The outcomes of this strategy, framed as a drug ‘war’, include the legitimisation of propaganda, and the suspen­sion of many of the working principles that define more conventional social policy, health or legal interventions. Given that the War on Drugs is predicated on ‘eradication’ of the ‘evil’ drug threat as a way of achieving a ‘drug free world’, it has effectively established a permanent state of war. This has led to a high level policy environment that ignores critical scien­tific thinking, and health and social policy norms. Fighting the threat becomes an end in itself and as such, it creates a largely self-referential and self-justifying rhetoric that makes meaningful evaluation, review and debate difficult, if not impossible.

transform-drugs.blogspot.com
Blueprint for Regulation
old zack

Egypt's market for the illegal drug hashish is going through a shortage that is stoking a wide variety of theories, many of them coloured by a sense of widespread distrust towards the government.

The authorities have very little tolerance for hashish, and are happy to take the credit for curbing the trade in a series of busts since the beginning of the year that have netted at least six tonnes of the drug.

A report on Saturday in the official Al-Ahram newspaper, headlined "The Interior Ministry imposes its control over the drug market," announced the end of the hashish trade.

aawsat.com
afp
france24.com
iol.co.za
middle-east-online.com

The Dutch cabinet wants to discourage foreigners from coming to the Netherlands to buy drugs by limiting the amounts permitted to be sold and by only allowing debit card payment, the government said last week.

The Netherlands has one of Europe's most liberal soft drug policies with legal use of marijuana but some cities at the border near Belgium want to close down marijuana-selling coffee shops because they are drawing too many foreign visitors.

edmontonjournal.com

Again, next time you hear or read about law enforcement or federal anti-drug agencies employing the claim ‘We don’t make the laws, we only enforce them’, please reference the below totally biased, paranoid, inaccurate and self-serving example from the Drug Enforcement Administration to counter such claims.

Unlike the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), it is not clear that Drug Enforcement Administration is mandated by Congress to oppose any efforts by citizens to peaceably and lawfully change cannabis laws.

opposingviews.com
norml.org

The buds on Don Christen's three marijuana plants were thick and bristling, ready for picking.

"These branches are so heavy, they're falling down," he said, lifting one to show its weight. "I should be able to take all that's ready, but it would be half a pound. What am I going to do? I have a big problem here."

Christen, of Madison, has been a medical marijuana patient for nearly two years, and he believes the medical marijuana bill currently making its way through the Legislature is not workable.

onlinesentinel.com

Der Drogenkrieg in England eskaliert weiter. Nachdem der Leiter des Beratungsteams zum Missbrauch von Drogen (Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, ACMD), David Nutt, im Oktober des letzten Jahres aufgrund seiner wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen entlassen wurde, traten weitere Wissenschaftler aus dem Beratungsteam der Regierung aus Protest von ihren Ämtern zurück. Nun ist es in London zu einem weiteren Eklat gekommen. Die leitende Mitarbeiterin des Beratungsteams der Regierung, Polly Taylor, trat gestern als sechste Wissenschaftlerin aus Protest wegen des Ignorierens wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse in der britischen Drogenpolitik aus Protest zurück. Die Regierung konterkarriere immer wieder alle Bemühungen, die Drogenpolitik auf eine wissenschaftliche Basis zu führen und untergrabe jegliche Möglichkeit einer vertrauensvolle Zusammenarbeit, so die Essenz ihrer Kritik.

taz.de

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is "in deep trouble", according to the latest expert to resign from it over the criminalisation of mephedrone.

Eric Carlin said ministers had pledged to ban the drug to appear to be "acting tough" in the run-up to the election.

He said experts were being ignored and the council was "not doing its job".

bbc.co.uk
old zack

Die Drogenberaterin der britischen Regierung Dr. Polly Taylor ist zurückgetreten, da sie der Regierung nicht mehr traut und hat der BBC ihre Erklärung zum Rücktritt übermittelt. Da er sehr interessant ist und auch auf die hiesigen Verhältnisse anwendbar ist, machen wir hier den Volltext auf Deutsch.

Google News (580 Artikel)
via hanfplantage.de