prohibition

  • cannabinoidsIn the scientific literature, 'skunk' has come to mean something more specific: cannabis that contains a high percentage of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the intoxicating part) but little to no Cannabidiol (CBD, an antipsychotic), in contrast to other milder ‘strains’ which contain lower levels of THC and more a significant CBD component. Skunk is a deliberate creation of the illicit industry, fashioned by generations of selective breeding and advanced cultivation methods that have steadily pushed THC levels up over the last 20 years.

  • brasil guerra drogasO Brasil não está em guerra, certo? Errado. Muito errado. Uma guerra invisível para a maior parte da sociedade, ignorada pela maioria do povo brasileiro, está em curso. Uma guerra que custou, em um único ano, e apenas para os estados do Rio de Janeiro e de São Paulo, R$ 5,2 bilhões. Esse foi o valor drenado do orçamento dos dois estados para matar, processar e encarcerar sobretudo jovens negros e moradores das favelas e periferias envolvidos no varejo de drogas ilícitas. Em qualquer guerra, como sabemos, há sempre os chamados “danos colaterais”; neste caso, são as vítimas das balas perdidas, que nunca erram o alvo. Atingem sempre moradores de favelas e periferias. (Veja mais: Drogas: quanto custa proibir)

  • drugwar-mexicoThe global “war on drugs” has been such a failure that illegal substances are now cheaper and purer than at any period over the past two decades, warns a new report by the Vancouver-based International Centre for Science in Drug Policy. Data from seven international government-funded drug surveillance systems show that drug use should be considered a public health rather than a criminal justice issue.

  • Last week, the internet exploded with a fairly shocking allegation: President Richard Nixon began America's war on drugs to criminalize black people and hippies, according to a newly revealed 1994 quote from Nixon domestic policy adviser John Ehrlichman. But Ehrlichman's claim is likely an oversimplification, according to historians who have studied the period and Nixon's drug policies in particular. Nixon's drug war was largely a public health crusade — one that would be reshaped into the modern, punitive drug war by later administrations, particularly President Ronald Reagan. (See Dan Baum article in Harpers Magazine)

  • gdpi logoThe Home Office should climb off its “high horse of oppression and prohibition” and stop pursuing the “fantasy” of a drug-free society, the chair of an influential international consortium on drug policy has said. As a new Global Drug Policy Index is set to rank each country’s approach to tackling narcotics, former New Zealand prime minister and chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy,Helen Clark, said that the UK was fixated with a “self-defeating” strategy to the issue that bred misery. Clark also said that the Home Office’s approach to drug policy meant it deterred police and crime commissioners in England and Wales who might otherwise advocate for a more liberal strategy.