http://www.csindy.com/IndyBlog/archives/2011/05/19/feds-paying-same-attention-to-mmj-they-always-have Comments On: Feds paying same attention to MMJ they always have by Bryce Crawford en-us Copyright 2013 Colorado Springs Independent. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, Colorado Springs Independent readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact Colorado Springs Independent. becca@csindy.com (Colorado Springs Independent Webmaster) Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:01 -0600 Sun, 19 May 2013 02:30:00 -0600 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
Compiled by the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which includes former heads of state, a former U.N. secretary-general and a business mogul, the report calls on governments to end the criminalization of marijuana and other controlled substances.

Findings Of The Global Commission On Drug Policy (PDF)
"Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately: that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem, and that the war on drugs has not, and cannot, be won," the report said.

The 19-member commission includes former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former U.S. official George P. Schultz, who held cabinet posts under U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. Others include former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, former presidents of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, writers Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa, U.K. business mogul Richard Branson and the current prime minister of Greece.

Instead of punishing users who the report says "do no harm to others," the commission argues that governments should end criminalization of drug use, experiment with legal models that would undermine organized crime syndicates and offer health and treatment services for drug-users in need.

The commission called for drug policies based on methods empirically proven to reduce crime, lead to better health and promote economic and social development.

The commission is especially critical of the United States, which its members say must lead changing its anti-drug policies from being guided by anti-crime approaches to ones rooted in health care and human rights.

"We hope this country [the U.S.] at least starts to think there are alternatives," former Colombian president Cesar Gaviria told The Associated Press by phone.
Posted by amcs]]> Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:33:21 -0600 Colorado Springs Independent