‘Shameful Failure’ Global Leaders demand an end to the $100bn so-called war on drugs

–          In April, world leaders will come together in New York for a UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drug policy – the first in 18 years.

–          In a new book Sir Richard Branson, Nick Clegg & eleven global opinion leaders highlight drug policies which should be pursued by those attending UNGASS to end the war on drugs once and for all

–          Global spending on drug law enforcement exceeds $100bn (£70.4bn) per annum – roughly the same spent on foreign aid worldwide

–          Prohibitive drug laws have created a vast criminal industry with an estimated annual turnover of $320bn (£225bn pounds) globally

Global leaders and experts, including Ernesto Zedillo and George Soros, have come together to share their ground-breaking strategies in new book ‘Ending the War on Drugs’ and call for an end to the suffering, the waste and the violence created by the so-called War on Drugs.

For more than five decades, prohibitionist policies around the world have failed to reduce the supply of or demand for illegal drugs and the book highlights some damning statistics which point to the ‘shameful failure’ in tackling the global drug crisis:

• The costof this war on drugs has been around $100bn per annum, roughly the same amount spent on foreign aid worldwide. 
• These policies have put criminal organisations in control of a global marketestimated to turn over more than $320 billion per year
• While the drug trade flourishes, millions worldwide continue to be criminalised for non-violent drug offences, leading to more than 1.4 million arrests in the US in 2014 alone– 83 per cent (1.1m) of those arrests are solely for possession
• As a result, roughly one in 110 US adults is currently in some form of detention

Worldwide, thirty-three countries still impose the death penalty for drug-related offenses. In Iran, up to 80 percent of the more than 1,000 executions recorded in 2015 have been linked to drug violations

Interest in drug policy reform has been growing in recent years, as several US states have begun legalising and regulating cannabis, and as governments around the world are debating new approaches that put health and safety over punishment. But the global opinion formers and contributors to this book are calling for urgent action.

Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Group Founder, said: “It’s high time we stop pretending we have any control over drugs. The only way to wrest back control is to end the drug war, take the markets back from criminal networks and put governments in charge, so that production, supply and use can be regulated via doctors, pharmacists and licensed retailers.”

“There is plenty of evidence that declaring the War on Drugs was essentially a political decision with total disregard for medical or other pertinent scientific considerations about the problem” – Ernesto Zedillo, former President of Mexico

On 19-21 April 2016, world leaders will be given a chance to establish that clear leadership position come together in New York for a UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drug policy – the first in 18 years. UNGASS offers a rare opportunity to put the international community on a pathway to reform of the international treaties that have guided prohibition and repression for so long.

But progress has been sluggish, stifled by governments which still fail to see that a drug-free world is an illusion and that the war on drugs has first and foremost been a war on people.

In Ending the War on Drugs, to be released just weeks before UNGASS, global opinion leaders on the frontlines of the drug debate discuss what can and must be done now to end the suffering, the waste and the violence. Ending the War on Drugs highlights the pitfalls behind drug policy to-date and brings to light new policies and approaches, which make a clear case for galvanizing governments to end the war on drugs – once and for all.

Further Quotes from ‘Ending the War on Drugs’

Despite all the resources spent by governments, the global drugs trade is now entirely controlled by violent criminal organisations. – Sir Richard Branson

There is plenty of evidence that declaring the War on Drugs was essentially a political decision with total disregard for medical or other pertinent scientific considerations about the problem – Ernesto Zedillo, former President of Mexico

George Soros, Chair, Open Society Foundations: For too long ideology and ‘tough on crime’ posturing have dominated global and national drug policy debates. It is time to be humble about the mistakes of the past and to embrace a rational and responsible policy on drugs.

Capital punishment for drug-related offences should be suspended all over the world, and there are both opportunities and pressures for countries retaining capital punishment to change course. – Ruth Dreifuss, former President of Switzerland

Drug enforcement in one region just leads to the emergence of production and supply in other regions.– Anand Grover, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health

The time has come for the international community to acknowledge the evidence, call for and deliver evidence-based harm reduction strategies of global scale to reduce HIV and hepatitis C infections, and so protect the health of people who use drugs. – Michel Kazatchkine, UN Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Ultimately this is a choice between control by governments or by gangsters; there is no third option in which drug markets can be made to disappear. – Henrique Fernando Cardoso, former President of Brazil

Drug control measures cannot take precedence over health, safety, human welfare and well-being any longer. Our countries have suffered enough. The human costs are too high. – Cesar Gaviria, former President of Colombia

We must now all recognise the violence related to drug trafficking in some countries and regions, and the lack of access to harm reduction measures and treatment in others as a problem for all of us. – Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria

It is long past time for political leaders to be held accountable for their cowardly inactions on drug policy reform that result in racist effects and human rights violations. – Carl Hart, Professor of Psychology, Columbia University

Former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, notes in the book: “It is now well-established that the war on drugs has caused more suffering than the drug problem it was supposed to be tackling. The good news is the tide finally appears to be turning. Countries around the world are experimenting with new approaches, from decriminalisation to regulated markets. It’s an incredibly exciting time.” 

Decriminalisation had the desired effect of reducing drug-related arrests, while releasing resources and removing a barrier for problematic users to seek help. – Pavel Bem, former Mayor of Prague

New Zealand chose to take an innovative, harm- minimisation approach through regulating the market.– Peter Dunne, Associate Minister of Health of New Zealand