GREEN LIGHT IN THE WHITE HOUSE?
Posted: Mon 2nd Feb 2009 11:04 am
ENCOD BULLETIN ON DRUG POLICIES IN EUROPE
NR. 48 FEBRUARY 2009
GREEN LIGHT IN THE WHITE HOUSE?
In a few weeks from now, we may see a first important sign of Barrack Obama’s promise of a true regime change in the United States. When the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs meets in Vienna from 11 to 20 March in order to establish new guidelines for international drug policy in the coming years, the eyes of the world will point towards those that received the mandate from the new White House staff to address this meeting. Will Washington continue to lead the world into a dead-end one way street, or will it start to speak the language of dialogue? How will the other two key players in the global drug policy game, the UN Office of Drug Control and the European Union, respond to this opportunity to change the course of history? What are the true prospects for the dream that world leaders will finally start to discuss a rational alternative to the global drug war madness?
As host of the yearly CND meetings, the UNODC in Vienna has no interest in anything that may threaten the consensus behind the current status quo. The way in which Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa categorically refuses to discuss the results of Dutch cannabis policies shows that here, the door towards new approaches in drug policy is firmly closed. With regards to the European Union, it will depend very much on the spokespersons, since the legendary contradictions between EU governments as well as between the words and the actions of EU bureaucracy, remain the main obstacle for making any progress at all.
In the Netherlands, where cannabis has been officially available to adults through the sale in coffeeshops since 1976, the level of cannabis use is lower than in neighbouring countries where cannabis is only available underground. Therefore it is cannabis policies in these countries, not in the Netherlands, that need to be questioned first. This is the underlying knowledge that EU politicians do not want to admit, and obedient civil servants do not want to insist on. So meanwhile, any kind of debate on drugs is avoided and EU drug policies continue to be hollow façades designed to cheat the taxpayers.
Source & rest of article
NR. 48 FEBRUARY 2009
GREEN LIGHT IN THE WHITE HOUSE?
In a few weeks from now, we may see a first important sign of Barrack Obama’s promise of a true regime change in the United States. When the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs meets in Vienna from 11 to 20 March in order to establish new guidelines for international drug policy in the coming years, the eyes of the world will point towards those that received the mandate from the new White House staff to address this meeting. Will Washington continue to lead the world into a dead-end one way street, or will it start to speak the language of dialogue? How will the other two key players in the global drug policy game, the UN Office of Drug Control and the European Union, respond to this opportunity to change the course of history? What are the true prospects for the dream that world leaders will finally start to discuss a rational alternative to the global drug war madness?
As host of the yearly CND meetings, the UNODC in Vienna has no interest in anything that may threaten the consensus behind the current status quo. The way in which Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa categorically refuses to discuss the results of Dutch cannabis policies shows that here, the door towards new approaches in drug policy is firmly closed. With regards to the European Union, it will depend very much on the spokespersons, since the legendary contradictions between EU governments as well as between the words and the actions of EU bureaucracy, remain the main obstacle for making any progress at all.
In the Netherlands, where cannabis has been officially available to adults through the sale in coffeeshops since 1976, the level of cannabis use is lower than in neighbouring countries where cannabis is only available underground. Therefore it is cannabis policies in these countries, not in the Netherlands, that need to be questioned first. This is the underlying knowledge that EU politicians do not want to admit, and obedient civil servants do not want to insist on. So meanwhile, any kind of debate on drugs is avoided and EU drug policies continue to be hollow façades designed to cheat the taxpayers.
Source & rest of article