ENCOD BULLETIN 30

Politics is essentially a game of thoughts, played by people who claim to have solutions for problems felt in society. If it is played in a fair way, it should enable the people who don’t have the time to study the ins and outs of these problems to make an informed choice for any of the proposed solutions.

The game of thoughts on the future of drug policies can only be won by those who wish to bring an end to prohibition. It is only a question of time before information about the appalling failures of current drug policies seeps through to public recognition. With time, the increasing awareness of alternative approaches based on acceptance of drug consumption by adults will open an entirely new window of opportunities to do the right things. Not only for drug consumers and their surroundings, but also in a range of other areas such as sustainable development, social cohesion, sound economy, the fight against cri,e and corruption, bridging the democratic deficit etc. History shows that such public awareness can pop up easily and even quickly, through a new flow of thoughts provoked by a chain of events, never by a single one.

Our mission is to bridge the abyss between the world of citizens and that of politicians. In the first, concrete problems are faced but no decisions can be taken to solve them, and in the second, problems are discussed from a distance, under the influence of groups that represent certain interests. The absence of a serious debate on drugs in the political arena, in spite of the fact that the drug problem affects virtually every citizen, shows that the interests behind maintaining the status quo are largely over-represented in this arena.

We have to bring across the flow of thoughts that can make the difference, moving back and forth between the two edges. One is where the people are, the daily reality and the common sense. The places where practical solutions are invented to create a small margin of tolerance within the current legal framework, for example the Cannabis Social Clubs.

On the other extreme, we find the political and bureaucratic apparatus, the national parliaments, the meetings of the United Nations and the European Union where hidden forces are working to ensure drugs remain illegal. The result is that public spending is directed to the repressive approaches to drugs, and the status quo can continue unhindered and unquestioned. The rare public statements of politicians on drug policy show that most of them have not even considered the fact that their policies do far more to create drug problems than solve them. when confronted with reality, such as occurs with local politicians, they tend to change their minds.

To bridge the abyss we need to have strong equipments and determination. People need to go back and forth, without running the risk of drowning along the way. They should feel welcome on both sides, and not have a reason to either criticize the entire political apparatus from a marginalized position, or become part of the official discourse trying to “represent” the ones on the other edge without knowing really what’s going on there anymore.

The next move in the game of thoughts is the UN Meeting in Vienna 2008. This meeting is meant to evaluate the ten years’ strategy agreed upon during the UNGASS on Drugs in 1998, to “eliminate or significantly reduce the supply and demand of illicit drugs”. In the preparation of this event, it has been greatly disappointing to see how Western governments and international institutions have done everything to avoid any discussion about the need to change the current approach, in spite of the growing amount of evidence against it.

In short: Vienna 2008 is the perfect opportunity for those citizens willing to contribute to an end to the global war on drugs to join forces and show the world there is much more to fear from prohibition than from a tolerant alternative. In the coming months, we plan to call upon thousands of activists to travel to Vienna in March 2008 to express there in a peaceful but determined way the call for for change.

If we work together as representatives of citizens affected by drug prohibition in their professional and personal lives, we can share our experiences with bridge building techniques, and the end result may be stronger.

With regard to the dialogue process in the EU, ENCOD has proposed to other European NGO Networks on Drugs, mostly from the treatment sector, to consider the elaboration of a common solution to the current dilemma created by the refusal by certain EU governments to start this dialogue. The essential difference between ENCOD and the other networks is that we practice a horizontal approach (the expertise on drugs lies precisely with them who are daily confronted with the issue) whereas the other networks have expressed their wish to limit the dialogue to “professionals”.

The EU dialogue process, the Vienna 2008 Campaign and the Cannabis Social Clubs will be the major topics of the coming ENCOD General Assembly, to take place on 22 to 24 June 2007 in Antwerpen, Belgium. This meeting is open to anyone though prior registration is recommended.

By: Joep Oomen (with the help of Peter Webster) - www.encod.org