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October 05 TRANSFORM NEWS
"My view as a police officer is the current regime is untenable and it is not going to be successful any more than controlling alcohol was through prohibition in the US. We are making it easy for organised crime," "We are persuading people to buy guns and protect their investment because there is so much money to be made from the drugs trade. We are turning people who want to abuse their bodies into criminals. Why should they be criminals? Why should we force them to mug my granny for money in order to abuse their bodies? We are making it worse not better." Chief Constable Richard BrunstromServing Chief Constable of North Wales Source: Daily Post, 30/01/2003 ----- Welcome to October’s newsletter. Well, Transform has officially gone international – following on from our recent engagement in Athens, this month we were invited to speak at a conference organised in partnership with the Municipal Health Authorities in Vancouver (details below). In November we’ve been invited to speak at the Drug Policy Alliance conference in Los Angeles, and in December we are off to another invite, this time to an event organised by the King County Bar Association in Seattle. Our recent report ‘After the War on Drugs’ has apparently gone down very well in North America……. Back in Britain, the reform agenda has been kept current by the debate in the Tory leadership contest with the old school drug war rhetoric of David Davis being outflanked by the more progressive position of young gun (and currently the likely winner) David Cameron. -Please keep your comments, ideas, media contact and stories coming. e-mail: info@tdpf.org.uk , -Pass this onto your friends; subscribers can join by visiting: http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Contact.htm -All previous newsletters are viewable on our website should you have missed them or only just signed up: http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Newsletter.htm -Make a donation – as ever we need financial support to maintain the organisation…set up a regular donation online here: http://www.tdpf.org.uk/index_online_giving_links.htm Thanks for reading! Until next month, Fran Kellett Transform Contents ----1. UK NEWS----- * Drug Policy continues to overshadow the Tory leadership contest *Expert urges: legalise cannabis to cut heroin addiction in Scotland *RSA commission on Illegal Drugs, Communities and Public Policy *The Beckley Foundation Report *The Thames: a river of Cocaine!! *National Links ---- 2. INTERNATIONAL NEWS ---- *A week of Drug War Summits in South America * H ealth O fficers C ouncil Of British Columbia A Public Health Approach To Drug Control In Canada *Letting government legalize, control all drugs has appeal* Report: 92 Percent Of Souls In Hell There On Drug Charges *International Links ----3. WHAT TRANSFORM HAS BEEN UP TO----- *Transform in Vancouver! *Transform in the news *Publications ---- 4. WHAT YOU CAN DO ---- *Become a Trustee! *Write to your MP if you have one – or visit them! *Get active online *Help with our fundraising! ** Drug Policy continues to overshadow the Tory leadership contest The drugs issue continued to loom large over the Tory leadership campaign but has mercifully moved away from Cameron’s alleged drug using past, onto more substantial policy issues. Although hardly earth shattering in its significance the reclassification of ecstasy is an issue that Cameron supported when a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee 2002 inquiry: The Government’s drug policy – Is it Working? (see: http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Parliament_HascReport.htm) . Hardly a controversial call within the drug field it still apparently has the power to scandalise certain media commentators even ten years after the high profile death of Leah Betts brought the dangers of ecstasy into the public eye. The issue has polarised the drug debate within the leadership contest, Davis objecting, sticking doggedly to the tough talking party line, and Cameron calling for a more pragmatic approach saying "If you put ecstasy and heroin in the same category people don't take it seriously and if you put ecstasy and speed in the same category they won't take it seriously." He said during BBC Question Time that E should be downgraded from Class A to make drugs policy more "credible" to young people. He even managed to outflank the dogmatic Home Secretary Charles Clarke who tried to make some mileage out of this saying: "Ecstasy can and does kill. There is no such thing as a safe dose. There is still much to learn about the harm ecstasy can cause and we believe it would be irresponsible to consider re-classifying it." Naturally Clarke has entirely missed the point (as did several newspaper editorials, notably the Sun) that the classification system is supposed to be about relative harm – and a downgrading does not mean a drug is safe, just that it is not as dangerous as other drugs in Class A such as heroin and crack. Transform have written about their concerns regarding the classification system in several briefings including: http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Policy_General_Cannabis_Reclassification_Revisited.htm and http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Policy_General_Mushrooms.htm Anyway – at the very least, this fracas is keeping drug policy, specifically drug policy reform on the political agenda, and with Cameron looking like winning it presents a real possibility of some more constructive and intelligent opposition to current failing policy. Some coverage of the story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4408360.stm ----- **Expert urges: legalise cannabis to cut heroin addiction in Scotland “ The debateover drug laws will be reignited next month when one of the world’s leading experts is to argue that Scotland should legalise cannabis to dramatically cut the country’s soaring heroin addiction rates. Ethan Nadelmann ( executive director of the US-based Drug Policy Alliance) will warn that the current UK drug policy is “damaging” and that the Scots should embrace the Dutch “coffee shop” model, under which cannabis is legally sold over the counter in licensed outlets”. “ Danny Kushlick, director of pro-legalisation group Transform, said: “No drug is made safer in the hands of criminals.” For more read here: http://www.sundayherald.com/52413 ----** RSA commission on Illegal Drugs, Communities and Public Policy Described as an ‘unofficial Royal Commission’ the RSA Commission on Illegal Drugs, Communities and Public Policy was set up to take a fresh look at these questions and try to untangle the complex knot of issues commonly referred to as 'the drugs problem.' In the reports so far published from a final series of six Transform have been impressed by the analysis and hard questions asked at the end - including whether legalisation and regulation of drug markets is the only real option for addressing drug related crime. The commission will complete this series of reports and then debate what recommendations to make in the New Year. They have also set aside a 6-9 month period to disseminate their findings. It looks like it could be a fairly progressive final report – hopefully taking things a step further than similar projects in recent years undertaken by the Police Foundation and the Home Affairs Select Committee. Transform has been submitting a range of information to the committee for consideration. Find out more and read the reports here: http://www.rsadrugscommission.org/ ----**The Beckley Foundation “ Facing The Future: The Challenge For National & International Drug Policy” They Beckley foundation provides: “a rigorous, independent review of the effectiveness of national and international drug policies. The aim of this programme of research and analysis is to assemble and disseminate material that supports the rational consideration of complex drug policy issues, and leads to a more effective management of the widespread use of psychoactive substances in the future”. They have produced a series of quality reports on key issues in the drugs debate. The reports tend to be highly critical of current policy failings but, from Transform’s perspective at least, fail to fully engage in alternative policy responses – namely legal regulatory models for drug supply. Still well worth a look – and provide excellent critique and factual reference material: Crime, terrorism and costs are all looked at - both nationally and internationally. http://www.internationaldrugpolicy.net/reports/BeckleyFoundation_Report_06.pdf You can find other briefing papers on their website such as : Briefing Paper 9: UNAIDS & The prevention of HIV infection through injecting drug use And Briefing Paper 10; Drug policy in India - compounding harm? See www.internationaldrugpolicy.net for the complete list. ---- **The Thames : a river of cocaine Whilst this story sounds like it should have featured on the onion website (see the last story in the international news section) it is in fact completely true. Some boffins from Italy have been trying to calculate how much cocaine we use by measuring cocaine metabolites (produced by users and excreted in urine) in the Thames. Sounds all a bit unscientific and rather yucky to us but anyway, unsurprisingly they concluded that, wait for it........loads of people are using cocaine in London! One of the benefits of legal drugs is that its comparatively easy to measure levels of use. You can see how much is being sold/prescribed, or if you do questionaires, people are usually fairly honest - as they aren’t fearful of a lengthy prison sentence. Certainly beats measuring wee from the Thames. Hmmmm. Either way, the rising cocaine use of recent years is a particularly glaring failure in the Government’s attempts to reduce drug use and misuse – something we dont need Italian scientists to point out. Full story here : http://www.drinkanddrugs.net - Drink & Drug News http://www.thehempire.com - Cannabis news (and wider drug issues), quality free monthly news email and great website. The best and most up to date of the cannabis oriented sites. This month’s features include whether to vote Tory as “ Cameron wants to legalise cannabis. The only reason he - or any other politician – won’t change the law is because of the fear they'll lose votes. There are around four million cannabis users in the UK. If just one quarter of us voted for the same party we would vastly outnumber our opponents and give politicians the incentive they need.” http://www.dailydose.net - excellent daily/weekly round up of news (free subscription) , links and a peerless searchable UK drug news archive. www.crew2000.co.uk and www.palad.org.uk - affiliates to Transform and well worth a look to see related campaigns around the country. www.ldan.org.uk - London Drug and Alcohol Network. ---- 2. INTERNATIONAL NEWS ---- ** A week of Drug War Summits in South America Colombia “played host … to the 15th Summit of the Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies (HONLEA) of Latin America and the Caribbean”. “President Uribe, addressing the delegations of about forty nations, took the opportunity to bash the drug legalization movement and demand that its neighbours do more to stop Colombian drugs from reaching consuming countries. Meanwhile, one of those neighbours — Venezuela — made some blunt criticisms of Plan Colombia and joined another one of Uribe’s neighbours — Ecuador — in complaining that the effects of the U.S.-sponsored crop fumigation program are spilling over the border and causing environmental and other damages…” Sound interesting? Read more here: http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2005/10/19/141412/86 ----- ** Health Officers Council Of British Columbia (Canada) A Public Health Approach To Drug Control In Canada “In Canada, tobacco and alcohol exist towards one end of the spectrum in a legal, for profit economy. Illegal drugs such as marijuana, heroin and cocaine exist towards the other end of the spectrum in a criminal-prohibition, black-market economy.… We argue for a more centrist public health approach to currently illegal drugs, where policies are set to minimize harms. “ Current conditions are right to enter into serious public discussions regarding the creation of a regulatory system for currently illegal drugs in Canada, with better control and reduced harms to be achieved by management in a tightly controlled system. “ To read the rest of the report – click here: http://cfdp.ca/bchoc.pdf And to read an article with more detail on the Canadian – American positions – see here: http://www.gaycitynews.com/gcn_443/ourneighbortothenorth.html See more on these and other developments in Canadian policy below…(in the ‘what have Transform been up to?’ section). ----- ** Letting government legalize, control all drugs has appeal “ How would you like to effectively fight terrorism, gang violence, poverty, political corruption and the Taliban, South American drug cartels, while keeping kids off drugs and cutting government spending?” “Way back when the Prohibition of alcohol ended, the money disappeared and no one could make a buck on illicit booze. Gang activity dropped off, and the mobsters had to find different employment in gambling and other vices, including illicit drugs.” For the rest of the article: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051019/EDIT02/510190305 ---- ** REPORT: 92 PERCENT OF SOULS IN HELL THERE ON DRUG CHARGES Pubdate: Wed, 12 Oct 2005 Source: The Onion (a news satire site) HELL -- A report released Monday by the Afterlife Civil Liberties Union indicates that nine out of 10 souls currently serving in Hell were condemned on drug-related sins. "Hell was created to keep dangerous sinners off the gold-paved streets of Heaven," ACLU spokesman Barry Horowitz said. "But lately, it's become a clearing-house for the non-evil souls that Heaven doesn't know how to deal with." The disproportionate number of drug offenders in Hell is a result of God's "get tough" drug policy of the 80s A.D., imposed after Roman emperor Domitian Flavius introduced opium to his people. God's detractors say His reactionary "one sin and you're out" rule places too harsh penalty on venial drug users. According to God's law, souls who possess four ounces of illegal drugs at any point during their mortal lives face a mandatory minimum sentence of eternity. High-ranking seraphim in the Eternal Justice Department defended God's law. "It's all about accountability," the angel Nathanael said. "The rule of the Lord affords the complementary blessings of freedom and responsibility, and provides the governing framework under which man is punished or rewarded according to his deeds. The rules are very simple: You do the crime, you do the time. Eternity, in this case." The ACLU report included profiles of hundreds of offenders condemned to eternal perdition under God's law. Among them is Pvt. Robert "Bobby Joe" Hetfield, a World War I fighter and amputee who became addicted to morphine during his last 72 hours of life on a French battlefield in 1918. As punishment, Hetfield has spent nearly a century cleaning Beelzebub's dope house every morning by consuming the urine, excrement, and vomit left by Satan and his revelers. Another offender listed in the ACLU report is Huachuri, an Incan peasant who used a coca-leaf-based marital aid in 1311. As punishment, he is sodomized continually by a winged, razor- penised goat. Defenders of God's law argue that eternal punishments like these are the only way to deter other drug users, and preserve order in God's kingdom. "This is not about revolving-door justice," St. Peter said. "While the word of God will keep some on the straight and narrow, Heavenly studies show that eternal damnation is the only deterrent that really works." Horowitz said that while drug offenders are literally rotting away in Hell, serial killers and other dangerous sinners are receiving "mere Purgatorial sentences, thanks to the asking-for-forgiveness loophole." Purgatory is a minimum-security state of limbo that affords its occupants the opportunity to repent their sins and eventually gain admittance to Heaven on good behavior. "Drug offenders, many of whom have committed no prior mortal sin, rack up infinite consecutive life sentences," Horowitz said. "Meanwhile, rapists say they're sorry, recite a few Hail Marys, and wind up basking in God's divine radiance within 10 years." Among those who oppose God's laws are the stewards of Hell, who argue that his harsh anti-drug penalties have taxed the capacities of the underworld. "I have one ravenous and overworked hellhound assigned to terrorize 12 methamphetamine users," the demon Abracax said. "After 14 hours in the dog's digestive tract, they are excreted and revived, at which point, I give them another shot of methamphetamine. The dog's exhausted--he was originally intended to be responsible for two users at most." According to Horowitz, even leaving aside questions of civil liberties in the afterlife, God's drug laws are problematic. "These laws, simply put, don't work," Horowitz said. "What the Heavenly hosts need to consider is some sort of angelic early-intervention program at the pre-death level, or at the very least, some form of afterlife rehab." ---- ** International Links - October focus: ENCOD – the European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies. ENCOD a pan-European network of currently 120 NGO's and individual experts involved in the drug issue on a daily basis. We are the European section of an International Coalition, which consists of more than 200 NGOs from around the world that have adhered to a Manifesto for Just and Effective Drug Policies (established in 1998). Among our members are organisations of cannabis and other drug users, of health workers, researchers, grassroot activists as well as companies. For a complete list of members, see here.Check out their ‘latest bulletin’ here: http://www.encod.org/newsletter.htm . This page contains all their bulletins, the most recent (no 11) discussing risks and fears surrounding the continuation of the drug war, and details some costly figures: “According to figures issued by the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs in Lisbon, some 6,5 billion EUROs are spent annually on enforcing drug prohibition in the EU (this is the proportion of taxes used to pay for activities vital to the maintenance of prohibition such as policing, judiciary, customs and prison personnel). This means that each and every one of the 460 million citizens of the EU is obliged to pay 14 euro each year to finance the war on drugs.” Issue 10 contains such gems as: “In Peru and Bolivia, militarization and eradication of coca have set in motion a strong movement for coca leaf legalisation. It is one of the major demands of an indigenous uprising that until now has been relatively peaceful, but no less historic in its significance. Evo Morales, leader of Bolivia’s coca growers, stands a very good chance of becoming president in the December 2005 general elections. And last but not least, Jamaican Prime Minister Patterson might very well legalise the ganja culture and economy sometime this coming winter. Similar proposals were made at the end of September by the Senlis Council, a think tank on drug policy funded by a Swiss millionaire. In a conference in the Afghan capital, Kabul, they presented a proposal to legalise parts of the Afghan opium production in order to produce morphine and other opium based medicines for both domestic use and export. Meanwhile, in view of the increasing oil prices and the need for renewable substitutes, Info-Chanvre from Switzerland offered to organize supplies of hemp fuel oil for Switzerland, and called for other hemp farmers to pressure the government to obtain suppression of taxes on vegetable oils destined for domestic heating purposes”. **Other links: - The Media Awareness Project or MAPS – an archive of drugs stories in the media collected from its network of ‘news hawks’ around the world, including the UK: “a worldwide network dedicated to drug policy reform”. -Drug Policy Alliance -- the leading US drug policy reform organisation http://www.drugpolicy.org/homepage.cfm - Keeping the Door Open – a coalition of key stakeholders in Canada examining options for the post-prohibition world. http://www.keepingthedooropen.com - Transnational Institute Drugs and Democracy Project - An independent Dutch based organisation that has produced the most thorough analysis of international drug policy issues currently available. They have particular expertise on the workings of the UN drug agencies and have range of detailed (downloadable) policy analysis documents on key issues. ----3. WHAT TRANSFORM HAS BEEN UP TO----- **Transform goes to Vancouver! Steve Rolles, Information Officer for Transform has recently returned from Vancouver, Canada. He sends this report: Transform were delighted to learn earlier in the year that our report ‘After the War on Drugs – Options for Control’ had been cited in a new report produced by the The City of Vancouver titled, "Preventing Harm from Psychoactive Substance Use". The whole report (including 20 preliminary pages of bureacratic text – which you should probably skip) is available in PDF format at: http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20051101/documents/p2complete.pdf It is an impressive piece of extremely pragmatic local policy making that presents the argument for regulated drugs markets from a public health perspective. It is all the more impressive coming from Local Government rather than the non government sector. More recently another reform oriented document has been produced, this time by the Health Officers' Council of British Colombia, a registered society of public health physicians who among other activities advise and advocate for public policies and programs directed to improving the health of populations. This report, titled ‘A Public Health Approach to Drug Control in Canada’ is a more in depth discussion of the theory and practice involved in planning for the post prohibition era. It is available for download in pdf format here: http://www.keepingthedooropen.com/files/hoc_public_health_approach_to_drug_control.pdf Please take time to read these excellent reports, and make an effort to circulate them where appropriate - particularly if you have contacts or work in local government. It was in this context that we were excited to receive an invite to speak at a conference organised by the ‘Keeping The Door Open’ organisation (http://www.keepingthedooropen.com), a multi-stakeholder coalition comprised of individuals and organisations including institutional and community-based service providers, health authorities, research centres, charitable foundations, public policy makers, drug consumers, consumer advocates, government, and business. The conference, titled ‘ Beyond Drug Prohibition: A Public Health Approach’, was held at the spectacular Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue Simon Fraser University, in downtown Vancouver. The purpose of this symposium was: “To foster informed public and interdisciplinary dialogue on the changes a public health approach to a regulatory system for currently illegal drugs would bring. The Health Officers Council of BC is calling for political leadership to establish a comprehensive public health approach to drug control, including exploration of a regulatory system and help to: -Examine a public health approach to psychoactive substances as described by the Health Officers Council of British Columbia -Consider how a regulatory system for currently illegal drugs could reduce crime, violence, disease, corruption, and the continued widespread availability of drugs, therefore improving health and community safety -Learn from our experience regulating other substances, such as alcohol and tobacco -Give voice to the spiritual, moral and human rights perspectives -Stimulate action that promotes a regulatory system for currently illegal drugs” Transform Information Officer Steve Rolles addressed the conference (of approx 150 guests), talking about recent developments in the UK and Europe, and relating Transform’s experience of working in the field and campaigning for change. The dialogue that followed was extremely positive and informative – operating at a level of sophistication rarely seen at Local Government level in the UK. It was immensely gratifying to find common cause with people facing the same challenges we face, particularly coming from North America, somewhere more often associated with the more ugly excesses of drug war thinking. It was also welcome to engage in constructive dialogue about how regulatory systems would operate, rather than to endlessly argue over the merits or otherwise of prohibition or legalisation and regulation. The approach adopted in the two papers is a very useful addition to the ongoing debate in UK and Europe and Transform will be promoting these documents here, as well as seeking to build on them with future collaborative projects. ----- **Publications -“After the War on Drugs - Options for Control” – now also available in Spanish and Portuguese! Transform’s groundbreaking report examines the key themes in the drug policy reform debate, detailing how legal regulation of drug markets will operate and providing a roadmap and time line for reform. The report can be downloaded as a PDF from: http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Policy_General_AftertheWaronDrugsReport.htm *Our new publicity leaflet is out NOW! Copies are available in print now – get in touch if you would like one/some. You will be available to download from the website in the next few days. Take a look and get your orders in. Its very good, even though I say so myself… *Our shiny new Annual Report has just gone to the printers, and will be being mailed out to the great and the good in the coming weeks. A pdf version will be online shortly. For printed copies please contact info@tdpf.org.uk ----- **Transform is currently seeking funding to produce a ‘Parliamentarians guide to drug policy’ – to inform the debate, empower reformers in Parliament, and provide the basis for future training programmes Transform will be running for policy makers. ----- *Transform in the Media* As ever we have been working closely with various media, mostly behind the scenes on a range of stories – A quiet month by our standards. Here is a sample of what’s been going on in October: ** BBC online http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4236958.stm “How Labour's drugs battle changed”: featuring Danny Kushlick“Danny Kushlick, director of the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, said: "This means that most of our money is spent on enforcing the law and the policy appears to be tough on crime. "The government is effectively implementing a crime reduction policy masquerading as treatment." ** Resonance Radio Interviewed Steve Rolles about legalisation on their new weekly drugs themed talk show ‘The Good Drugs Guide’ . http://www.thegooddrugsguide.com/ ** Drink and Drugs News ‘Cannabis Reclassification’ article page 4 – around the time Danny was interviewed by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. http://www.drinkanddrugs.net/drinkanddrugsnews/031005.pdf** Canadian media – various The Canadian media quoted, interviewed and photographed our own Steve Rolles during the conference in Vancouver (see above). ** Today Prog. Radio 4 Danny Kushlick was interviewed on the Today programme after the announcement of Paul Goggins’ drugs tour of Britain – which it turns out is ‘invitation only’…. (nice and unbiased then) http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/zthursday_20051006.shtml **Sunday Herald “Ethan Nadelmann ( executive director of the US-based Drug Policy Alliance) will warn that the current UK drug policy is “damaging” and that the Scots should embrace the Dutch “coffee shop” model, under which cannabis is legally sold over the counter in licensed outlets”. “ Danny Kushlick, director of pro-legalisation group Transform, said: “No drug is made safer in the hands of criminals.” http://www.sundayherald.com/52413 --- **Charities Aid Foundation Online Giving service: Please support Transform by making a donation at our secure online donation page administered by the Charities Aid Foundation. Donations can be one off or regular, large or small. Please give generously - we need your support. (Transform relies solely on donations from individuals and charitable trusts to maintain its work) http://www.tdpf.org.uk/AboutUs_TdpfFunding.htm **Trustees Wanted Transform are looking for up to three highly experienced individuals to join our Board of Trustees, one of whom will be prepared to step up to the position of Chair. **Get to work on your new MP. *Write to your MP/councillor and ask them their views on the current drug policy. Ask their opinion on the ‘War on Drugs’, the fact that it isn’t working and what they think should be done. They have a duty to reply, and then you can begin a dialogue. Remember always to be polite however much you may disagree with them! Book a visit to their surgery - you can meet with them and discuss any issue that you fancy. Its really easy! One of our volunteers visited his MP recently, who just happened to be Charles Clarke – the Home Secretary! The meeting was very positive, and various Transform materials were passed on. Transform provided a detailed briefing and training before the visit. Call us for help. Do you know who your MP is?! They may have changed since the election. Find out here: http://www.locata.co.uk/commons **Try writing/e-mailing your local paper or a national paper. Look out for drug related stories in newspapers (and other publications) and respond in the letters pages. Here’s evidence to show it works: we promise ‘DJ Welch’ is not a put up job, he wrote to the Observer of his own volition: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,,1451131,00.html **Online Activism The internet gives you the opportunity to engage the drug law reform debate as never before. There are literally thousands of online forums, discussion groups, and media feedback opportunities where you can get involved and inject a little common sense into the debate. Here’s a starter for ten: http://www.dailymail.co.uk : The Daily Mail; a long time bastion of reactionary Drug War thinking has recently begun to open up to more progressive policy ideas. Whether you like the paper or not the fact is that it is highly influential in Whitehall and read by millions of floating voters. Many news stories and opinion pieces offer an opportunity to add comments at the end – so if you see a drug story that you think doesn’t tell the whole story – let them know! And your bonus question: http://theyworkforyou.com/ : A brilliant independent website doing what Hansard should be doing – ie providing easy access to parliamentary debate and publications. Searchable by MP or by key words you can add comments to any comment made by anyone in the house. There are frequent debates on drug issues (you can set up an email alert on any individual or key word) so do a search, find some ranting nonsense from some daft MP - and set them straight!*Guardian Talk – a good place to start – there’s usually a few good drug policy threads and if you cant find any – start one! http://www.guardian.co.uk/index/talk/0,3109,162311,00.html *For more help with raising awareness through the media see below and the ‘What you can do page’ on the TDPF site here; http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Parliament_WhatYouCanDo.htm For further advice please call the Transform office on 0117 941 5810. Send in your media tips, suggestions for web activism warnings, successes and failures - we’ll include them here. ---- Please pass this newsletter onto your friends - subscribers can join by visiting: For other ideas and more details on what you can do see : For more information and analysis: www.tdpf.org.uk Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a registered charity no: 1100518
The organisations, agencies, and information linked from www.tdpf.org.uk represent a variety of viewpoints from across the drug policy field. Transform is not responsible for the contents of sites linked on this newsletter, and does not automatically endorse linked information. Any suggested additions or corrections please email info@tdpf.org.uk If you have received this mail in error, or if would like to unsubscribe from the list, just click reply/e-mail info@tdpf.org.uk with ‘unsubscribe me‘ as the subject. Fran Kellett
Transform Drug Policy Foundation email: fran@tdpf.org.uk
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