“The demonisation of drugs and drugs users may make for rabble-rousing speeches and sensationalist headlines but it does little to promote understanding of what is really going on in our society, to help those whose lives are affected or to reduce the scale of the problem in future.”

Susan Deacon, MSP
The Sunday Herald, 14 January 2007
http://www.sundayherald.com/oped/opinion/display.var.1122075.0.the_political_addiction_to_tough_talking_on_drugs_has_failed_us_all.php

Contents

1. Transform news

• Welcome
• New posts at Transform!
• Unhooked Thinking

2. UK News

• Methamphetamine finally makes it to Class A
• Centre for Crime and Justice Studies 'Ten Years of Criminal Justice Under Labour' report
• David Cameron hints at support for legalisation of cannabis
• Home Office in trouble again
• Links

3. International News

• The failure of Plan Colombia (USA)
• Links

4. What You Can Do

• Donate to Transform
• Online Activism
• Media

1. Transform News

Welcome

Welcome to the January newsletter!

Recent news has been dominated by the trouble at the Home Office - much of it clearly self-inflicted due to their pursuit of drug policies that create crime, absorb huge resources and flood the system with low level drug and drug-related offenders. Crisis precipitates change, and as we approach the end of the ten year drug strategy there is a real window of opportunity opening up for more progressive policy options to get a real hearing. We aren't talking about legally regulating all drugs of course, but other proven practical steps like expanding heroin prescribing, experimenting with stimulant prescribing, supervised injecting rooms, tolerance (effective decrimnalisation) of personal drug possession - these could all be on the cards in the next year or so. The perceived political costs of reform are now being so dramatically outweighed by the political costs of ongoing failure in the criminal justice system that change is inevitable. Transform are a key part of the push for these changes - moving the focus away from failed enforcement approaches towards evidence-led public health policy for dealing with problem drug users and drugs in society more generally. Change is in the air, and you can help us achieve it...

We say it every month but if you haven't signed up as a regular Transform donor, even for a small monthly contribution, please do. It really is incredibly difficult for us to maintain the organization without a broad base of support. With more funding we could do so much more. We don't do chuggers or door stepping - we are relying on you as our core supporters.
http://www.tdpf.org.uk/AboutUs_TdpfFunding.htm

Our information resources continue to expand with the Fact Research Guide (http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Policy_FactResearchGuide.htm) growing week by week as new sections are added. You will also find new briefings and updates to all the main pages. As the site has grown we are finding it all a bit unwieldy and are moving to a content management system at some point this year.

Do also check out the Transform blog which continues to go from strength to strength, getting 14,500 page views since it was launched last summer, increasing each week, pretty impressive for a new player in a very niche field. I would encourage you to add comments and get involved in the blog debates - it is much more dynamic when readers are actively participating.
http://transform-drugs.blogspot.com/

New posts at Transform!

With the support of our funders, Transform is hiring a dedicated fundraiser/business manager to help us improve our capacity so that we can work even more effectively for drug policy reform. If you are interested, please check http://www.tdpf.org.uk/AboutUs_JobVacancies.htm for more details and more information about the Administrator and voluntary Trustee posts.

Unhooked Thinking conference 9th - 11th May, Bath

Danny Kushlick will be speaking at the plenary session on Thursday, 11th May, on the topic of The War on Drugs and Conflict. For more details and booking information, click on the link below.

http://www.unhookedthinking.com/UT2007/Programme/Thursday/

2. UK News

Methamphetamine finally makes it to Class A

The latest drug panic, fueled by horror stories and hype from the US, is methamphetamine, a more potent cousin of the more familiar amphetamines that have been a feature of UK drug culture for decades. Meth is a massive problem in the US, Canada and SE Asia, but has yet to really catch on in the UK. It probably will at some point, just as crack-cocaine did after a significant transatlantic lag time and a number of false alarms. As discussed in the blog, making it class A wont make the slightest difference, except, potentially to make things worse.

Transform blog on meth reclassification

BBC News coverage

Centre for Crime and Justice Studies new report 'Ten Years of Criminal Justice Under Labour'

This is a fascinating academic report that looks at the track record of the Government on criminal justice. The section on the drug policy considers the ten year drug strategy targets and whether they have been achieved. It reveals that targets have mostly been missed, as well as being changed on various occasions, and the measure of most targets was generally poor in the first instance.

PDF report here

David Cameron hints at support for legalisation of cannabis (but only for medicinal use)

Cameron's suggested he is more progressive on drug policy issues than most of his Tory colleagues (especially old school drug-warrior David Davis) on numerous occasions, most prominently when he put his name to a call from the Home Affairs Select Committee on drugs (2002) "that the Government initiates a discussion within the Commission on Narcotic Drugs of alternative ways—including the possibility of legalisation and regulation—to tackle the global drugs dilemma". He has now waded into the medical cannabis debate, again waving his reform credentials. Its about as uncontentious a position to hold as is possible in drug law reform (its not related to recreational use arguments, there are very few opponents, and really no meaningful debate since the police are unlikely to arrest sick people for using cannabis anymore), but it is perhaps politically significant that he is again willing to dip his toes in such traditionally controversial waters.

BBC coverage

The Home Office in trouble again

If the papers are to be believed the Home Office is in meltdown. Its probably a lot of hype and spin but there is definitely a very real crisis in the prisons system, fueled in substantial part by the crime created by the enforcement of prohibition. There is even talk of splitting the Home Office into two ministries, justice and security, but given that prohibition undermines it, it would be a toss up which of the new ministries would want the poisoned chalice of the drugs brief.

Transform blog on the Home Office woes

Links

House of Lords debate on drug classification

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldhansrd/text/70116-0001.htm#07011644000003

BBC Asian Network Drugs Day

http://www.bbc.co.uk/asiannetwork/news/drugsday.shtml

...plus a link through to the message board discussions:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbasiannetwork/F4154526?thread=3799922&post=44616510&s_edit=yes#p44616510

Conservative.com discussion on Tory policy regarding illegal drug 'medicalisation' ( keep an eye out for the Transform comment from Steve!)

http://conservativehome.blogs.com/100policies/2007/01/jonathan_munday.html

DrugScope Druglink blog

http://www.drugscope.org.uk/druglinkblog/

If Drugs Were Legal on myspace

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=121014139&blogID=218642578

3. International News

The incredible failure of Plan Colombia and the parallels with Iraq

It's important to remember that the war on drugs is more than just political rhetoric. In Colombia, Afghanistan and elsewhere it involves real guns, real bullets and real corpses.

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=9&ItemID=11863

International Links

The November Coalition

An organisation that campaigns for those unjustly imprisoned for non violent drug offenses in the US. You can read the often tragic stories of families torn apart by obscenely long sentences for often trivial offences under the mandatory minimums and three strikes legislation.

http://www.november.org

Avoiding getting busted, US style

A DVD titled 'Never Get Busted Again' has caused controversy in the US as it gives advice to drug users on how to avoid getting in trouble, revealing 'police secrets' from a former drug cop. Whilst it seems reasonable to be giving this sort of advice it has also been controversial in drug law reform circles; many are angry that the film maker is profiting from his publicly funded knowledge. He does claim that he will be compensating some of the people he arrested with the profits from the DVD. You can watch the preview clip at the link below and the entire film will probably be available online soon.

http://nevergetbusted.com/sneakpreview.php

The American Civil Liberties Union

These long time campaigners for an end to the war on drugs have produced a similar video, The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters, available for free online through the Flex Your Rights website.

http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/
http://www.flexyourrights.org/2006_12_27_busted_over_1_million_served

Chris Rock

For an altogether less serious and more amusing educational video check out Chris Rock's guide on How to not get your ass kicked by the police. Please be warned: this being Chris Rock, some of the language may be offensive to some viewers...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaveytx07vs

RELEASE

We are not aware of a similar video for UK drug users (criminals one and all) but there is lots of useful advice on dealing with police encounters on the RELEASE website.

http://www.release.org.uk/

4. What You Can Do

Donate

If you haven't done so already - please sign up online to make a regular donation, however small, to the organisation. It can really make a difference: if just half of our subscribers were regular small givers we would have enough money for two new staff. So don't assume organisations like ours can just run themselves, or that drug law reform is an easy thing to raise money for...
http://www.tdpf.org.uk/support_Transform.htm

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

We can also accept ‘Give as you earn' payroll donations: Please look into the possibility of getting Transform on the list of nominated/ suggested charities at your place of work. Visit your payroll office to pick up a donor instruction form and visit the CAF website, or give us a call and we can help sort it all out – or come and give a talk at your work place. Our registration number is: 000476760.

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.

**E-Petitions

mySociety (the people behind www.theyworkforyou.com) are working in partnership with No. 10 to enable us all to submit petitions to the Prime Minister with greater ease.
Transform has recently started a petition, calling for the review/consultation on the drug classification system – promised by the Home Secretary in January- to commence. Following a report from the Science and Technology Committee that condemned the classification system as ‘not fit for purpose' the Government then reneged on its promise of a review.
There will be potential for more such activity in the future. Although it may not force the Government to act it can be a useful way of drawing attention to an issue.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Prohibition/

Media

Visit our extensive selection of hints and tips for engaging with the media: http://www.tdpf.org.uk/AboutUs_WhatYouCanDo.htm#medja

We have recently put online an archive of letters we have had published over the years. As well as being an entertaining read it provides a useful guide to what letters editors like to publish. Check it out here: http://www.tdpf.org.uk/MediaNews_PublishedLetters.htm . If you get letters published let us know and we will put them in the newsletter.

Many online media outlets now allow visitors to comment on news stories and opinion pieces. These are widely read and an easy way to put some progressive views and intelligent arguments into the public domain. You can try the media weblinks below for starters - and there are many more. We are getting together a more extensive collection of such links for the what you can do guide so please send us relevant links, for national, local or specialist media.

BBC, Have Your Say: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/

The Daily Mail (just click on 'Comments' at the top of any news item): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/dailymail/home.html?in_page_id=1766

The Guardian, Comment is Free: http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/index.html

The Sun, Have Your Say: http://www.thesun.co.uk/portal/site/mysun/

The Times, Comment section: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/

For more great ideas, please check http://www.tdpf.org.uk/AboutUs_WhatYouCanDo.htm