“Please, Prime Minister, don't overturn the positive effects achieved over the past three years - not least a continuing reduction in the use of cannabis - by returning to a regime that criminalised some of my generally law-abiding students”

-- Chris Game - Lecturer Birmingham University.

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Spreading the Word

• Events

3. UK News

• ACMD and Brown clash over cannabis
• Lecturer pleas to Brown - don't criminalise my students
• Discredited drugs policy must change
• Welsh Consultation

4. International News

• Europe
• USA
• Asia
• Australasia
• Africa

5. Special Feature - Ten Years of Transform

6. What can you do?

• Recruitment
• Volunteering
• Event
• Contact your MP
• Donate

Newsletter May 2008

Introduction

It’s a special month for Transform as we celebrate our ten-year anniversary so we’ve included a quick history of Transform which we hope will be of interest. Cannabis reclassification has continued to dominate UK news this month and we’ve rounded up some of the other main drug stories. Please read on for more about this month’s news and to find out more about how you can become involved with the campaign.

Spreading the Word

Danny was interviewed this month, by Michael Heney, a journalist from Irish TV’s Primetime (roughly equivalent to UK News-Night). They were recording for a feature piece due to be broadcast in June on the failure of the war on drugs. We’ll remind you nearer the time, but it should be well worth a watch.

Danny wrote an article for the May issue of Oxford University’s student magazine 'Oxford Forum' entitled “Drug Prohibition, Child protection or protection racket” as a companion piece to an article by Dr Raj Persaud in which he declares that smoking skunk is like playing Russian Roulette.

Transform has once again written and been quoted in a large number of articles on the issue of cannabis reclassification this month.

Events

This month Danny and Steve will be attending the International Harm Reduction Association's (IHRA’s) 19 th annual conference in Barcelona.

Emily Crick will be taking part in a debate ‘The Politics of Cocaine’ at an event organised by the Colombia Solidarity Society on the 15 th May in Bristol and participating with Danny in a debate at Oxford Union later in the month.

Transform is holding a meeting for all members of the Drugs and Health Alliance this month to discuss ways forward for the organisation. We have recently received funding from the Pilgrim Trust to develop the alliance and we will be recruiting a new worker in the near future.

UK News

ACMD and Brown clash over cannabis

"(But) I think people know my view about cannabis and particularly about this lethal version of it, skunk." - Gordon Brown, GMTV, Tuesday 29 April

This months UK news has been dominated once again by cannabis. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (the Government’s appointed group of experts), as predicted, have announced their recommendation to Brown, on the 28 th April, that cannabis should remain class C in the classification system. Despite this it looks as if Brown is going to steam roll ahead and overrule them re-classifying it as a class B drug (just to make sure everyone is aware that he really is tough on drugs). Please click here to see Transforms complete summary of the saga.

Lecturer pleas to Brown - don't criminalise my students

“Please, Prime Minister, don’t overturn the positive effects achieved over the past three years – not least a continuing reduction in the use of cannabis – by returning to a regime that criminalised some of my generally law-abiding students.”

Chris Game, lecturer at Birmingham University wrote an article for the Birmingham post this month, in which he in which he criticised Gordon Brown’s plans to reclassify cannabis from a Class C to a Class B drug describing it as destructive. He also criticises the crude and outdated classification system for being too heavily focused on the criminality of drug use, rather than on harm-reduction or treatment. His article can be read here.

Discredited drugs policy must change

The Chair of our Board of Trustees Dr Paul Crawford Walker wrote a piece for the Western Mail on 21 st April 'Discredited drug policy must change', The article articulates cogently why prohibition must be 'audited' from a public health and wellbeing perspective.

Welsh Consultation

The Welsh Assembly are currently consulting on their new drug strategy (similar to the recent UK drug consultation). The draft strategy can be viewed here (Draft Strategy). Both The Drugs and Health Alliance and Transform are preparing responses to this, which should be available to read on our websites soon. We would like to encourage as many people as possible to feed their views in too. The deadline for submissions is Monday May 12 th.

International News

Europe

Father of LSD dies at 102

Dr. Albert Hofmann, inventor of LSD, is dead at 102. His obituary can be read here

USA

5 th Graders selling ‘Happy Crack’ at school

KCTV news featured a story about kids ‘as young as five’ selling sugar and Kool-Aid powder (a popular US powdered food drink) in 'plastic bags' and calling it 'happy crack.' The disturbing news report can be viewed here.

3000 Crack Offenders have their sentences reduced

The Associated Press reported on April 25 th that a new policy aimed at equalizing crack and powdered cocaine sentencing has resulted in reduced sentences for about 3,000 crack offenders.

Asia

Drugs for Guns

‘The heroin is what lets us fight'’
Taliban-go-between

Jerome Starkey, of the Independent reported this month about the pivotal role of the Afghan heroin trade in fuelling the Taliban insurgency. Afghani smugglers told the Independent that Russian gangsters who smuggle drugs into Britain are buying cheap heroin from Afghanistan and paying for it with drugs. They estimated that one kilogram of heroin can buy about 30 AK-47 guns.

Opium Production in Afghanistan falling

Narcotics officials in Afghanistan have predicted that for the first time since the fall of the Taliban in 2002, opium production will fall in Afghanistan this year, as evidence emerges that farmers are switching to licit crops such as wheat due to rising food prices. Please click here to read the full story

Iran (yes Iran) employs harm reduction in effort to curb AIDS

Officials of the Iranian government announced that they are embarking upon a new trial scheme that involves providing drug users with syringes in an attempt to curb the spread of AIDS and hepatitis. This is the latest in a series of measures employed in Iran to try and reduce the harms of drug addiction, despite the fact that the country still hangs drug smugglers and traffickers. More can be read here.

Australasia

Legalise all Drugs says Australian Prison Doctor

"I want to give drug addicts choices and I want to legalise all drugs in Australia."

An Australian prison doctor has spoken out at the Australian 2020 conference that it’s time to legalise all drugs to help address addiction and prison overcrowding. Find out more here.

Africa

Drugs Pour into South Africa

Clayton Barnes reported this month that millions of rands worth of drugs are being smuggled into South Africa through “unchecked” fishing harbours. Despite the authorities being aware of the problem, they say that the problem has reached such epic proportions that efforts to curb it barely hit the surface. It is estimated that just 10% of drugs entering South Africa are being seized.

10 Years of Transform

The Early Days

Transform Drug Policy Foundation emerged from the front room of Danny Kushlick’s house in Bristol, back in the nineties. After years of working as a drug counsellor in the criminal justice system, Danny had seen the failings of prohibition on countless occasions, more often than not adversely affecting those most marginalised in society, and he had decided that enough was enough. On learning that there were no organisations tackling this issue, he took matters into his own hands.

The campaign started with Danny writing literally hundreds of letters to drug NGOs, the media, politicians and the Home Office. The responses to these were mixed, but a core of key supporters soon emerged who became the steering group for a new campaign: Transform – the campaign for a just and effective drug policy.

At this stage the intention was to form a large grass roots movement, who by simple power of numbers and strength of argument would be able to challenge and break down the prohibitionist status quo. So in the early years Transform’s work centred around campaigning and recruiting support at events such as local festivals.

In 1997 Elizabeth Young wrote an article in the Guardian entitled 'The Laws don't work,' which included a number of quotes form Transform. This led to Transform receiving many phone calls and letters of support, and from this the organisation emerged into the outside world and received its first popular acclaim.

Setting up

In 1998 Transform became a formal organisation after receiving it’s first major donation, registering as a limited company, setting up an office, and hiring two additional members of staff (including Steve Rolles, who still works for Transform as the Head of Research).

1998 also marked the beginning of the UN’s 10-year drug strategy, which was, launched with the slogan ‘A drug free world, we can do it!’ This reiterated the UN’s commitment to eradicating opium, coca, cannabis and all other illegal drugs from the planet within ten years (oh how well they did)! It was at this point that Transform came to understand the truly global nature of prohibitions harms, and it highlighted the need for Transform to operate beyond the domestic scene, and to forge some international partnerships.

Becoming a Think Tank

In 1999 Transform received a grant from the European Commission to run an international workshop, ‘Developing an effective drug policy at a local level in a multi-agency setting.’ This event marked a significant shift in Transform’s work from purely advocacy and campaigning to an increasingly sophisticated policy think tank.

In 2001 Transform gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee enquiry into UK drug policy. This was the first time that Transform had been heard in parliament and the feedback was exceptionally positive. The committee recommended that the UK Government initiated a UN level discussion on legalisation. It was during this period that Transform vastly increased its sphere of support, attracting, amongst others, several senior police officers and playing a lead role in writing the Liberal Democrats drug policy.

Redundancy and Gaining Charitable Status

By 2003 Transforms’ funding was looking increasingly unstable. At this stage it became clear that too much emphasis had been placed on policy and campaigning and that the organisation had not been developed adequately to ensure that it remained sustainable in the long term.

Also in 2003, Transform progressed discussions with the Charity Commission who concluded that our mission (reducing harms through effective control and regulation of drugs) had a charitable remit. Having gained charitable status Transform Drug Policy Institute was launched in the House of Commons. Unfortunately, due to a lack of funds all three members of staff were made redundant soon after the launch. This was followed by some depressing months, with staff working voluntarily to try and secure funding to ensure the continuation of the organisation.

A significant grant from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and other smaller donors helped to kick-start Transform back into action. Transform soon started work, in collaboration with the Mannheim Centre at the London School of Economics, on an important project that looked at new options for controlling illegal drugs with some leading UK and international thinkers in the field. This project culminated in our publication ‘After the War on Drugs - Options for Control’, which was launched on October 12 th 2004 in the House of Commons under our current name Transform Drug Policy Foundation.

‘Options’ really put Transform on the map internationally, leading to invitations to speak at major drug policy symposiums in Belfast, Athens, Seattle, Los Angeles and Vancouver. It also helped Transform to pull in a range of new supporters and allies. Overall this report has received significant domestic and international acclaim and is now in its second edition.

Launch of Options for Control at the House of Commons

Leadership and Expansion

2005 saw the introduction of the 2005 drugs bill, an ill-thought out, populist bill written in the pre-election period where Labour tried to ‘out-tough’ the Conservatives on drugs. Transform took its first major lead on a project, co-ordinating a NGO response. The response critiqued the drug bills strong focus on criminal justice interventions and the lack of consultation with key stakeholders during its drafting (Transform's analysis of the bill). Despite the bill being passed, this work placed Transform in a strong leadership position for the future.

2005 was also marked by the leak of the suppressed No.10 Strategy Unit Report, which was written by the Governments own wonks and clearly demonstrated that supply-side enforcement creates massive drug related harms.

In October 2005 Transform published and disseminated its leaflet ‘Illegal Drugs: The problem is prohibition, the solution is control and regulation,’ which included a summary of Transform’s main ideas.

In July 2006, The Science and Technology Committee published its Fifth Report of Session 2005-06, Drug Classification: Making a hash of it? Transform gave detailed written and oral evidence to the committee, critiquing, in particular, the unscientific and unsustainable classification system upon which drug policy in the UK is based. Transform are extensively quoted in the final document.

Also in July Transform launched its media blog. The blog has proved a massive success story for Transform, attracting significant attention to our website and enabling us to report on stories as they arise. The blog now consistently attracts well over 8,000 page views per month.

The Last Year

Transform established The Drugs and Health Alliance, a coalition of organisations and individuals who support an evidence-based, health-led approach to drugs, in May 2007. Since its launch, the DHA has been forging links and dialogue with the Home Office and Department of Health and has produced responses to both the UK and Welsh Drug Strategy Consultation.

Transform released its second major publication, After the War on Drugs - Tools for the Debate in July 2007. The idea behind it was to create a document that would provide people with the language and analysis to successfully engage with the drugs debate. Feedback on this document has been overwhelmingly positive and we hope that anyone whose read the book can now win any debate on drug policy, even with the most ardent of prohibitionists! Tools, was launched in the House of Commons in October 2007.

Transform was keen to engage with the Governments’ consultation for the drug strategy over the next ten years, and produced a detailed formal submission to the consultation. The submission described the litany of failure over the Governments’ previous ten-year strategy (1997-2007) and illustrated the Government’s knowledge that its support for prohibition creates significant harms.

Transform further propelled itself onto the International scene receiving ECOSOC status (UN special consultative status) in 2007. This is further recognition of Transform’s expertise and our ability to contribute in the international drug policy arena.

The Present and Looking Ahead

Transform has expanded and now has five permanent staff members and a team of volunteers, and will be recruiting two new staff members in the near future, making us stronger than ever and set for the challenges ahead.

Transform is increasingly networking on the international stage, playing a lead role in a network of international NGOs working toward an end to global prohibition by the year 2020. We are also in the process of writing the third book in our trilogy ‘After the War on Drugs – Blueprint for a Regulated Market’ which will clearly show what an effective drug policy would look like. This book should answer any remaining questions people may have about the way forward for drug policy.

Despite the Government’s continuing support of it’s failing policy and the often depressingly unscientific, scaremongering media coverage that frequently prevents any substantial debate around drug policy, Transform remain confident that our vision will be achieved. Our increasing number of supporters and our flourishing relations with the media seem to support this view. We hope that within the next ten years, the tides will change and we can all make ourselves redundant as we achieve our mission of a controlled and regulated drug market.

What Can You Do?

Recruitment

We are currently recruiting for two exciting news posts, a Communications Associate and a Drugs and Health Alliance co-ordinator. Information about these posts will be available on our website (www.tdpf.org) in the next couple of days. The closing date for applications is 27 th May.

Volunteering

With our new volunteer community now up and running, volunteering for Transform has never been easier. Simply log on from the comfort of your own home and you can contribute to a number of projects that we’ve posted. If you haven’t already please click on the link below to register:

http://www.transform-volunteers.org.uk/user

Event

We’re organising a volunteer event in Bristol on 22 nd May at 6.30pm at The Duke of York pub in St Werburghs. Please come along to let us know your ideas, meet the team, tell us how you’d like to be involved or simply to enjoy a quick pint. If you’d like any further information please email: info@tdpf.org.uk or look at the volunteer website to find out more.

Contact Your MP

If you haven’t done this already – a great way to help our cause is to write a letter to your MP. Remember that you pay their wages to represent your views. Start off by writing to them, ask their views on the current drug policy, ‘the War on Drugs,’ and the fact 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 to always be polite however much you may disagree with them. If you would like any help or guidance with this, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us.

Donate

Transform relies solely on donations from individuals and charitable trusts to maintain its work. Ideas contacts and suggestions are always welcome, and please, if you haven’t already sign up online to make a donation to the organisation – it really can make a difference. You can do this easily and quickly through our secure online giving page run by the Charities Aid Foundation. If you’d prefer we can send you a form with further details about how to donate, if so please get in contact and we’ll post one to you.

If you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, we’d really appreciate it if you could pass it on to your friends – Many thanks

Please click here if you would like to receive the newsletter.