26 June marks the Global Day of Action for the “Support. Don’t Punish” campaign. “A global advocacy campaign calling for drug policies based on health and human rights. Campaigners are dismantling the ‘war on drugs’ and building sustainable alternatives that uphold everyone’s rights and dignity.” Fields of Green for ALL and our colleagues at the Cannabis Embassy have been proud to participate for many years. Here in South Africa we are not alone. There are millions of people around the world with the same aims and objectives as us. This is Ubuntu – the belief in a universal bond that connects all humanity.
This morning we woke up to the news that the Supreme Court of Brazil achieved a majority vote in favour of decriminalising the possession of Cannabis. Nothing about quantities or cultivation yet. Like South Africa and many other countries in the Southern hemisphere, it is complicated. However, this is great news for Brazilians and activists who can be inspired by this small but significant step. As fellow citizens of the BRICS alliance, we watch from across the Atlantic but, more importantly, we stand in solidarity with another country that has a rich cultural history with the use of plant-based drugs. As part of the Cannabis Embassy and Global Justice groups, we know how hard Brazilian activists have worked for this small victory.
Third bit of good news!
To mark “World Drugs Day”, Amnesty International has launched a new policy paper “to contribute to the advancement of drug policies”. Time for change: advancing new drug policies that uphold human rights is a call for “States to adopt new models of drug control that put the protection of people’s health and other human rights at the centre, including the decriminalization of the use, possession, cultivation and acquisition of drugs for personal use, and the effective regulation of drugs to provide legal and safe channels for those permitted to access them. Such policies must be accompanied by an expansion of health and other social services to address drug-related problems as well as other measures to address the underlying socio-economic causes that increase the risks of using drugs and that lead people to engage in the illicit drug trade such as poverty, discrimination, unemployment, illness, denial of education or lack of housing.”
Wow! This paper is going to cause waves across outdated prohibitionist sectors and here at Fields of Green for ALL we are looking forward to seeing how things unfold.
26 June also marks the United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. “To strengthen action and cooperation in achieving a world free of drug abuse*” and also sees the launch of the World Drug Report. Our fellow South African, Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, will be speaking at an event at the UN in Vienna. Fields of Green for ALL participated in research for Dr Mofokeng’s reports.
* There always seems to be some defects that are very difficult to correct. The use of this term by the UNODC persists in promoting the underlying stigma associated with all drug use. Just like the defects in the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act in South Africa, there are always “those things” that we need to keep negotiating for. Enough said. We’ll get there eventually.
A Cheer for medical freedom, so amazed it must be fought for.