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Richard Branson just leaked the UN's plan to call for decriminalization of drugs
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/19/1435053/-Richard-Branson-just-leaked-the-UN-s-plan-to-call-for-decriminalization-of-drugsThis morning Richard Branson posted a diary entry on virgin.com that says the United Nations has drafted and is ready to call on the world's governments to decriminalize drugs.
In an as-yet unreleased statement circulated to the BBC, myself and others, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which has shaped much of global drug policy for decades, call on governments around the world to decriminalise drug use and possession for personal consumption for all drugs. This is a refreshing shift that could go a long way to finally end the needless criminalisation of millions of drug users around the world. The UNODC document was due to be launched at the International Harm reduction conference in Malaysia yesterday.
Branson feels that outside pressures may lead the U.N. to get cold feet and so he is putting this information out to the public before they can back down.
It’s good to see evidence and common sense prevail at UNODC. Which government wouldn’t agree with that? But as I'm writing this I am hearing that at least one government is putting an inordinate amount of pressure on the UNODC. Let us hope the UNODC, a global organisation that is part of the UN and supposed to do what is right for the people of the world, does not do a remarkable volte-face at the last possible moment and bow to pressure by not going ahead with this important move. The war on drugs has done too much damage to too many people already.
And then the UN gets cold feet--
United Nations Downplays Drug-Policy Document Leaked by Richard Branson
http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/33045-united-nations-downplays-drug-policy-document-leaked-by-richard-branson
The United Nations is backtracking from a document outlining a health- and human-rights-based approach to drug policy shortly after Virgin founder Richard Branson leaked it online.
Branson tweeted a copy of the briefing paper, called “Decriminalisation of Drug Use and Possession for Personal Consumption,” on Monday morning and shared it on his company's website.
“Let us hope the UNODC, a global organisation that is part of the UN and supposed to do what is right for the people of the world, does not do a remarkable volte-face at the last possible moment and bow to
pressure by not going ahead with this important move,” Branson wrote.
In a statement Monday, a U.N. official said that the paper was neither a final nor even a formally released UNODC document. The U.N. further denied being pressured by any government to withdraw the document, adding, “It is not possible to withdraw what is not yet ready.”
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