"Richard Nixon
President of the United States "
"In the 1970s,
the US declared war on drugs.
Drug consumption was defined
as a crime punishable by jail. "
"Ronald Reagan
President of the United States "
"But has a drug free world
ever existed?"
"40,000,000 B.C.
The Drunken Monkey Hypothesis"
BREAKING THE TABOO
DVDRip - MP3- NandOlocal
"2700 B.C. China - Cannabis"
"1300 B. C Assyria - Cannabis
"1000 B.C. Egypt - Opium"
"500 B.C. Greece - Wine"
"1492 Columbus brings cannabis seeds
to the Americas"
"1600 Arabis - Hashish"
"1800 China - Opium War"
"1885 Freud - Morphine"
"1914- 1918
World War I - Medicinal Cocaine"
"1920 US Alcohol Prohibition"
"1965 Vietnam War"
"1960s Counterculture"
"1971 Richard Nixon declares War on Drugs"
"1960s Bob Marley"
"1970s Eric Clapton"
"Synthetic Drugs"
The Latin American Commission on Drugs
and Democracy met today
in Rio de Janeiro to discuss new ways
to fight drug trafficking
and narcotics consumption.
"2008 The Latin American Commission
on Drugs and Democracy"
It is not easy to talk about drugs.
But we must since democracy
is at stake.
Drugs lead to violence,
undermine the rule
of law and contribute
to illegal repression.
They also facilitate corruption. All this
erodes credibility of the institutions.
Any questions?
Would the legalization of marijuana
reduce the power of traffickers?
Bolivia is leading a campaign
to take out the coca leaf
from this list of drugs, bad drugs.
So what is your opinion on this issue?
Since repression has not worked,
do you think the right approach
is decriminalization
and liberalization?
What legal changes do you think
should be made?
Is the state prepared to treat addicts
instead of putting them in jail?
Won't we be making life easier
for the traffickers?
Rational people change their minds
when confronted with new evidence.
"Fernando Henrique Cardoso, sociologist
President of Brazil "
Back then, I was not aware
of the seriousness of the issue.
People ask me why I didn't do
anything as President.
I did not have the right information.
I was not directly involved.
The general consensus was that
police repression was the solution.
The repressive policy was a failure.
I did not see this. I was wrong.
There are risks involved.
One could ask why am I meddling
with the drug issue
when I should be at home looking after
my great-grandchildren?
I remember a favela in the outskirts
of So Paulo.
A lady approached me and asked:
"Is it true that you are going
to put marijuana in children's snacks?"
So I understand how risky this issue is.
Getting it wrong could be devastating.
Early on this debate I read
in a local newspaper
that the active ingredient
of marijuana
was not THC but FHC.
They were mocking me.
"Favela Vigario Geral,
Rio de Janeiro"
"Afroreggae
Waly Salomao Cultural Center"
When I turned 13, my only option
was drug trafficking.
You end up believing that this
is the right option.
"Vitor Onofre
Afroreggae coordinator"
The only path.
It's the only reality you face each day.
Guns, drugs and violence.
"Favela Santa Marta, Rio de Janeiro"
Sixty years ago, our guns
were. 22 and. 32 caliber.
Forty years ago,.38 specials,
pistols and 12 gauges arrived.
"Former drug trafficker"
Then came assault rifles,
machine guns and AK-47s.
So there is a link between
the introduction of new weapons
- and shifts in trafficking?
- Yes.
Every time a new gun showed up,
there was a new trafficker behind it.
And did this increase the power
of the drug market?
No.
But it increased crime.
- Crime? Killing?
- More bloodshed.
"Firearms seized by Rio's police - 2009"
We have around 150,000 firearms here.
"Allan Turnowski
Former Civil Police Director"
War weapons seized in Rio.
This one was made in Switzerland.
- This one's global.
- It is the AK-47.
Born in Russia
and spread worldwide.
"Carlos Oliveira
Former Deputy Director of the Civil Police"
Guns made in countries
such as Austria or Germany...
"In 2011, Carlos Oliveira was arrested
for diverting weapons seized
from drug traffickers.
He was released a few months later.
An investigation was opened up to review
the Federal Police's poor record
in combating arms trafficking.
Carlos claims to have been a victim
of a political witchhunt.
To date, this case has not been
decided on. "
I was surprised by the way
we got to the favela.
We arrived in a strange way:
By helicopter.
The chopper has to dodge
because the traffickers may shoot at it.
I live in a community where
rival factions are at war.
One night I went to a party
with my girlfriend.
That was when it happened.
I was hit by a stray bullet.
I woke up at the hospital,
and realized what had happened.
So I ended up like this.
I was 18 or 19 years old.
When the police raid a favela,
traffickers shoot at residents
to force the police to stop
and help the injured.
"Stray bullet victim - 19 years old"
Innocent people always pay
the highest price.
I had nothing to do with trafficking
and then this happened.
It makes me angry.
"Cracolandia - Sao Paulo, Brazil"
The crack situation in Brazil
is the best example of the
failed war on drugs.
Crack arrived to Brazil
during the 1990s.
It came from the US,
where it's long been used.
We had no educational
campaigns.
Kids started using crack believing
that it was like any other drug you smoke,
like marijuana or cigarettes,
just a little stronger.
But it's a hugely addictive drug.
So what is the situation today?
We waged war on crack
and what happened?
It spread nationwide,
becoming an epidemic.
"Brazilian Anti-Drug Commercial"
Drug trafficking finances violence.
And you fund the trade.
If you are going to buy drugs,
remember the cost.
"Denis R.
Marijuana User - Sao Paulo, Brazil"
It's not my fault
if I finance trafficking.
Because the only way I can
smoke a joint
is by getting some weed from
the traffickers at the favela,
and they are usually armed.
If I'm caught by the cops,
they'll beat me up.
Once I was picking up marijuana
and two police cars showed up.
I heard gunshots.
I don't feel safe, but in my case,
there's no alternative.
So I'd rather take the risk
then end up empty-handed.
My mother is terrified that
I'm in contact with traffickers.
She thinks I'm going to super dangerous
places where everyone's armed.
But the truth is that all drug users
are also dealers.
Users buy drugs from someone,
then consume them.
He gives some to his friends.
Since drugs are criminalized,
it's a crime to have drugs on you.
Why would ten people go uphill
to buy drugs,
when only one can go buy
some for everyone?
And the kid understands that
if he sells it for a bit more,
his stash is free.
"Washington D.C., USA"
We have to look at what is
happening in the US
because of its power to influence
repressive drug policies
across Latin America
and the world.
And also because of its crucial
role in the UN.
UN Conventions require all countries
to enforce total drug prohibition
without considering alternatives.
"Bill Clinton
President of the United States "
"Georgetown High School"
Where should I sit?
"Ranking of drugs according to harm
The Lancet Medical Journal "
"1. Heroine; 2. Cocaine; 5. Alcohol;
"Ethan Nadelmann
Director, Drug Policy Alliance"
"Jimmy Carter
President of the United States "
"Mexico City"
"Ernesto Zedillo
President of Mexico "
Organized crime would not have had
the power it has in Mexico
and other countries without the huge
amounts of funds from illegal trafficking.
Part of this money is used
to buy guns,
most of which are legally
purchased in the US
and handed over
to the Mexican cartels.
Once the drugs cross the US border,
we lose track of who buys
"Carlos Fuentes
Mexican novelist"
and consumes them or who profits
from the trade
or how banks launder the money.
We haven't a clue.
All the blame is directed to the
supply side and never on the demand.
Mexico is currently sending
its citizens into exile.
"Gael Garcia Bernal
Mexican actor"
People are being brought up amidst
violence and insecurity,
and this is all related to drug trafficking,
in one way or another.
There's news of decapitations
on a daily basis:
It has somehow become
what you expect to see every day.
This is not a problem that we, Mexicans,
can solve by ourselves.
We need to urge the US
and other big consumer countries
to assume their responsibility
for this issue.
Crime is not new.
"Moises Naim
Expert on Global Criminal Networks"
But it is amplified by globalization,
the criminalization of politics,
the politicization
of criminals and drug trafficking.
One of my key conclusions is the link
between the criminalization of politics
and the politicization of criminals.
More and more politicians are involved
in criminal activities, and vice versa.
Criminals have more money
and power.
They are taking over politics
and becoming politicians.
"Pablo Escobar
Colombian Drug Lord and Coogressman - 1980s"
We are the new force in Congress!
We are the peoples' hope
to fulfill their dreams!
It's not the drug cartels alone
that are generating violence.
"Cesar Gaviria
President of Colombia "
When I ran for President,
they murdered three other candidates.
Later, an organization linked to
narcotraffic kidnapped my brother.
He was kept chained underground
for three months without being able
to move or change his clothes.
He was traumatized
and shoked by this experience.
A few years ago, the FARC,
currently Colombia's largest cartel,
killed my sister during a failed
kidnapping attempt
for the purpose
of political extortion.
Every Colombian family has been
victimized by the guerrillas
and narcotraffickers.
Guerrillas are increasingly fed by drugs.
Once narcotraffickers create
mafia networks,
these networks expand into
kidnapping and extortion.
The wave of kidnappings
in Mexico and Brazil
is a consequence
of these narcotrafficking networks.
"Plan Colombia
Cashing In on the Drug War Failure"
"Colombia's Caldono region"
"Indigenous tribal ritual"
"Coca leaves"
"The cocaine manufacturing
progress includes:
Gasoline...
and sulfuric acid...
mixed with ammonia...
Cocaine paste"
"Jose Hurtado
Indigenous Leader"
Cocaine can cause physical
and psychological damage.
It can be fatal.
But for us the chewing of coca leaf
is an ancestral custom.
It is sacred.
"Extermination of illicit crops"
Colombia is the only country in the world
to use aerial fumigation on drug crops.
This destroys food and plantations.
This is very traumatic
to Colombian society.
In the beginning of Plan Colombia,
coca was grown in eight states.
Today, it's grown in 24 or 28 states.
It tripled.
"Pioya, Colombia"
Coca plantations shifted
from unpopulated to populated areas.
Drug crops are smaller and sometimes
hidden in food plantations.
They are hard to find.
"Cornfield...
...Hidden FARC poppy plantation"
It is almost impossible to eliminate
coca cultivation and cocaine use.
Worse, with the internet anybody
can learn how to produce drugs at home.
"Dutch Police Training Center"
"Andre Elissen - Director of the
Dutch Police Training Center"
Drug production cannot be ended
through force. Why?
Because the market is so profitable
that someone
will always be prepared
to take the risk.
People will only stop taking risks
when demand drops.
"Sao Paulo, Brazil"
"Carandiru Prison - Sao Paulo, Brazil"
But what has been done
to reduce consumption?
Drug users are sent to jail.
Does it solve the problem?
How many prisons will be needed
to hold all the users?
Curbing drug use in prisons
is next to impossible.
Is this the case all over the world?
It is. There isn't a prison
in the world that is drug free.
"Sing Sing Correctional Facility
Maximum security prison, New York, US"
"Anthony Papa - Sentenced 15 years to life
for a low-level, non-violent drug offense"
This week I was treating a 23-year-old
mother of three.
She said: "I'm here because
of cocaine and if don't stop doing it,
I'll end up with massive debts.
I want to stop. For the love of God,
please help me, doctor. "
And I stare at her like an idiot,
deeply frustrated.
Because there is nothing to offer.
What am I going to say to her?
I say: "Try to distance yourself. "
"How can I stay away
if my cellmate uses it?"
"Robert
Former drug addict"
What will happen
to the occasional user
who is locked up with criminals
and traffickers?
They leave prison much worse off
than when they arrived.
"Bangu Prison - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil"
I'm in a maximum
security prison.
I was arrested for robbing a bank
and an armored car.
"Macgyver
Convicted for bank robbery"
What happens to a drug addict
after he gets locked-up?
He specializes.
Because in prison he'll meet me,
that guy, the other guy...
See those girls?
They had their first child at 14 or 15.
They dropped out of school
with no education.
They aren't qualified
for the labor market.
They come here and leave
with a criminal record.
- They're stigmatized.
- Nobody will hire them.
They're branded.
"Prison inmates"
I was caught in an alley
buying drugs.
The police arrested me.
I started doing drugs at 16,
because of my ex-husband.
I thought he'd like me more,
if I did drugs.
So I use them.
I've serious health issues
because of crack.
I don't smoke cigarettes
or marijuana.
And if you want to work
as a trafficker?
Then you get a job straight away.
A dealer might even be waiting outside
the prison gates ready to recruit you.
In women's prisons,
the hardest thing to see
are the women caught
smuggling drugs into prison.
What happens to them?
They're usually tricked
by a husband or boyfriend in jail.
Who says they need the drugs
to pay off debt or they'll be killed.
Others do it for the money.
They wrap the cocaine in a plastic bag
and put it in their vagina.
While being searched
at the prison entrance,
a suspicious officer may ask them
to squat and cough.
They find the drugs and
she goes straight to the police office.
From there they go to
a state penitentiary.
They may be sentenced
to 4 years in jail.
She goes to prison for a visit
and never goes home.
She leaves her 9-year-old to care
for three younger siblings.
She doesn't go home
and what happens to those kids?
A cousin takes one, the neighbour
another, some go into state custody.
What kind of future will they have?
Because this is just a small drop
of the drug-trafficking ocean.
By taking away their mother,
a family is destroyed
and future criminals are created.
"Neil Franklin
Former Maryland Police Officer"
"George H. W. Bush
President of the United State "
This policy of drug prohibition
and repression
panders to certain
interest groups.
In the US, some prisons
are privately run.
The firearms retail market and the
bureaucracy specialized in repression,
they all sustain the war on drugs.
Too many efforts are devoted
to repression,
while organized crime goes
unpunished.
"Baltimore, USA
Approximately 1 hour from the White House"
"Counterculture - 1960s and 1970s"
Nixon's election in 1968
unleashed a reaction against
the libertarian movement
that had spread across the US,
especially in California.
That movement was led by young people,
especially through rock'n'roll.
In the 1960s and 1970s,
drugs were also a political statement.
"Paulo Coelho
Novelist"
My generation did drugs for
more than simple pleasure.
Conservatives saw this and said:
"My God, the world is upside down".
They lumped everything together
- skin color, gender, sexual orientation
and branded all of it as "bad".
In politics, you do not always
make rational decisions.
The choices you make have a strong
emotional and symbolic content.
"What symbolizes
the fragmentation of society?"
"I'm going to attack that symbol.
So, let's declare war on drugs. "
The end game is clear:
"Zero drugs".
Get rid of drug use.
Exterminate drug plantations.
Achieve a drug-free world.
This is a moralistic perspective.
A worldview based on order
and authority implying those
who rule are good and whatever
deviates from the norm is bad.
There was no scientific analysis about
the risk and harm of any particular drug.
Prohibition was a political
and ideological decision.
I had dinner on Capitol Hill with
US congressmen who are willing
to rethink the war on drugs.
The atmosphere was positive.
Some of them want to explore
new approaches.
"Jim Kolbe
Former Republican Congressman"
"Amsterdam, the Netherlands
January 2010"
In the Netherlands, they decided
to break the link connecting one drug
to another through
the drug dealers.
The same dealer who sells marijuana
also tries to sell cocaine.
He does all he can to encourage consumers
to move from one drug to another.
How did the Dutch deal
with the problem?
They authorized the sale of marijuana
at "coffee shops".
"Paul Wilheim
Owner of the Dampkring Coffee Shop"
"Seizure of marijuana plants
in Amsterdam"
"William Kramer
Police Officer"
"Bob Keizer
Former Frug Policy Coordinator"
"Medical marijuana laboratory"
"Freerk Bruinin
Legal cannabis drug facility"
"Medical marijuana quality
inspection by the government"
"Kathrin Honer
Medical Marijuana Laboratory Pharmacologist"
"Rijksmuseum"
This is rational Holland,
the Holland of capitalism.
Look at this!
Italian Renaissance painting
was sacred and devoted to religion.
But in Holland no
- art was about everyday life.
The Netherlands was profoundly
shaped by this idea.
And later,
by the Protestant Revolution.
This combination of the market
and Protestant Revolution
led to what the Dutch call
"pragmatism".
This legacy is visible
in their drug policies.
"Bredero College"
"Sebastian Van Leenen. '
Every individual has a profound
sense of their own identity.
Each person has the right
to decide and to choose.
"I am the center of the world.
I am rational".
"If you tell me that drugs are harmful,
I will avoid them".
"But the decision is mine. "
"User room"
This is the idea behind harm
reduction:
When a person is so dependent
that he can't stop taking drugs
you have at least to provide a safe,
clean place
where he will not use
an infected needle,
where he will not overdose.
The goal is to reduce the harm
caused by drugs.
"Cedric Charvet Coordinator Drug Consumption Room De Regenbook Groep
- Amsterdam"
It's a terrible sight!
But it's clear that this
is a sick person, not a criminal.
This is what the Dutch are doing:
They are taking care of the sick
and reducing harm.
There are other cases in which
drugs are supplied by the government.
One may ask:
"Why are they doing this?"
Because this brings the user closer
to the health care system,
paving the way for treatment
and recovery.
Instead of being dependent
on the dealer who will keep
pushing more drugs
to maximize profit,
he will meet a doctor whose goal
is to heal rather than exploit him.
"In the Netherlands, 9,5% of young
adults cosume soft drugs
once a month, which is less than...
Italy
France
The UK
The Dutch government can support
approximately 90%
of all help-seeking addicts with
detoxification programs. "
"Geneva, Switzerland"
"Ruth Dreifuss
President of Switzerland "
The police turned a blind eye.
The idea was to restrict addicts
to a specific part of town
where they could be monitored.
That was the theory.
In practice, the Swiss created
a haven for traffickers,
addicts and people living
with HIV-AIDS.
This structure helped me to safeguard
my health while still using drugs.
Of course consuming harmful
products will damage your health.
"Jean Claude Etienne
Former heroin user"
But if the drug is taken
in an unsafe way
you'll experience serious
side-effects.
I managed to avoid
these problems
thanks to the existence
of this clinic.
It has enabled me to try
to rebuild my life
in the least destructive
way possible.
It's now been two years since
I stopped using drugs.
"Switzerland - The number of drug
injectors with HIV-AIDS
has been reduced
by over 50% in 10 years. "
"The overdose mortality rate for
injectors has declined
by over 50% in the last decade. "
"Family doctors now prescribe about
"Nice, France"
"Gro Brundtland
Former Prime Minister of Norway
and Director General of the
World Health Organization"
For a woman to smoke at that
time was an act of freedom.
You might even see
a child smoking.
Smoking was presented as something
pleasurable and liberating.
In culture and when living
in society,
stigmas are not related
to the object itself
but to the meaning
ascribed to it.
"Because of tobacco
prevention campaings,
the number of cigarettes
smoked per person
in the US dropped 56%
between 1980 and 2006."
In my generation,
the anti-drug campaigns claimed that
drugs destroyed
the human being.
But once you try drugs you say:
"Dude! I feel great!"
Once that happens, young people
question everything they've ever heard.
They realize that there is
a lot of hypocrisy in these campaigns
that are usually run by people
who've never tried drugs.
They have a moralistic and
conservative message
and think they'll actually
influence people. They won't.
"TV Anti-Drug Campaign"
All drugs may be harmful.
Heroin, cocaine and crack
can have devastating effects.
But in some cases, it depends.
Take alcohol, for example.
If you drink at a party and drive
a car you may kill or be killed.
If you wake up every morning
and smoke marijuana
you may experience serious
psychological damage.
I think the best way
I can contribute here
is to speak about
my own experience.
I tried every drug available
in my time...
Except heroin.
Cocaine had no effect on me.
I kept trying more and more.
And then it finally made me high.
Once I had just finished
a great night out in New York.
I was looking down on 8th street with
my beautiful girlfriend asleep, naked.
It was early morning
and I couldn't sleep.
I had no desire to make love.
I said to myself:
"I'm quitting".
I'm quitting because this drug
will trap me.
It will hook and destroy me. "
The devil's drug.
It's hard to talk openly
about drugs
and this is part of the problem.
I've taken drugs.
And this sounds weird.
It sounds as if I'm admitting
to a crime. How terrible.
I used to keep a few marijuana
plants in my garden.
When I say,
"I've done drugs",
I feel like a Presidential candidate
making a confession.
Young people do drugs because
they're forbidden.
It's a way of saying
"I am not conforming to society. "
It is a part of their rebellion.
But this window
of youth is critical.
That is why you have to be truthful
in your approach.
You can't lie to kids
and tell them that drugs kill.
Because after smoking a joint
and getting high,
he'll think we lied.
Instead, he'll turn to his friend
who will tell him that crack
is even better.
This leads to two problems:
First, as the pleasure goes down
you have to increase
the dosage.
And what does this dependency
result in?
That you spend the rest
of your life looking for drugs.
The greatest danger of drug is that they
destroy the most important thing in life:
The power to decide.
The most precious thing in life
is the power to choose.
Do you want this
or do you want that?
It is important to be upfront
and honest about drugs.
This is what should be said:
"Drugs are really great,
but be careful,
for you'll no longer be able
to make decisions for yourself.
This is all you need to say.
"Gregory Lannes
Entrepreneur"
"New York, USA"
"Howard Josepher - Founder of the
Exponents Rehabilitation Clinic"
"Lisbon, Portugal"
Portugal decriminalized
the use of all drugs.
By avoiding the criminal system
and eliminating the risks
of users going to prison,
they made it easier for addicts
to seek treatment in hospitals.
The result was very positive.
"Joao Goulao President of the European
Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drugs Addiction"
In Portugal, decriminalization
does not mean depenalization.
There is still a clear disapproval
towards drug consumption.
But the stigma attached to dealing
with the problem through criminal law
was eliminated.
"Toxicological Board
Hearing of a user receiving treatment"
This afternoon in Lisbon
was a remarkable experience.
We witnessed a group hearing
for a person caught with heroin.
I was a hard heroin user
and the police found heroin on me.
I was placed in the Taipas clinic
and started treatment.
I've been 100% clean
for five months.
The records of this hearing
are confidential.
The majority of drug dependents
want to get rid of their addiction.
Without the risk of incarceration,
it's easier to seek treatment.
This alternative allows people
to come to grips with their problem.
"Taipas Clinic"
- This is a treatment clinic?
- This is the therapy facility.
- What is the cost of the treatment?
- It's free.
- Entirely for free?
- Yes, free of charge.
"Dr. Miguel Vasconcelos
Clinic coordinator"
- I believe it is cheaper to treat people...
- Than sending them to jail.
"Manoel Pizarro
Portugal's Health Minister"
I think that by decriminalizing drugs
we enabled drug dependents
to come forward
and seek medical help.
Society began to talk much more
openly about a very serious issue
affecting several families,
but which has always been taboo.
That is the key point.
Ten years later, what do we see?
Our youth consume fewer illegal drugs.
"Portugal
Since Decriminalization:"
"HIV-AIDS rates among all users
have gone down"
"Teenage drug use
has gone down"
"And marijuana consumption rates are
amongst the lowest in the European Union. "
"Rio de Janeiro, Brazil"
Mr. President, is legalization
a possible solution for the drug issue?
As was the case of tobacco
and alcohol?
Is decriminalization the same
thing as legalization? It is not.
"Decriminalize
To abolish the imposition
of criminal penalties in relation
to certain acts and behaviors"
People tend to confuse both terms.
They mean different things.
Nobody can seriously talk
of liberalizing the use of drugs.
Society needs rules, limits.
To legalize is to give legal
access to.
To decriminalize means that those
who use drugs won't go to jail.
But they can be punished.
In Portugal, there are penalties
but people are not criminally prosecuted.
They are not sent to prison.
A law may or may not be
complied with.
For a sociologist like me, the key
issue is not that the law exists
but that it is complied with. This
requires a change in people's mindsets.
I must be honest: I'm not sure
what is the best option here.
But I'm convinced that the road
we're currently on is the wrong one.
So what steps should we take?
Mr President, our country
is not ready for legalization.
"Whashington Rimas
Conflict mediator for Afroreggae"
I think our country needs more education,
social and cultural development.
"Swiss Teenagers"
It may be easier to find drugs
if they're legalized.
But it'll not be as cool to smoke
a reefer if it's legal.
As soon as we have a more
avant-garde attitude towards drug use,
when we finally see it's worth
changing the rules for one type of drug,
I think it definitely has
to be for marijuana.
Pot causes less addiction.
We should try to regulate it
and learn from trial and error.
We especially need to learn how
to convince children
that they shouldn't
use drugs at all.
Marijuana accounts for 80%
of drug use today.
It's as harmful as, or perhaps
even less harmful than alcohol.
It makes sense to regulate
the use of marijuana.
Regulation enables society
to set limits and conditions.
In so doing, the police will be free
to focus on the true enemy:
Organized crime.
"Miguel Silva
Convicted of Kidnapping"
If you legalize drugs,
criminals will turn to other activities...
such as kidnapping,
extortion, and murder.
The European experience reveals
that we need to move away
from the absolute prohibition
or full liberalization dichotomy.
There is a middle ground
between these two choices.
There are many possibilities
that have not been tested
because of the prohibition
on thinking and experimentation.
We're dealing with
a complex problem.
It is a process that has
many cultural dimensions.
There are values
and emotions involved.
Any solution has to take
into consideration
the emotions and values
at stake.
We have to look for more humane
and efficient policies.
What kind of civilization
do we want to build?
"Rio de Janeiro, Brazil"
What do you think about the UN Report
which condemns Latin American leaders
who call for the
decriminalization of drugs?
The UN is committed
to the war on drugs.
They call for war and
we are calling for peace.
Those who are commited to war
reject those who are calling for peace.
What we are saying is:
"It is time to end this war".
Let's pull people away
from drugs.
A policy of peace is not a policy
of surrender.
I'm not saying
"you can do anything you want".
I'm in favor of a policy of persuasion,
of negotiation, of trial and error.
Based on the belief
that human beings can act rationally.
Given alternatives and information,
people can make the right choice.
These guys here were all criminals.
I'm totally focused
on these individuals.
If I want to reduce violence,
I must think of this guy.
Because he is the protagonist.
"Jose Junior - Founder and executive
coordinator of Afroreggae"
Out of every ten traffickers
I meet, seven want to leave crime.
There is no point in discriminalization
without providing treatment.
Almost every drug user
wants to stop.
If they were able to,
the problem would end.
It's hard to give up on a drug
you're addicted to.
This is a disease, and you cannot
put a sick person in jail.
One day we're going to look
back at all this and say:
"I can't believe that in the past,
drug users used to be thrown in jail!"
A drug-free world is a utopy.
It has never existed in history.
What you can and must do is
reduce the harm that drugs cause
to people and their societies.
"Anthony Papa
Author of '15 to life"'
"Even though the US has invested
USD 1 trillion in the War on Drugs,
it's easy to buy drugs in
any city on the planet.
But the way the world is dealing
with the issue is changing... "
Portugal, Spain and the Czech Republic
have decriminalized drug possession
for personal use. "
"In 14 European nations, drug addicts
are treated as patients, not as criminals. "
"China has adopted large-scale
methadone maintence treatment. "
"In 16 American states, the use
of medical marijuana has been legalized. "
"46% of the California voters supported
marijuana legalization. "
"In 2010, the number of people
arrested in the United States
for drug-related offenses decreased
for the first time in 30 years. "
"Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay
have taken steps towards
decriminalizing drug possession
for personal use. "
"Despite its recent progress, Brazil's
drug policy is far from being humane. "
"Drug consumption is still a crime, though
felons are no longer sentenced to jail. "
"Because the law doesn't
specify the quantity
of drugs that differs a user from
a dealer, many users end up in jail. "
"From 2006 to 2008, 66% of the people
arrested for drug dealing
were first-time offenders and 86%
were not carrying any weapons. "
"The health care system doesn't have
the necessary structure to treat most
of the drug users. "
"All across Brazil, youth are still dying
and killing in the name of an endless war. "
"In 1971, the United States of America
declared war on drugs. "
"Forty years later, it's time
for the world to declare peace. "