Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

Help Educate the World's Drug Czar!

The World's Drug Czar On June 24, United Nations "drug czar," Antonio Maria Costa, released the World Drug Report 2009, which attempts to detail the world's drug problems. Of note, the report begins - on page one - with an attempt to refute the arguments of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and others who have seen the failures of the "war on drugs" and who know that the solution is to legalize and regulate drugs.

The fact that our opponents are so prominently attacking us at the very beginning of their report is a real sign of how far our movement has come in such a short time, especially since last year's report didn't even mention us at all!

Please take one minute to enter your contact information below and send a letter to "Czar" Costa, letting him know that the world is ready for reform of these failed policies!

UN Drug Czar Antonio Maria Costa

February 09, 2010

Subject:

With all due respect, I wanted to let you know that I strongly disagree with your claim in the World Drug Report 2009 that people calling for legalization of drugs are somehow endorsing less "control" over drugs than we have now.

Indeed, it is the failed system of prohibition that you endorse which strips society of the ability to regulate and control drugs, including who produces and consumes them, as well as where the profits go.  Under the current policy, all of those decisions are made by increasingly violent gangsters, cartels and terrorists who couldn't care less about keeping drugs away from our children or helping people move beyond addiction problems.  All they care about is profit.

When we end prohibition and move drugs into a legal and regulated framework, we will finally bring drug abuse problems above ground, where they can be accurately measured and addressed.  And, when we arrest and incarcerate fewer people for drug law violations, we will free up the resources we need to finally enact effective prevention and treatment programs for those who seek them.

Contrary to the position you take in the World Drug Report 2009, the results of a 2008 World Health Organization study clearly show that having overly-punitive drug policies doesn't decrease use, nor does modernizing polices increase use.  The WHO study showed that out of 17 countries surveyed, the United States had the highest rates of marijuana and cocaine use, despite being the birthplace of the now-global "war on drugs."

In any case, it is clear from the emphasis you place on page one of the report that you recognize that there is now a growing global debate on whether or not we can afford to maintain our decades-old prohibition policies.  I hope that as this conversation progresses, you will pay more attention to the sensible arguments for legalization that are being made by an increasing number of law enforcers, treatment professionals, economists, policymakers and citizens of the world (like me).

Thank you for your time.

We will add your signature from the information you provide.

First Name*

Last Name*

Email*

Street*

Street 2

City*

State/Province*

Zip/Postal Code*

UN REPORT EXPOSES FAILED "DRUG WAR":

* 250 million drug users worldwide
* 38 million "problem" users
* A "lucrative black market"
* "several unintended consequences" including
- violence
- corruption
* "wastes scarce resources"

Dedicated to our departed colleagues who courageously spoke out about the destructive policy of Drug Prohibition
Eleanor Schockett	Gil Puder	Whitman Knapp	John Perry	Ralph Salerno	Bob Owens	Eddie Ellison	Martin Haines