What is effect of/ where to get involved in legalization effort?

g.bentham

Greenlighter
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Sep 2, 2014
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What I mean by the question, is that when you're working in the 'mainstream' drug legalization movement, it feels like you're seeing victory in every corner. Portugal's success in legalizing all drugs is a resounding success, we are seeing legal and medicinal marijuana hit the streets across the US. In Canada new safe injection sites are set to open in Montreal and Toronto despite nearly being shut down in Vancouver not so long ago. We are seeing prescribed Heroin becoming a success story in three major European countries... I could go on. And that's not even mentioning the media, which for years has shoveled out drug war propaganda without hardly a peep in the other direction. Now when we see or hear a story on the drug war, its either balanced or favorable (yes, there's still the odd 'oxy is the new heroin!/ heroin is the new heroin!) article, but even they more often than not will at least lay out some facts about drug war failures. The Washington Post did a three part series on police stop and seize tactics that should win a Pulitzer.

But....

As an opiate user who's on a methadone maintenance program, I almost feel our victory(s) could turn into a very nasty sort of defeat if we don't get out there and push for full legalization. Up till three weeks ago I was on full carries (only had to go into pharmacy weekly to pick up doses), and had been for three + years. I've used regularly on treatment, but never tested positive because the urine tests they use don't show anything for fentanyl, my DOC. Three weeks ago I was let go from a job with a mental health advocacy organization, its a long story but I'll just say that you shouldn't take calls from your boss at night after taking zopiclone (similar to zolipidem for those of you in the States- you are uninhibited to say the least). Anyways, I had planned on leaving my positio soon (something I believe I told my boss on the phone), so it was a fairly seamless transition. That is, until I showed up at the pharmacy to pick up my doses. I was told that all carries had been taken away, and I would have to come in daily. I called the methadone clinic, and it turns out my boss had phoned them and told them she had talked to me late at night and I was 'out of sorts' and that maybe it was methadone related (I told my boss about the methadone in confidence, as I'm fairly outspoken about my drug use). The Mdone Dr. said it was their right to take away carries as they saw fit, and since I was out of work it shouldn't be an inconvenience. I know, that in the grand scheme of the drug war, a Dr. playing God with meds just for the hell of it is low on the list of abuses, but for me its a glimpse of whats down the road for everyone if we move in a 'decriminalization and treatment' direction and not a 'legalization. period' direction.

So I guess my question is, who's out there doing this work that people feel is having an effect? I've heard good things about VANDU and INPUD, Jacob Sullum is a great writer for the cause. But where would the best place be for someone to get out and get involved?
 
Good question, but another forum would be better suited to this question. Either a regional one, an HR forum, something like that. DiTM is for, well, posting articles related to drugs or HR or whatever other media on the subject.
 
There are some great organizations included in this thread and its open for people to include all the good ones they can find. =D

They will keep at this shit until we stop them. We are a group of people that crosses all barriers and is unbelievably strong, we just need to band together and come out of the shadows. There are people among us that could trump the law enforcement lobby in the US single handedly and not skip a beat. If we all band together this shit will be over in a less than four years.

Billionaires, millionaires, actors, pro athletes, x cops. judges.. prosecutors, and millions and millions of us regular folk.. all we need to do is stand together and say enough, we arent going to take this shit. we arent going to be treated and have our families treated like this anymore. Then its stops dead. Period;)

List of harm reduction organizations or groups.

I hope the good mods let this unorthodox thread flow for awhile. maybe transfer to harm reduction workshop eventually. But this is needed and more exposure is good and hopefully warnets a little temp break from custom?
 
Hi, and welcome to the forum! First of all, I should say that I agree with your point of view completely. "Decriminalization and treatment" is a huge step forward from where we are now, but I don't believe it goes far enough to eliminate the oppression of drug users, which would be best accomplished by a legalization/regulation model.

The biggest name in drug policy reform in Canada would have to be the Canadian Drug Policy Alliance. Their director, Donald MacPherson, is often published in news outlets such as the Globe and Mail and the National Post. However, like most drug-policy-reform organizations, they do not explicitly call for legalization of all drugs, but instead support a multitude of progressive policies tending in that direction.

On the student/youth side, there is Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, an organization that I am involved in running. Once again, we do not explicitly support legalization of all drugs (even though many of our members do), but support progressive drug policies generally.

Like you, I wish the whole movement could speak with one voice, and I am nervous about level of support we will have once cannabis legalization is out of the way. However, one thing to remember is that every modern social development would have been considered radical at some point in the past. Even if legalization of all drugs is not necessarily the stated goal right now, the tendency is in that direction and I believe it is only a matter of time. How much time? Now that is the big question.

Of course, there is the entire libertarian political movement (see: Libertarian Party of Canada), which supports complete free-market legalization of all drugs. However, it has a much broader focus than just drug policy.

The one big drug-policy organization that I can think of that is outspoken in their support for legalization of all drugs is Law Enforcement Against Prohibiton. I don't think they have that large of a presence in Canada, though.
 
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