Media

Media from the launch of ‘After the War on Drugs: Blueprint for Regulation‘

Former minister backs drug law change, Brendan Trembath, The World Today, ABC Radio, 16 November 2009

Ex-minister backs illegal drug regulation, Brendan Trembath, PM, ABC Radio and online, 16 November 2009

Regulate Drugs call, mx, p.2, 16 November 2009

After the War on Drugs, Phillip Adams, ABC Radio Late Night Live, 16 November 2009 (mp3 file).

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Opinion Piece by Dr Alex Wodak

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Media from Dr Norm Stamper’s visit to Australia:

Time to decriminalise drugs, Norm Stamper, Courier Mail, 15 October 2009

Cartels sell their nation’s soul, Alan Howe, Herald Sun, Sunday, 4 October 2009

Make drugs legal, says former US police chief, Michael Duffy, SMH, Saturday, 3 October 2009

Prohibition has failed, Alan Howe, Herald Sun, 4 October 2009

Drug Policy: Even Cops think it’s a bad idea, David Hollier, New Matilda, 12 October 2009

A Great LEAP Forward: Norm Stamper in Australia, John Jiggens, Cannabis Culture, Sunday, November 15 2009

Legalise drugs, says doctor, Michael Moore, Canberra City News, 22 October 2009

The war on drugs has failed – Norm Stamper has a solution, Homepage Daily, 3 November 2009

Norm Stamper and the War on Drugs, Evan Thomas, Family Drug Support Insight, Nov 2009-Jan 2010 issue

    TV

    Radio interviews

    Podcasts

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    AAP stories

    Qld: The real cost of the needle and the damage done

    Publisher: AAP NewsWire
    Publication: aap Australian General News (Tue 20 Oct 2009 2:03:13 PM)
    Edition: Both Cycles
    By Steve Gray

    BRISBANE, Oct 20 AAP – Former Seattle police chief Dr Norm Stamper has seen the damage drugs do.

    But the harm Dr Stamper recognises is about the social cost ofprohibitive drug laws, which he says are responsible for up to 90per cent of property crime, account for half of the US prisonpopulation, ruin young lives and are counterproductive.

    “We have spent a trillion dollars since (President) Nixon proclaimed drugs Public Enemy Number One and declared all-out war on them in 1971,” Dr Stamper said.

    “Each year we invest, or squander, depending on your point of view, $US69 billion ($A74 billion) to $US70 billion ($A75 billion).”

    The “incalculable but extreme” social cost of drug arrests has affected tens of millions of people, hampering careers, ruining families, cutting government aid and leaving people with a criminal record which continues to impact on their lives, he said.

    Dr Stamper said up to half of America’s 2.3 million jail inmates were there for drug offences.

    Meanwhile, only five to 10 per cent of drugs are intercepted before they can reach users.

    The Queensland Council of Civil Liberties invited Dr Stamper to address its annual general meeting in Brisbane on Tuesday, as it moved to spark a fresh debate on drug  prohibition.

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    Qld: Civil liberties calls for end to drug prohibition

    Publisher: AAP NewsWire
    Publication: aap Australian General News (Tue 20 Oct 2009 12:13:17 PM)
    Edition: Both Cycles

    BRISBANE, Oct 20 AAP – The Queensland Council for Civil Liberties has called for an end to drug prohibition and the decriminalisation of drugs.

    Council president Michael Cope said drug prohibition had failed and a fresh debate was needed on decriminalisation.

    Mr Cope said the prominent journal, The Economist, earlier this year had published an article arguing that while some illegal drugs were extremely dangerous, most were not especially harmful and tobacco was more addictive than virtually all of them.

    Mr Cope said there were two main alternatives to prohibition.

    “One option, decriminalisation, would mean the possession of drugs for personal use remains illegal but not subject to criminal sanctions,” he said.

    “The worst that could happen is the equivalent of a speeding ticket.

    “Another option is legalisation under which the manufacture and possession of drugs is legal but is subject to licensing and taxing in the way that alcohol is.

    “The council supports decriminalisation.”

    Mr Cope said he accepted drug addiction involved issues beyond the individual, including harm to the addict’s family.

    “However, we argue that the pressure for an end to prohibition is growing as the evidence that it has failed mounts,” Mr Cope said.

    He said the main objection to ending drug prohibition – that it would lead to an increase in drug use – did not stack up.

    “A 2008 study by the World Health Organisation of 17 countries found no correlation between strict drug laws and reduced drug use,” he said.

    “The USA, which has some of the strictest laws in the world, has one of the highest drug use rates.”

    The council will on Tuesday night hear from former Seattle police chief Dr Norm Stamper at its annual general meeting in Brisbane.

    Dr Stamper, who heads the Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) group of US lawmen opposed to drug prohibition, will argue the case for an end to drug prohibition and for legalisation of drugs.