Declaration

Parents, family members and their friends and Family Organisations, who have witnessed and suffered from the existing response to drugs:

Recognising the inability of the United Nations Conventions on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances to effectively counter the magnitude and extent of illicit traffic and its grave consequences (an inability outlined in the preamble to the 1988 Convention),

Recognising that the experiment with prohibition has magnified the grave consequences especially the trauma and tragedy visited on users and their families,

Deeply concerned that the application of those Conventions have led to measures that criminalise users of those substances, destroy their future life chances, disrupt families and lead to the waste of public funds,

Deeply concerned that the magnitude of and rising trend in the production of, demand for, and traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances pose a serious threat to the health and welfare of our children and adversely affect the economic, cultural and political foundations of society,

Deeply concerned that illicit drugs are marketed to our children and that children are used for purposes of illicit production, distribution and trade in drugs, which entails a danger and a tragedy of incalculable gravity,

Deeply concerned that the clandestine manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, produce drugs of unknown quality and purity, often leading to deaths, diseases or injuries to our children,

Deeply concerned that illicit traffic generates huge profits and wealth enabling criminal organisations to penetrate, contaminate and corrupt the structures of government, legitimate commercial and financial business, and society at all its levels

Deeply concerned that the Conventions have not yet been fully and objectively evaluated,

Desiring to deprive persons engaged in illicit traffic of their profits and thereby eliminate their main incentive for so doing,

Desiring to eliminate the root causes of the problematic use of drugs, including social disadvantage, and demand for such drugs and substances,

Hereby call on Governments to align their drug laws and policies ensuring that

1. problematic drug use is dealt with as a health and social issue;

2. measures to reduce the availability and usage of drugs are framed in accordance with the best available evidence;

3. the human rights of drug users are respected and the right of dependent drug users have access to the best evidence based treatments;

4. drug users not be branded as criminals;

5. measures to combat drug use should aim at minimising harms to drug users and not add to the harms caused by the drugs themselves; and

6. drug policies strengthen rather than undermine the capacity of families to support their children or other members who may use drugs.

and

hereby call on the Secretary-General of the United Nations to:

1. disseminate to member States information on the most effective evidence based treatments;

2. initiate an evaluation of existing multilateral treaties in the light of this declaration; and

3. promote an international drug control regime that causes the least possible harm to our children, individuals and to society generally.

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