Declaration Media Release

Launch of Families Global Declaration calling for better drug laws and policies

Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform has today launched a declaration to be signed by family organisations, families and their friends calling on all countries to align their drug policies to deal with drug use as a health and social problem not as a criminal one.

The Declaration also calls on the United Nations to evaluate existing treaties, promote evidence based policies and an international drug control regime that causes the least possible harm to our children, individuals and to society generally.

"Parents, family members and their friends have suffered greatly as a result of the prohibition drug laws and policies," said Brian McConnell, President of Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform. "Family members have died or been murdered, been imprisoned, suffered poor health and denied essential treatment services as a direct or indirect result of those policies."

"This is not just a problem for families in only one country, it affects families in all countries and it is a problem that originates from the UN drug conventions which are founded on the basic premise that global prohibition policies can prevent drug use. But they have not prevented drug use and have caused more harm than was ever intended."

The Declaration is modelled on the preamble to the 1988 convention on narcotic drugs, which does identify the failures of the previous conventions but then simply continued with the same failed policies.

"Our attempt," said McConnell. "Is to bring attention to the effect that these policies have on families, which are the cornerstones of our human society, and to promote drug policies that cause the least possible harm."

The Declaration is being launched throughout the world through organisations that are concerned about the effects drug policies have on families and through organisations that provide services to persons using drugs.

When sufficient signatures have been received the Declaration will be presented to individual countries and to the Secretary-General of the United nations.

The declaration can be found at http://ffdlr.org.au/Declaration

For more information: Contact Brian McConnell +61(0) 2 6254 2961 or mobile +61 (0) 4 0907 4033