ENCOD announces “The Road to Vienna 2008”, a conference on European alternatives in drug policy, that will take place on 6 and 7 november 2006, in the European Parliament in Brussels.

This Conference, organised in collaboration with the groups of European Greens and Unitary Left (Italian Delegation) in the European Parliament) brings together more than 100 representatives of the European drug policy reform movement, local authorities and Members of European parliament, who will discuss concrete proposals to a crucial change of course in European drug policies. Also representatives from North & South America, Australia and Asia will be present.

Regional drug czar Belén Bilbao of the Basque Country, Spain, will defend her proposal to allow controlled distribution of heroin in prisons, and explain the way this is frustrated by the international drug legislation. A representative of Bolivian president Evo Morales will present the proposal to end the worldwide prohibition of the coca leaf. On his turn, Lord Mayor Jan Lonink of the city of Terneuzen, the Netherlands, will defend the proposal of several Dutch cities with a “coffeeshop-tourist” industry to regulate this phenomenon.

Martín Barriuso, of the Pannagh association, Spain, will present the model of the Cannabis Social Clubs: a closed and transparent circuit for the cultivation and distribution of cannabis to consumers in countries where the cultivation for personal use is depenalised. Such clubs are currently operating in Spain and Belgium. And Peter Cohen will propose a new definition for the UN apparatus for drug control in Vienna.

Please contact ENCOD for more information.

Best wishes,

Joep Oomen – ENCOD

Monday 6 November ROOM ASP 1G2

15.00 15.15 Welcome by Giusto Catania (MEP)

15.15 16.45 Harm reduction: policies and principles

Two decades ago harm reduction was introduced as a social alternative to persecution of drug users. But what is the future of this concept in a context where drugs continue to be illegal?

Chair : Stijn Goossens, STAD/Breakline, Belgium.

Speakers:Belén Bilbao, Regional Counsellor of the Basque Government, Spain and Milena Naydenova, representative of HOPE association of drug consumers, Bulgaria

17.00 18.30 Cannabis: is regulation a possibility?

Cannabis is the most popular illicit drug in the European Union, with between 10 and 30 million regular users every day, approx. 10 tons of cannabis is consumed in the EU. Is it possible to create a system in which the supply of cannabis to adults is regulated?

Chair : Grazia Zuffa, Forum Droghe, Italy.

Speakers: Jan Lonink, Lord Mayor of Terneuzen, the Netherlands, and Martín Barriuso, representative of Pannagh, association of cannabis consumers and producers, Spain

Possibility for interviews.

Tuesday 7 November ROOM ASP 1G3

09.00 10.30 International co-operation

The revision of UN conventions could have a major impact for the situation of producer countries. This situation is largely determined by the drug policy of the US government. Will Europe be able to produce an alternative also in this field?

Chair : Virginia Montañes, ENCOD, Spain.

Speakers: Mauricio Mamani, Viceministry of Social Defense, Bolivia and Cindy Fazey, researcher, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Testimonies from the USA (Doug Mc Vay, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Colombia (Querubin Queta, traditional authority of the Kofan People) and Canada (Marc Emery, cannabis activist – by video conference)

10.45- 12.15 Europe’s message to the UN in 2008

What should be Europe’s role in the UN Drug Summit in 2008? Which initiatives could be taken by European institutions, governmentsand civil society organisations to use this opportunity for a better future?

Chair : Jan Van der Tas, Stichting Drugsbeleid, the Netherlands.

Speakers: Franco Corleone, former vice-minister of Justice, Italy and Peter Cohen, researcher, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

12.15 – 12.30 Closing remarks by Kathalijne Buitenweg (MEP)

Possibility for interviews.

Lunch

14.00 16.00 ROOM ASP 1C51 Meeting for ENCOD Members.

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