Open letter to the participants of the conference “Urban Drug Policies in the Globalised World Prague 2010“

Prague, 30 September 2010

Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues and friends,

First, I send my warm greetings to all of you and wish you a successful conference and forum in Prague.

The conference program is very rich. However, we think there is a lack of fundamental themes that determine success in the realisation of drug policy in each country, region and municipality. The real obstacle is the UN Convention on drugs, and an essential condition for success is its abolition!

For experienced professionals we certainly do not have to repeat the key reasons for the abolition of the “Convention”. For a less sophisticated audience we provide only the basic facts: drug prohibition generates hundreds of millions of unfortunate people on this planet, it leads to terrorism, wars, killings, and the criminalization of innocent people, ruins hundreds of billions of euros in public budgets, it gives an enormous scope for unfair gains, especially on the black market. And: it makes it impossible to heal, save the lives or at least mitigate the suffering of millions of decent people!

No wonder that there are no public funds availabe to prevent drug problems among children, young people and those in greatest needs. It constitutes only a fraction of the public funds that are spent in the total ‘drug budgets. The vast majority of them are used for completely ineffective prohibition. The ratio of public expenditure should be reversed completely!

During the current economic crisis the abolition of “the drug conventions“ is all the more urgent because its absurdity is mostly felt by those who do not know its effects or can not effectively defend themselves.

What about after abolition?

Of course we need to help our politicians, governments, civil servants, the “managers of our common affairs” to find solutions how to continue after the dissolution of the Conventions. It is our crucial responsibility. But it is also important to make it clear that we are not indifferent, that we constantly monitor things, understand the issues. It is their responsibility to find the courage to accept a rational concept that is beneficial for all citizens! Not to create conditions for the drug mafia and the profits of pharmaceutical companies while persecuting citizens, as before!

In our country, this task is even more urgent, because the Czech Republic is due to enter in conflicts with European law, as there has long been a legal invalidity in the Criminal Drug Law. This situation must be urgently addressed. Its impact on public health and the state budget can be disastrous! We have already published a legal analysis of the situation (and I assure you that even we do not enjoy it), but the responsibility for this situation in the country and for its correction does not respond in any way!

Ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues and friends,

We ask you: by selecting your central motto of the conference, making a request to politicians around the world to abolish the UN Convention on drugs! Please fill in the Prague Declaration! The abolition of the Convention is certainly appropriate for the main topic of the forum. However, please do not forget to discuss and adopt a position regarding the need to solve the legal situation in the Czech republic.

Thank you.

On behalf of the professional society Cannabis as a medicine, o.s.

MD. John Budařová, Chairman

Mgr. Dusan Dvorak, Executive Vice President

Ing. Paul Martinek, board member

Ing. Philip Polivka, board member

MD. Radek Matlach, Board Member

PS.: We offer you and if you are interested we are ready to throughout the conference provide an accompanying program for the screening of our new document Hemp Passion (40 min.), In the Educational Clinic Hemp ALF in the studio in Prague-Žižkov. For foreign applicants we will be able to provide simultaneous translation.

Hemp Passion film is about the criminalization of therapists and cancer patients who choose to be treated by cannabis. It is also available on-line transmission

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