Breaking News:Dangerous Delays: What Washington State (Re)Teaches Us About Cash and Cannabis Store Robberies [REPORT]

Human Rights

RSS Feed for this category

Philippine Democracy and Human Rights Face a Critical Test This Week

From our Facebook page today:

Our ally Senator Trillanes of the Philippines is facing possible jailing, maybe as soon as tomorrow, as a result of legal maneuvers that strain credulity in both their reasoning and their timing. It's not a given that Judge Soriano will go along with the administration in allowing the case against Trillanes to go forward. But even if he doesn't, there is a second case that could have the same result -- the judge in that case, Elmo Alameda, has used reasons that are farcical on their face to allow that one to move forward. He did at least allow for bail, but the case before Soriano would not. It's possible that the judges have been threatened.

If Trillanes joins Senator de Lima in the Camp Crame detention center, it will be even harder for political opponents of Duterte's drug war killings to oppose him, and the Philippines will be a big step closer to dictatorship. We would like the US government to make use of the Magnitsky Act to sanction Duterte administration officials who are responsible for these and other human rights violations. We also support legislation in Congress to cut off most funding to the Philippines National Police, and to fund the work of Philippine human rights advocates and health-based drug service providers. We prefer targeted measures of those types, for now at least, to pressure individual officials without harming the Filipino population as trade sanctions might. We would also like President Trump to retract his two disturbing statements that praised Duterte's drug policies.

In the meanwhile, we are hoping that Judge Soriano will do the right thing, and we commend the IPU for keeping a focus on this. Visit https://stopthedrugwar.org/philippinesto read about our work with Senator Trillanes and others.

Trillanes Gets Reprieve, for Now

Update: Senator Trillanes has had a reprieve, for at least a week.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV of the Philippines, a high-profile critic of Rodrigo Duterte's murderous drug war, is likely to be jailed tomorrow morning, according to unconfirmed reports we've received. For those of watching this from the US, that means tonight. If you've followed this, you probably know that two days ago the Senator was arrested on a related charge, but released on bail. Unfortunately the charge that a second court is ruling on is not normally bailable, though one never knows what a judge's ruling will say until one sees it.

speaker meeting before our March UN event (photo by Joey Tranchina)
I spent two days with Senator Trillanes and staff members last March, when he keynoted our side event at the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs meeting in Vienna. Trillanes highlighted data released by the Duterte administration suggesting that the number of extrajudicial killings in Duterte's drug war may be as high as 20,000. Perversely, the administration included the killings in its "2017 Accomplishments" report, he pointed out, asking "what kind of president" would consider the killing of its own people to be accomplishment. By today, numbers over 25,000 are being floated, and human rights organizations are confident there have been at least 12,000 extrajudicial drug war killings in Duterte's first two years as president. (Follow the link above for more links to all this info.)

As far as the current cases against Senator Trillanes, an online news search on his name turns up countless articles for those who want more background. We have published two statements on the subject as well, on September 4th and yesterday. Our statement was featured in articles published by two news outlets in the Philippines as a voice of the international community, GMA News and Rappler.

Other than that, suffice it to say for now that the legal reasoning of both the Duterte administration and the judges enabling them seems pretty far-fetched and strained. I'm not a legal scholar, and of course I'm not neutral in this. But it's clear from the public discussion, on news and social media, that most legal thinkers in the Philippines feel the same way. The attack on Trillanes is just the latest in a series of moves against critics of the president. These include:

  • the jailing of Senator Leila de Lima two and a half years ago on unsupported drug charges;
  • the removal of the the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by a narrow majority of her colleagues;
  • attacks on Vice President Robredo for a video she made criticizing the extrajudicial drug war killings (for our 2017 UN side event), leading to a vigorous though unsuccessful campaign to impeach her;
  • a pending case against the last outspoken opposition Senator in the Philippines, Risa Hontiveros, for providing protection to teenagers who had witnessed the murder of a friend by Philippine National Police in a widely-publicized case (they're claiming that constituted kidnapping of the teens);

and the list goes on.

We got involved in the Philippines situation, as a US-based drug policy NGO, because the bulk of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines today are in the drug war, and because we've had an advocacy focus on foreign policy the last few years. Indeed, the drug war killings have spread now to Indonesia and Bangladesh, with high-ranking officials in Malaysia and Turkey also calling for killings or other extrajudicial violence by drug enforcers. And President Trump himself, not only has praised Duterte, but has specifically praised Duterte's drug war, and has done so twice.

I hope, if you haven't already, that you'll take a few minutes to read about our work in this area. We have bigger plans in the works, that I hope to be able to write about here in the near future -- I had the honor of conversing with Senator Trillanes himself about them last Sunday, just hours before his first arrest was announced. If this work seems important to you, please consider making a donation to support it. One other small thing you can do, if you're a US voter, is write to Congress supporting current bipartisan legislation to place human rights conditions on some aid to the Philippines.

Thank you for reading this far, and please stay tuned and be ready to raise your voice in this -- a devolution into global barbarism will affect us here -- the time to take a stand is now.

Trump's Terrible, No Good Plan to Gin Up Worldwide Drug War [FEATURE]

President Trump is in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly, but he's going to kick off his appearance with an unofficial event aimed at promoting a tougher global line on drugs. He will host a meeting on "The World Drug Problem," and countries that have agreed to sign on to a document circulated by the administration, "The Global Call to Action on the World Drug Problem," will be rewarded by being invited to the event and given the opportunity to "participate in a group photo" with the president.

The president goes to the UN to try to push global drug policy backward. (Creative Commons/Gage Skidmore)
"The purpose of this event is to demonstrate international political will to enhance efforts to effectively address and counter the serious threats posed by the world drug problem," says an August 31 diplomatic note first reported by The Intercept.

In that note, the administration says it is already "collaborating" with a couple of dozen countries, but many of them are already proponents of harsh drug policy approaches. At least three of them -- China, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore -- are quick to resort to the death penalty for drug offenders, while others, such as Russia and the United Arab Emirates, are not exactly beacons of progressive drug policy. Yet other countries, including Costa Rica, India, and the United Kingdom, have signed on despite not hewing to draconian drug policy positions -- perhaps just to stay on the right side of the mercurial and vindictive Trump.

Unlike the UN drug policy process, which involves lengthy, finely detailed study, negotiation, and consensus-building among member states and civil society actors, Trump's Global Call is an attempt to impose the administration's hardline drug war positions on other countries. The cover letter accompanying the Global Call makes clear that the text of the document "is not open for discussion."

In Trump's Global Call to Action, states agree to develop "action plans" based on a "four-pronged strategy" of demand reduction, drug treatment, international cooperation, and cutting the supply of illicit drugs that reflects the global drug policy consensus of a decade or two ago -- not today.

Twenty years ago, the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on Drugs ended with a call for "a drug-free world." That chimera, of course, never happened, and the UN's political declaration in 2009 ratcheted down the rhetoric, calling merely for demand reduction, supply reduction, and international cooperation -- language strikingly reminiscent of Trump's current Global Call. But by the 2016 UNGASS on Drugs, the global community had moved beyond pure drug war theater, explicitly tying drug policy to human rights, access to health care, and sustainable development and implicitly endorsing harm reduction. The words "harm reduction" didn't make it into the final UNGASS documents, but their spirit was present.

Trump's Global Call also reverts to the sort of "eliminationist" language regarding drug cultivation that many countries have been moving away from. The strategy wants to "reduce" drug demand, but "cut off the supply" of drugs by "stopping" their production. Such language implies the resort to repressive eradication measures aimed at poor peasants in the developing world, a policy that has failed for decade after decade.

Drug policy advocates are raising the alarm over the administration's moves.

"This Global Call to Action is a unilateral move orchestrated by the US government that shows utter disregard for multilateralism and regular UN processes of negotiation and consensus. This is clearly an example of Trump attempting to wade into the international drug policy debate and create a splashy camera-ready opportunity, carefully orchestrated to create the appearance of support from dozens of other countries," said Hannah Hetzer, senior international policy manager at the Drug Policy Alliance.

Holding the event at the UN provides a "veneer of multilateralism and global accord, but these trappings of multilateralism should not be mistaken for a new-found global drug policy consensus," the International Drug Policy Consortium declared. "Far from an effort at achieving mutual understanding and genuine consensus, it is an instance of heavy-handed US 'with us or against us' diplomacy."

The world need not leave global drug policy to the tender mercies of Donald Trump. In fact, it would be better off listening to one of the men who will address the Monday meeting: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. As president of Portugal, Guterres oversaw that country's groundbreaking decriminalization of drug use and possession in 2001.

Or it could listen to the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which consists of the former presidents and prime ministers of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, East Timor, Greece, Malawi, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, and Switzerland. On Monday, the same day that Trump attempts to cement a repressive alliance, the commission is launching its new report, "Regulation: The Responsible Control of Drugs," which calls for reforming the prohibition-based global drug control system and examines how responsible regulation can take control of currently illegal drug markets.

"President Trump is the last person who should be defining the global debate on drug policy. From his support of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal drug war to his call for the death penalty for people who sell drugs, Trump has shown complete disdain for human rights and international law," warned Hetzer. "Governments should be very wary of signing on to this document and showing up for the photo op at Trump's event."

[Disclosure: Drug Policy Alliance is a funder of the organization that publishes this newsletter.]

Statement: Philippine Court Fails Crucial Test

(UPDATE: Our statement was covered by two Philippine news outlets, Rappler and GMA.)

Senator Trillanes at our March 2018 event (photo courtesy Joey Tranchina)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 25, 2018

The Philippine court system failed a crucial test today, and human rights may be the gravest casualty. Last night (mid-afternoon Philippines time) a court ordered the arrest of Senator Antonio Trillanes, a fierce critic of President Rodrigo Duterte and his drug war which has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Trillanes is free on bail, but believes he is likely to be jailed in an upcoming court hearing in a related case.

Trillanes is the second opposition senator to face charges. In a similar situation, Senator Leila de Lima was incarcerated a year and a half ago on unsupported drug charges, half a year after President Duterte promised to "destroy" her. The case against de Lima was brought shortly after she had a confessed former member of Duterte's "Davao Death Squad" testify in the Justice Committee, one of two former DDS members to go public. Duterte promised a year ago to also "destroy" Senator Trillanes.

The legal pretexts for the administration's action against Trillanes have drawn broad criticism in the Philippine legal and human rights communities. Trillanes was the recipient with others of an amnesty grant in 2011 by then President Benigno Aquino (the equivalent of a presidential clemency or pardon in the US). He was a leader of a famous military mutiny in which soldiers in the "Magdalo" group occupied a building to protest corruption in the Gloria Arroyo administration, and less-covered issues including illegal military attacks on Filipino Muslims.

Trillanes served seven years before the amnesty, getting elected to the Senate the first time while still jailed. Arroyo turned out to be even more corrupt than the Magdalo soldiers had claimed, and was caught engaging in election-rigging in not one but two elections, but is now Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives.

The Duterte administration issued a proclamation three weeks ago declaring Trillanes' amnesty to be revoked -- a wholly unconstitutional move, according to most observers -- claiming that he failed to submit an application or admit guilt. Despite news footage showing him turning in the application, an affidavit by the military official administering the amnesty process attesting that there was an application, and a certificate of amnesty granted by the government, Judge Elmo Alameda insisted that because Trillanes could not find a copy of the application, he couldn't prove that he had complied with the amnesty's conditions. Alameda was similarly unmoved by the point that it was the military that was obligated to keep track of the application, not Trillanes, and that it could have been removed from the files as part of a conspiracy by the administration.

StoptheDrugWar.org condemns the Duterte administration's blatantly political attack on Senator Antonio Trillanes. We further note that the day on which the president's arrest order was initially made public, was the same day Trillanes was leading a Senate hearing on government contracts issued to a firm owned by the family of Duterte Solicitor General Jose Calida. Evidence came out demonstrating that the amnesty revocation was initiated by Calida.

We are also concerned that the amnesty revocation threat can now be held over other members of the Magdalo movement, one of whom, Rep. Gary Alejano, is a likely candidate for the Senate as part of the opposition coalition, of which the Magdalo Party is an important plank. The congressional election in the Philippines is scheduled for May 2019, which is also when Trilllanes' term in the Senate expires.

Senator Trillanes joined our March 2018 event at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs annual meeting in Vienna, where he presented administration data suggesting that extrajudicial killings in President Duterte's drug war may exceed 20,000. Perversely, the Senator observed, the administration listed these killings among its "2017 Accomplishments."

"StoptheDrugWar.org is focused on the still-unfolding human rights crisis in the Philippines, and Senator Trillanes is one of a handful of leaders willing to aggressive confront that crisis. Whether he remains free to speak and campaign, or instead joins Senator de Lima as a symbol behind bars, we will continue to support his efforts," said StoptheDrugWar.org Executive Director David Borden.

"Trillanes told us in Vienna he expected political prosecutions to increase in pace during the second half of this year," Borden continued. "We are saddened that he is personally a victim of this. But it has already further mobilized the already energized Philippine opposition to Duterte, and it will also focus even greater world attention onto Duterte's crimes and depredations."

StoptheDrugWar.org is a US-based NGO with a focus on international drug policy, and which has advocated on the Philippines human rights situation since early 2017. Our educational nonprofit DRCNet Foundation has been in Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council since 2016.

Footage of Senator Trillanes' presentation in Vienna is online at https://stopthedrugwar.org/philippines#vienna2018.

- END -

Statement: Duterte Moves Against Second Drug War Critic

Senator Trillanes at our March 2018 event (photo courtesy Joey Tranchina)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 4, 2018

StoptheDrugWar.org condemns the Duterte administration's blatantly political attack on Senator Antonio Trillanes, a fierce and brave critic of the President's human rights violations.

Senator Trillanes joined our March 2018 event at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs annual meeting in Vienna, where he presented administration data suggesting that extrajudicial killings in President Duterte's drug war may exceed 20,000. Perversely, the Senator observed, the administration listed these killings among its "2017 Accomplishments."

We note that President Duterte promised a year ago to "destroy" Senator Trillanes.

Senator Leila de Lima was incarcerated a year and a half ago on unsupported drug charges, half a year after President Duterte promised to "destroy" her. The case against de Lima was brought shortly after she had a confessed former member of Duterte's "Davao Death Squad" testify in the Justice Committee, one of two former DDS members to go public.

"Senator Trillanes told us in Vienna he expected political prosecutions to increase in pace during the second half of this year. But he also promised that while he remained free, he would continue to speak out," said StoptheDrugWar.org Executive Director David Borden.

"Undoubtedly the imprisoning of Senator Trillanes, if that happens, will further mobilize the already energized Philippine opposition to Duterte," Borden continued. "But it will also focus even greater world attention onto Duterte's crimes and depredations. I am saddened by this development, but I can't imagine a better gift to our international organizing efforts."

StoptheDrugWar.org is a US-based NGO with a focus on international drug policy, and which has focused on the Philippines human rights situation since early 2017. Our educational nonprofit DRCNet Foundation has been in Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council since 2016.

Footage of Senator Trillanes' presentation in Vienna is online at https://stopthedrugwar.org/philippines#vienna2018.

- END -

Help Us Stop a Major Human Rights Crisis Caused by the Drug War

While much of the world moves toward compassionate drug policy reform, a populist would-be dictator has led one country cruelly backwards. Since taking office, President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has orchestrated a brutal campaign of extrajudicial killings, mainly as part of his "drug war." Credible estimates for the number of dead range from at least 12,000 to well over 20,000 and rising since mid-2016.

Ominously, a "Duterte effect" in the region has led to extrajudicial drug war killings in Indonesia and Bangladesh, and high-level officials in Malaysia and Turkey have also called for killings or other extrajudicial violence. In a move that has comforted human rights violators everywhere, President Trump has praised Duterte's drug war, twice.

"There are 3 million drug addicts (in the Philippines). I'd be happy to slaughter them. If Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have..." [points at himself]
- Rodrigo Duterte, September 2016 (source: Reuters)

We at StoptheDrugWar.org ask your help in stopping this drug war tragedy that threatens global human rights:

Watch the powerful video from Senator Risa Hontiveros of the Philippines, sent for our event at the UN in New York last month:

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,


David Borden, Executive Director
StoptheDrugWar.org
Washington, DC

P.S. Our Philippines campaign flows from work we're doing at the United Nations seeking reform of the UN drug treaties to clear the way more for legalization, while advocating drug policies based on health and human rights. Visit https://stopthedrugwar.org/global to learn more about that side of our work.

Chronicle AM: PA Pot Bill Coming, Philippines Police Vow "Surgical, Chilling" Drug War, More... (7/31/18)

A Pennsylvania lawmaker will file a marijuana legalization bill, Canada moves toward roadside saliva drug testing, the Philippines police vow more drug war, and more.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody drug war will continue.(Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Pennsylvania Lawmaker to File Legalization Bill. Citing a recent report from state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale that legalizing marijuana could create more than half a billion annually in tax revenues for the state, Rep. Jake Wheatley (D-Allegheny) says he will introduce a bill to legalize marijuana. "States from coast to coast have embraced legalization and those states are reaping the economic and criminal justice benefits," Wheatley said in a statement. "It is time Pennsylvania joins with those states in leaving behind the ugly stigma of marijuana."

Dark Web

Imprisoned Silk Road Founder Sees Some Charges Dismissed. Federal prosecutors in Maryland have dismissed an indictment against imprisoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht. The indictment contained the only charge that Ulbricht ever engaged in a murder-for-hire scheme. Despite the fact that those charges were never proven, or even tried, they were cited by his sentencing judge in handing down a draconian double life without parole sentence for online drug dealing. Ulbricht is currently appealing his sentence to the US Supreme Court.

International

Canada Set to Approve First Device for Testing Drivers' Saliva for Weed. The federal Justice Department has approved the first device designed to drug test drivers' saliva for the presence of marijuana. Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould has now given a 30-day notice of a ministerial order to approve the Draeger DrugTest 5000, produced by a company based in Germany. The device is already approved in other countries, including the United Kingdom and Germany.

Philippines Police Vow "Surgical and Chilling" Drug War. Philippine police vowed Monday to revamp and ratchet up their fight against crime and drugs just a week after President Rodrigo Duterte promised to keep the bloody campaign going. "Surgical and chilling will be the trademark of the reinvigorated anti-illegal drugs and anti-criminality campaign," police chief Oscar Albayalde told a news conference. Tends of thousands of purported drug dealers and users have been killed in Duterte's crusade, which is now under preliminary investigation by the International Criminal Court.

EVENT: Human Rights Challenge: Judicial and Extrajudicial Drug War Killings, in a Time of Authoritarianism

Human Rights Challenge: Judicial and Extrajudicial Drug War Killings, in a Time of Authoritarianism
side event at the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
Church Center of the United Nations, 1st Avenue & 44th Street, 10th Floor
July 16, 2018, noon-2:00pm ET
RSVP to [email protected] (requested but not required)

The rise of authoritarian or authoritarian-leaning political figures has been accompanied, in some cases driven, by calls for both sanctioned and extra-legal government violence in their crime and drug policies. The most noted example is that of extrajudicial drug war killings in the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte. But similar killings have begun in Indonesia and Bangladesh, and high-level political figures in countries including Malaysia and Turkey have called for extra-legal violence by law enforcers. In March of this year, President Trump called for the death penalty for some drug offenses, and Attorney General Sessions issued a memo calling for use of two never prosecuted drug death penalties provisions of dubious constitutionality.

A devolution into governmental barbarism would threaten the achievement of a variety of components of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, in the areas of health, rule of law, equal justice, peace, and strong institutions.

This panel will discuss what the needed partnerships may be for fending off such a scenario. Sectors or institutions of possible discussion include the ICC, UN human rights bodies, national human rights institutions, courts, public interest/human rights law, drug abuse services, the philanthropic sector, and media, among others. The event is the third in a series, the first two of which took place at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs 2017 and 2018 meetings in Vienna.

Speakers (subject to change):

  • Justine Balane, International Secretary, Akbayan Youth, Philippines (via Skype)
  • Agnès Callamard, UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions (via Skype)
  • Senator Risa Hontiveros, Republic of the Philippines (video – invited)
  • Jason Wright, Professor of Practice, Washington & Lee School of Law
  • Moderated by David Borden, Executive Director, StoptheDrugWar.org

Sponsored by DRCNet Foundation (AKA "StoptheDrugWar.org"). Cosponsored by:

  • Asian Network of People Who Use Drugs
  • Dianova International
  • Ecumenical Advocacy Network on the Philippines
  • FAAAT.net - French Alternatives on Addiction And Toxicomanies
  • Fields of Green for All
  • Filipino American Human Rights Alliance
  • Help Not Handcuffs
  • Housing Works
  • International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines
  • Netherlands Drug Policy Foundation
  • New York NGO Committee on Drugs
  • Northern California Chapter, National Ecumenical-Interfaith Forum for Filipino Concerns
  • REDUC - Brazilian Harm Reduction and Human Rights Network
  • Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference
  • Students for Sensible Drug Policy
  • United Methodist Church-General Board of Church and Society
  • Zimbabwe Civil Liberties and Drug Network
Localização: 
777 UN Plaza
New York, NY
United States

Chronicle AM: AI Adopts First-Ever Drug Plank, ND Init Hands in Signatures, More... (6/9/18)

North Dakota could see a marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot, Amnesty International adopts a first-ever position on drug policy, Maine's governor vetoes a medical marijuana expansion bill, and more.

Marijuana Policy

Indiana Judge Rules First Church of Cannabis Can't Use Marijuana as Sacrament. In a ruling handed down last Friday, Marion County Superior Court Judge Sheryl Lynch rejected the church's argument that Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) allows for a religious exemption from state and federal prohibitions on marijuana. "Permitting exceptions to Indiana's laws prohibiting the sale, possession and use of marijuana for religious exercise would undermine Indiana's ability to enforce anti-marijuana laws at all; anyone charged with violating those laws could simply invoke 'religious; exemption, triggering time-consuming (if not practically impossible) efforts to sort legitimate from illegitimate uses," Lynch wrote in her opinion.

North Dakota Legalization Initiative Hands in Signatures. Backers of a legalization initiative that would remove marijuana from the state's drug schedules handed in some 19,000 raw signatures last Friday, the deadline for signature gathering. The measure needs 13,500 valid voter signatures to appear on the November ballot. The signature cushion looks big enough that it could actually happen.

Medical Marijuana

Maine Governor Vetoes Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill. Gov. Paul LePage last Friday vetoed a bill that would have allowed doctors to certify medical marijuana for patients for any reason, as well as revamping the caregiver system and removing some obstacles to obtaining patient cards. The bill will now go back to the legislature for a possible effort to override the veto.

Michigan Adds More Qualifying Conditions. The state on Monday added 11 medical conditions, including autism, chronic pain, Parkinson's disease and Tourette's syndrome, to the list of ailments that could qualify a person for a medical marijuana card. That brings the number of qualifying conditions to 22.

Drug Policy

Amnesty International Adopts First-Ever Policy on Drugs. Amnesty International has adopted new proposals to tackle the devastating human rights consequences of misguided attempts by countries to criminalize and punish people for using drugs. Representatives voted to adopt what will be the organization's first-ever position on how States should address the challenges posed by drugs from a human rights perspective. The proposed policy calls for a shift away from the current "scorched-earth" approach of heavy-handed criminalization, to an approach where protection of people's health and rights are at the center.

International

Mexico's Next Interior Secretary Will Push for the Legalization of Recreational Marijuana. Incoming Interior Minister Olga Sanchez Cordero has begun to push for the legalization of recreational marijuana and possibly opium poppy cultivation. It's an early move from the Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) administration, which will not take power until December, to make a dramatic break from past Mexican drug war policies.

Caribbean Nations Agree to Consider Marijuana Legalization. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has agreed to "review marijuana's current status with a view to reclassification," noting "human and religious rights" issues stemming from criminalization as well as "the economic benefits to be derived" from legalization. The move comes after a lower-level committee recommended replacing marijuana prohibition with regulation.

Chronicle AM: Fed Judge Tired of Jailing Pot People, AI to Vote on New Drug Policy, More... (7/6/18)

There will be no marijuana legalization measure on the Arizona ballot this year, a federal judge is sick of sending probationers to jail for marijuana, Amnesty International is set to vote on a new drug policy stance, and more.

Is Philippines President Duterte using the war on drugs to assassinate political foes? Human rights watchers say yes.
Marijuana Policy

Federal Judge Says Enough Already on Punishing Marijuana Users. Brooklyn, New York, US District Court Judge Jack Weinstein said Thursday he has been too hard on marijuana users, and that's going to end. He criticized federal probation officers for demanding sentences of supervised release for people caught with small amounts of marijuana. His comments came in his ruling in a case where a 22-year-old on probation got caught with marijuana. Instead of sending him to jail, Weinstein cut short his probation sentence.

Arizona Legalization Initiative Comes Up Way Short on Signatures. A legalization initiative from Safer Arizona will not be on the November ballot after organizers missed the Thursday deadline to hand in signatures. The group needed 150,000 valid voter signatures to qualify and had planned to gather 225,000 to provide a cushion, but admitted it had only come up with 75,000 raw signatures so far.

International

Amnesty International to Vote on New Positions on Drug Policy. One of the world's leading human rights groups will be debating proposals to tackle the devastating human rights consequences of "misguided attempts" by countries to criminalize and punish people for using drugs. The proposed new policy "would call for a shift away from the current 'scorched-earth' approach of heavy-handed criminalization, to an approach where protection of people's health and rights are at the center." The question will be taken up during the group's Global Assembly later this year.

Report Calls for Coca Leaf to Be Legalized in Colombia. A new report from Open Society Foundations, "Coca Industrialization: A Path To Innovation, Development and Peace In Colombia," calls for coca to be legalized and calls on the Colombian government to guarantee small farmers protection from prosecution, support research into coca's nutritional properties, and promote the use of coca among indigenous communities.

Philippines Rights Group Say Duterte Is Assassinating Political Opponents Under Cover of Drug War. At least ten Filipino mayors have been killed since President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016, including two in the past week. Human rights groups said Duterte is using the drug war to crack down on political opponents. The deaths of the mayors strikes fear into the hearts of "politicians, especially in the provinces, who are then forced to toe Duterte's line," said Carlos Conde, Philippines researcher for Human Rights Watch.

Drug War Issues

Criminal JusticeAsset Forfeiture, Collateral Sanctions (College Aid, Drug Taxes, Housing, Welfare), Court Rulings, Drug Courts, Due Process, Felony Disenfranchisement, Incarceration, Policing (2011 Drug War Killings, 2012 Drug War Killings, 2013 Drug War Killings, 2014 Drug War Killings, 2015 Drug War Killings, 2016 Drug War Killings, 2017 Drug War Killings, Arrests, Eradication, Informants, Interdiction, Lowest Priority Policies, Police Corruption, Police Raids, Profiling, Search and Seizure, SWAT/Paramilitarization, Task Forces, Undercover Work), Probation or Parole, Prosecution, Reentry/Rehabilitation, Sentencing (Alternatives to Incarceration, Clemency and Pardon, Crack/Powder Cocaine Disparity, Death Penalty, Decriminalization, Defelonization, Drug Free Zones, Mandatory Minimums, Rockefeller Drug Laws, Sentencing Guidelines)CultureArt, Celebrities, Counter-Culture, Music, Poetry/Literature, Television, TheaterDrug UseParaphernalia, Vaping, ViolenceIntersecting IssuesCollateral Sanctions (College Aid, Drug Taxes, Housing, Welfare), Violence, Border, Budgets/Taxes/Economics, Business, Civil Rights, Driving, Economics, Education (College Aid), Employment, Environment, Families, Free Speech, Gun Policy, Human Rights, Immigration, Militarization, Money Laundering, Pregnancy, Privacy (Search and Seizure, Drug Testing), Race, Religion, Science, Sports, Women's IssuesMarijuana PolicyGateway Theory, Hemp, Marijuana -- Personal Use, Marijuana Industry, Medical MarijuanaMedicineMedical Marijuana, Science of Drugs, Under-treatment of PainPublic HealthAddiction, Addiction Treatment (Science of Drugs), Drug Education, Drug Prevention, Drug-Related AIDS/HIV or Hepatitis C, Harm Reduction (Methadone & Other Opiate Maintenance, Needle Exchange, Overdose Prevention, Pill Testing, Safer Injection Sites)Source and Transit CountriesAndean Drug War, Coca, Hashish, Mexican Drug War, Opium ProductionSpecific DrugsAlcohol, Ayahuasca, Cocaine (Crack Cocaine), Ecstasy, Heroin, Ibogaine, ketamine, Khat, Kratom, Marijuana (Gateway Theory, Marijuana -- Personal Use, Medical Marijuana, Hashish), Methamphetamine, New Synthetic Drugs (Synthetic Cannabinoids, Synthetic Stimulants), Nicotine, Prescription Opiates (Fentanyl, Oxycontin), Psilocybin / Magic Mushrooms, Psychedelics (LSD, Mescaline, Peyote, Salvia Divinorum)YouthGrade School, Post-Secondary School, Raves, Secondary School