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Prohibition and Law
Betsy says that if the drink industry is putting money into a good cause - Drink Aware - then that's good.
A rational, evidence based approach in a chaotic system? Example: A different approach to prohibition...
The group discuss the parameters of drug related discourse and what drives it
John uses the example of the legalisation of homosexuality to illustrate the need to take context into account.
Julia says that she feels we are 'saddled' with prohibition. She believes that we need to move away from the UNODC structures which seat drugs together with crime. She argues the future should seek to deal with drug use as a health and development issue.
Julia describes the more treatment oriented regimes in the 1070's. Juila says the 'sea change' came with heroin and HIV/AIDS making Europeans more ope to Harm Reduction approaches.
Julia talks about her book and explains how her professional and personal experience helped her to identify the need for a book drawing quality material on the drugs trade.
Julia talks about the history of the UK involvement with the Indian opium trade and how it differs from the US. She describes the way the United States history differs and its relationship to the prohibition of alcohol.
Julia talks about beginnings of the Shanghai alliance between China and America. China formed a pragmatic alliance with the US and partners to restrict opium production. Self medication with opium was no longer seen as acceptable. Drugs became a moral issue for the US.
Julia describes how racist and anti immigrant propaganda became linked to reinforcing of messages on drug use. She describes the expansion of the legislation to include a range of drugs, and the growth of issues of drugs and criminality.
Julia talks about paraquat, Reagan's Project 'Intercept' and the displacement of trafficking routes. Julia explains that hypocrisy related to cocaine deals is an established problem for the war on drugs.
Julia describes problems of displacement of opium and cocaine production.