Open letter by 114 NGOs: Uruguay sets the basis for a new paradigm in drug policy

The signatory organisations below wish to congratulate the Uruguayan Deputies and Senators that have voted in favour of the law regulating marijuana, and the organisations that have been pushing for drug policy reform for years. Cannabis regulation is a positive step to try and tackle drug-related violence in our countries.

The path taken by Uruguay establishes the basis for a new paradigm in drug policy. The organisations that have promoted these changes cannot ignore the efforts undertaken by the Uruguayan state. We are promoting respect for the enforcement of sovereign drug policies. We will also support Uruguay and every other state and jurisdiction as they seek to develop more sensible drug policies to tackle the problems related to health and security of their citizens, in full respect with international human rights treaties.

At the 2016 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on drugs (UNGASS), the signatory organisa- tions will support the efforts undertaken by countries like Uruguay – countries that have decided to devel- op new strategies in the face of the failure of their drug policies, with a more effective redistribution of public resources away from the criminal justice system toward the policies based on education and health.

Latin America has already experienced the cruel consequences caused by a brutal war on drugs. Thousands of deaths, disappearances and displacements are common images. In addition, cases of corruption, local authoritarianism and systematic violence have weakened institutions and states in the continent. The war against drug trafficking has also been a failure, as experienced by Mexico, Central America and Colombia, but these are not the only ones.

For this reason, and after the approval of the Uruguayan law that regulates the production, trade, sale and use of cannabis, we wish to tell the Uruguayan society that they are not alone – their policy reform constitutes hope in our struggle to reform drug policies.

Signatory organisations:

IDPC members in Latin America

1. Acción Técnica Social (ATS)
2. Asociación Costarricense para el Estudio e Intervención en Drogas (ACEID)

3. Asociación de Estudios del Cannabis del Uruguay (AECU)
4. Asuntos del Sur
5. Caribbean Drug Abuse Research Institute (CDARI)
6. Centro de Investigación Drogas y Derechos Humanos (CIDDH)
7. Centro de Respuestas Educativas y Comunitarias A.C. (CRECE)
8. Colegio Médico de Chile
9. Correlation
10. CUPIHD
11. DeJusticia
12. Espolea
13. Intercambios
14. Prolegal/Proderechos
15. Viva Rio
16. Psicotropicus
17. Puente, Investigacion y Enlace (PIE)
18. RAISSS
19. Red Chilena de Reducción de Danos
20. Rede Brasileira de Redução de Danos e Direitos Humanos – REDUC

IDPC members in other regions

21. 12D
22. ADCA
23. Agencia Piaget para o Desenvolvimento (APDES)
24. AIDES
25. AIDS Foundation East West
26. Andean Information Network (AIN)
27. Aksion Plus
28. AKZEPT
29. Alternative Georgia
30. Andreas G. Papandreou Foundation (APF)
31. Andrey Rylkov Foundation for Health and Social Justice
32. Asian Harm Reduction Network (AHRN)
33. Asian Network of People Who Use Drugs (ANPUD)
34. Asia-Pacific Committee on Drug Issues (APDIC)
35. Association Margina
36. Association Prevent
37. ASUD
38. ATUPRET
39. Beckley Foundation
40. Canadian Drug Policy Coalition
41. Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy (CFDP)
42. Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
43. Collectif Urgence Toxida (CUT)
44. DIOGENIS, Drug Policy Dialogue in South
45. Drug Policy Action Group (DPAG)
46. Drug Policy Alliance (DPA)
47. Drug TextFoundation
48. Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN)
49. Federacion Andaluza ENLACE
50. Federation Addiction
51. FINGO DAP /SPYM
52. Forum Droghe
53. French Harm Reduction Association (AFR)
54. GREA- Groupement Romand d'Etudes des Addictions
55. Harm Reduction Coalition
56. Health poverty Action
57. Healthy Options Project Skopje
58. Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU)
59. Illicit Drug Market Institute (IDM)
60. Indonesian Association of Addiction Counselors (IAAC)
61. Indonesian Coalition for Drug Policy Reform (ICDPR)
62. Indonesian Harm Reduction Network (JANGKAR)
63. Initiative for Health Foundation (IHF)
64. International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD)
65. Institute for Policy Studies
66. International AIDS Society
67. International Association for Hospice and Palliative care (IAHPC)
68. International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP)
69. International Doctors for Healthy Drug Policies (IDHDP)
70. International Harm Reduction Development Program, OpenSociety Institute

71. International HIV/AIDS Alliance
72. Kenyan AIDS NGOs Consortium (KANCO)
73. Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit
74. Mainline
75. Malaysian AIDS Council/Malaysian AIDS Foundation
76. Médecins du Monde France (MDM-F)
77. National Rehabilitation Centre in Abu Dhabi (NRC)
78. New Zealand Drug Foundation
79. NGO 4 Life
80. NGO Veza
81. NGO Viktorija
82. Pivot Legal Society
83. PKNI
84. Polish Drug Policy Network
85. PSI
86. Regional Arab Network against AIDS
87. Release
88. Reseau Français de Reduction des Risques
89. Romanian Harm Reduction Network
90. Scottish Drugs Forum
91. Skoun, Lebanese Addiction Center
92. South Eastern European Adriatic Addiction Treatment Network (SEEAN)
93. Students for Sensible Drug Policies (SSDP)
94. Supporting Community Development Initiatives
95. Swedish Drug Users Union (SDUU)
96. Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group
97. The Street Lawyers
98. Transnational Institute (TNI)
99. Transform Drug Policy Foundation
100. Trimbos-Instituut
101. Udruga Terra (Association TerraCroatia)
102. Uganda Harm Reduction Network
103. Unión de Asociaciones y Entidades de Atención al Drogodependiente (UNAD)

104. Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)
105. Women's Harm Reduction international Network (WHRIN)
106. YCC Juventas
107. Youth RISE

Other organisations

108. Movimiento por La Paz con Justicia y Dignidad/Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity. (MPJD) 109. Instituto de Políticas de Drogas y Sostenibilidad, Barcelona
110. Associazione Antigone
111. Fundación Angelica
112. "Global Exchange"
113. Centro Cáritas de Formación para la Atención de las Farmacodependencias y Situaciones Críticas Asociadas A.C. (CAFAC)
114. ReverdeSer Colectivo

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.