Petition: 24 hours to end the drug war in the Americas!

News

Petition: 24 hours to end the drug war in the Americas!

5 June 2013

Our continent is bleeding at the hands of organized criminals and drug traffickers, destroying thousands of lives every year. All because the US has forced Latin American governments to carry out failed drug policies that only reward the criminal gangs behind the drug trade.

Now, for the first time in history, Latin American leaders are separating themselves from the extremism of the U.S. and demanding policies that deliver results. In 24 hours, Guatemala will bring together the Heads of State of the region to push for a new proposal that gives each of our countries the freedom to buck the US and adopt drug policies like those that have worked successfully in Europe.

We call on the members of the Organization of American States to heed the recommendations of the new OAS report on drug policy and support the proposal to allow individual countries to experiment with new strategies for curbing drug violence and crime. The current policy regime has failed despite 50 years of trying -- it fuels violent organised crime, devastates lives and is costing us billions. It is time for a humane and effective approach that actually makes our countries and communities safer.

It’s urgent -- high level officials have told us that for all the leaders to agree and have the power to stand up to the US, they need to see a groundswell of public support in the next few hours for changing the failed status quo. Sign the urgent petition and share with everyone -- when we reach 100,000 our voices will be personally delivered to the Guatemalan commission that is leading the summit. Join in.

Click here to sign the urgent petition.

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