The CDPC is proud to join together with the Beckley Foundation, Virgin Unite, Sundog Pictures, Avaaz.org, The Global Commission on Drugs, and civil society NGO’s from around the world in calling for a fundamental review of global strategies in response to drugs.
Breaking the taboo is a bold new international challenge. At the heart of the initiative is a groundbreaking documentary film that uncovers the UN sanctioned war on drugs, charting its origins and its devastating impact on countries like the USA, Colombia and Russia. Narrated by Morgan Freeman and featuring prominent statesmen including Presidents Clinton and Carter, the film follows The Global Commission on Drug Policy on a mission to break the political taboo and expose the biggest failure of global policy in the last 50 years.
We encourage you to get involved, read the Beckley Foundation letter, sign the AVAAZ Campaign, and join the conversation on twitter using the hashtag #breakingthetaboo.
Global commissioner on drug policy Richard Branson hopes “this film will open people’s eyes on the war on drugs and the failed war on drugs and make it easier for people who want to be brave and do something about it.” Among those featured are Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos and former US president Bill Clinton, who admits bluntly that the US-led war on drugs in Colombia “hasn’t worked”. Clinton also talks about the need for rehabilitation rather than incarceration when dealing with people with addictions. Sir Richard said countries such as Portugal and Spain, where drug users receive treatment rather than being jailed, provide a template. He believes that legalisation of cannabis is “inevitable”. “I have hardly ever come across a politician that won’t say – off the record – what needs to be done … in the end they just need to be brave,” he said.
