[THS] Drug policy should be based on science, not ideology

[The Harder Stuff in news and commentary]

The Canadian Harm Reduction Network invites you to endorse the Vienna
Declaration, a call for evidence-based, public health approaches to drug policies
prepared by an international committee of leading scientists.

Through the application of evidence-based research, health policies are increasingly
being driven by the best available scientific information; however, there remain
critical areas in public health where the gap between evidence and policies persists.
Few areas suffer from this more than illicit drug policy.

We urge you to read the Vienna Declaration and to add your name to the call for
evidence-based drug policy by signing it. It is available at
http://www.viennadeclaration.com/the-declaration/

To date, more than 20,000 individuals and over 400 organizations from around the
world (including the Canadian Harm Reduction Network) have endorsed the Vienna
Declaration. World-wide support sends a strong message to policy-makers that the
overwhelmingly negative consequences of conventional illicit drug policies are a
global concern, and that there is broad-based support for a full policy reorientation.

The 19th biennial International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) will be held in
Washington, DC, the birthplace of the ‘War on Drugs’, in July 2012.  AIDS
2012 is an opportunity to send a strong message to both national governments and
the international community that drug policy must be based on science and
evidence, not ideology.  In the lead-up to the conference, the Vienna Declaration will
be used increasingly to reach out to and educate a range of individuals and
organizations about the need for drug policy reform.  The more people and
organisations signed on to the Declaration, the more persuasive it can be.

As well as signing the Vienna Declaration, please help expand the support for it by
sharing this information with your friends, colleagues and political representatives in
person or via email, Facebook, and Twitter.

For more information about the Vienna Declaration, please visit the website at
http://www.viennadeclaration.com/.