On Thursday June 26th, people will take to the streets, the internet, the airwaves, and public plazas in more than 80 cities around the world to protest harmful drug laws at the root of violence and mass incarceration.
The Support. Don’t Punish: Global Day of Action seeks to promote a more effective and humane approach to drugs that is based on public health and human rights.
The campaign was organized by a coalition of NGOs calling on governments to put an end to the expensive and counter-productive war on drugs. According to estimates, the drug war costs in excess of $100 billion annually to enforce and has failed to diminish drug markets or reduce use.
These events are a counterpunch to the United Nation’s International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The United Nation’s anti-drug day gives rise to violent crackdowns and to promote harsh punishment in many countries, like China, which has recently announced the execution of 20 drug offenders.
In the Bay Area, Global Exchange has partnered with Silicon Valley De-Bug to produce the video above that shows the Drug War’s damaging impact on one American family.
The Support. Don’t Punish: Global Day of Action is the first step in building a major civil society mobilization to end the Drug War aimed to impact policy makers from around the world during the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Narcotic Drugs in 2016.