That's the message of a new British advertising campaign for drugs policy reform. And I suspect it's a phrase we'll be hearing more about in the coming months as marijuana legalization, or at least pot decriminalization, reaches a tipping point here and abroad. The campaign is sponsored by Release, "the national centre of expertise on drugs and drugs law":
* Over a third of adults in England & Wales have used illicit drugs
* More people have used cannabis than voted for Labour at the last election
* 13,000 children were arrested for drug offences in 2006/07
* Over 1 million adults used class A drugs last yearRelease specialises in drugs and drugs law and has over 40 years experience defending the rights of drug users. We have lawyers, policy advocates and drugs experts working full time to move our society towards a more sensible approach to managing drugs, but WE NEED YOUR HELP.
It is time that we demanded that politicians and the media have a realistic and honest discussion about drugs. It's time to shift the debate - we need laws that are fair, information that is accurate and a debate that is meaningful.
The statistically backed observation that many people like you, your friends, your favorite musicians, and quite possibly your parents use recreational substances responsibly is the obvious kicker to the simple fact that the war on (some) drugs is, after several decades, an abject failure both economically and sociologically and should be dismantled ASAP.