Antiprohibitionist action report * June 24th 1996, Year 2 n.2

Radical Antiprohibitionist Coordination

Observatory of laws on drugs

PAA PARLIAMENTARIAN FOR ANTIPROHIBITIONIST ACTION

European campaign for the revision of international conventions

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CORA-ITALY

Via di Torre Argentina 76

00186 ROME

tel: +39-6-689791

fax: +39-6-68805396

E-mail cora.italie@agora.stm.it

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CORA-BELGIUM

Rue Belliard 97

c/o European Parliament

Rem 5.08

1040 BRUSSELS

tel: +32-2-230.41.21 - 646.26.31

fax: +32-2-230.36.70

E-mail cora.belgique@agora.stm.it

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What the drug fighting professionals already know but they do not want to admit and what people should know, is that the prohibitionism has failed. From this issue on, that we will publish periodically, we assemble some report extracts of the OICS (Organ International de Controle des Stupefiants), a U.N. body responsible for the administration of the International Drug Conventions. The chosen articles only cover the analytical side of the matter and this is more than enough to show how the current policy causes these severe problems that are very difficult to treat with governmental measures.

The opposing initiatives will not be published. In fact, only

the drug fighting professionals still believe in the solution of the reality they describe so well. But they only forget one small detail: they describe a realty which is the result of the current drug policies, a reality which is going to get worse as time passes.

A reasonable governor would change the law. A drug fighting crusader looks for impossible solutions. This first issue is about the recycling of the narcomoney. (Letters and numbers at the beginning of each paragraph are the same as in the original text).

A. Fighting money-laundering as an effective way to combat drug trafficking and organized crime

1. International trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances has generated huge amounts of capital for its initiators and organizers. These drug cartels and trafficking groups are organized and structured to function efficiently within national economies, as well as at the international level. The profits derived from their illegal activities are either integrated into the legal economy or are used in corrupt and criminal ways to enhance such activities.

2. No Government and no society should accept, from a moral, ethical or legal point of view, that income could be derived from criminal activities such as drug trafficking and related activities.

3. The prevention of money-laundering represents a challenge to all countries, developed and developing alike, but particularly to fragile or vulnerable economies, which can easily come under the economic and political pressure, or even the control, of criminal groups if their capital has free access to such economies. Such capital has a strong potential for exacerbating corruption in government and in the private sector.

4. Powerful trafficking groups and their financiers might come to have significant influence on politicians, the judicial system, the media and other sectors of society and might impose on the country their own laws, including the "buying of public opinion".

5. Money-laundering entails surreptitiously introducing money of criminal origin into the legitimate channels of a respectable business in order to make it appear normal and legal. In practice, three steps, which may be simultaneous, can be identified:

(a) "Placement" or physical disposing of cash through financial establishments or the retail economy; conversion of cash on the spot into other currencies; or transfer of currency abroad;

(b) "Layering" or multiplying of financial transactions, often involving several countries, to prevent the tracing of illegal proceeds;

(c) "Integration" of income of criminal origin, which, under the guise of investments in economic activity, gives it the appearance of legality.

6. Major cases involving money-laundering are mostly international in nature, requiring a worldwide response.

7. Although the exact figures for money of criminal origin are unknown, they apparently have reached very high levels, as they have been compounded by the cumulative impact of concealed or reinvested funds in economic, social and political areas. Estimates are in the order of several hundred billions of dollars a year and exceed the gross national product of most countries. Most of the money stems from illicit drug production, trafficking and abuse throughout the world.

8. Traffickers are motivated essentially by the pursuit of maximum profits. Drug trafficking results in profits, which in turn are used to increase trafficking, thereby creating a circle that becomes increasingly vicious.

9. Allowing proceeds from drug trafficking to infiltrate a national economy boosts the level of corruption in society. If large sums of such proceeds are invested into a certain part of an industrial or commercial sector, the other parts of that sector either will not be able to compete and will disappear or, in order to remain competitive, will have to adopt similar corrupt practices; thus, the rest of the industrial or commercial sector and the entire economy will eventually become corrupt, and political and social life as a whole will suffer similar consequences.

The original text is available on Internet in the following languages:

- French (http://www.undcp.org/reports/incb95/incb95fr.htm);

- English (http://www.undcp.org/reports/incb95/incb95en.htm);

- Spanish (http://www.undcp.org/reports/incb95/incb95sp.htm).

CORA - THE RADICAL ANTI-PROHIBITIONIST COMMITTEE

BELGIUM * Appeal to the Belgian Parliament Commission for a new policy on drugs.

The collecting of signatures for the appeal to the Parliamentarian Commission, that is discussing the revision of the actual drug laws and is promoted by CORA, continues. We want to point out that among the new signers, there is Prof. Ilya PRIGOGINE, Nobel Prize for Physics and professor at the ULB, Free University of Brussels.

ITALY * June 22th, protest demonstration during the European Summit in Florence.

During the European Summit in Florence, members of the Cora and The Radical Party took part at the protest demonstration organized by the Federalists' European Movement with an enormous sign on which the following was written: "DRUGS: EUROPE LIKE THE NETHERLANDS".

European campaign from the PAA, Parliamentarians for Antiprohibitionist Action, for a revision of the International Conventions on Drugs.

The collecting of adhesions among European Parliamentarians continues. Among the new adhesions there is, Nel Van DIJK, Green, the Netherlands.

NEWS FROM THE WORLD

* FRANCE. The mayor of Rotterdam, Bram Peper, went to Lille with a delegation to meet the city's mayor, Pierre Mauroy. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the problems related to drugs, especially after tensions arose between the two cities.

The Mayor of Rotterdam who is pro-depenalization, emphasized the necessity to prosecute the drug dealers. The two delegations decided to intensify the cooperation and to set meetings every three months.(LE FIGARO, 6/5).

* FRANCE. In Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines) the police distrained 3 cubic meters of boxes which contained bracelets, necklaces and ear-rings decorated with a "presumed" cannabis-leaf drawing. The distraint took place in a store and the owners were charged for selling products that "promote drug use" (LIBERATION, 6/8).

* FRANCE. For the second consecutive year, the Prefecture of Paris has forbidden a demonstration organized by the CIRC, that promotes the depenalization of cannabis and the "free joint". The reason was that "the demonstration promotes the use of drug products". The CIRC protests against the "severe attempt on individual freedom". On March 29th yet, the Paris' Court sentenced the CIRC to pay 30.000 francs and the CIRC President from Ile-de France, Fabienne Lopez, to pay 10.000 francs for organizing illegal demonstrations. (LIBERATION, 6/11).

* GERMANY. In Frankfurt, drug users will be able to get methadon through automatic machines. The automatic machines will be placed in seven big ambulances and every drug user will have his or her own secret code which will allow him or her to get access to the automatic machines. (SUDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG, 6/12).

* U.S.A. In general, the police can stop car drivers for any violation of rules on the road, and also for checking if someone is driving under illegal drug influence. Recently, two car drivers applied to the Supreme Court while they thought that the police violated their personal Constitutional Rights with those type of investigations. The Court refused the claim and sentenced that "any illegal fact reported during a regular police petrol, can be taken into consideration" (INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE, 6/11).

* U.S.A. The latest "fashion" in New York. It is a beep-sound in New York nightlife. A sound that comes from the beepers used by the "pony express" from the artificial paradises that sell drugs in the Big Apple. Herbal ecstasy. G13. Special K. Super Buick. Khat ... Offered for sale also on Internet. What kinds there are. Where they can be used up. What the causes and the risks are. In Italy, the ecstasy consumers are mainly ultra-thirty-years-olds. This "fashion", in continuous growth and not limited to the U.S.A., should be analyzed. (L'ESPRESSO, 6/13).

* ITALY. The Italian philosopher, Gianni Vattino, brings out a new proposal in order to defeat crime in the largest cities. More repression for those who commit crime, but also more antiprohibitionism on drugs and sex. Mr. Vattino declared during a meeting: "Some users made our society devilish; on the contrary, our city Turin should try to organize itself in "an aseptic way", following the example of cities like San Paolo or Hamburg, where the use of drugs and prostitution is restricted to a specific areas. The time has come to reopen those areas". Mr. Vattino also confirmed: "Criminality and deviancy are produced by the policy of prohibitionism". (LA REPUBBLICA, 6/12).

* COLOMBIA. The Cali cartel is undergoing a strong and sanguinary attack by a rival group for the control over the biggest cocaine organization in the world. The war has already made tens of victims. The conclusion of this war is not irrelevant for the entire Colombian cocaine trade; in fact while the Cali Cartel members are spending millions of U.S. dollar in order to get political and judiciary protection, the rival group, led by Ivan Urdinola, is more violent. Moreover, the victory of the rival group could change the trading road from Mexico into the Caribbean and Central America. (HERALD TRIBUNE 6/11).

* U.S.A. The Justice Department started an investigation to check if the American banking system has been used by the former Mexican President, Carlos Salinas, to recycle black money. The investigation, which involves Citybank, starts from the assumption that the money, accumulated by Salinas in the American and Swiss banks, derives from the traffic in narcotics, in particular from the money for the protection of the drug dealers. (FINANCIAL TIMES 06/06).

* PANAMA. The Panama anti-drug responsible, Gabriel Castro, denied that the government party would in any way be involved with the traffic in narcotics. In fact, rumors of presumed illegal financing during the 1994 campaign were reported by the Miami Herald and by the British Times. Mr Gabriel Castro, denying these accusations, says that the newspaper are trying to "Samperize" President Ernesto Perez Balladares and the Government. (EL PAIS, 6/12 and INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE, 6/13).

* SPAIN. The case of a twelve year old heroin user (entrusted to EL PATRIARCA in Cordova) shocked the Spanish public opinion and pushed the PLAN NACIONAL SOBRE DROGAS to announce an ad hoc program for teenagers.

It will be started within the 1997 specific centers for re-education in an open and familiarly atmosphere. The use of synthetic drugs is growing among teenagers but the fact that kids are using heroin is only the result of the extreme social marginalization that these teenagers are experiencing. (EL PAIS, 6/13-14-16).

* COLOMBIA. The progressive dismantlement of the most powerful "drug-cartel" of the world has caused a worrying recession in Cali. According to EL TIEMPO, after the capture of the two bosses Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, the number of unemployed in the city (2 millions of inhabitants) increased from 87.362 (by the end of 1995) to 109.088 (April 1996). More than 210 businesses closed and another 50 drastically reduced the number of employees. (NEUE ZURCHER ZEITUNG, 6/13).

* COLOMBIA. The Colombian Congress denied all the accusations of connivance with the narcotrade related to President Ernesto Samper. The U.S.A., in disagreement with his release, menaces with sanctions if the Colombian government doesn't increase its efforts against the drug trade. President Samper appealed for a national reconciliation and he announced more effective measures against this severe problem. (INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE, LA REPUBBLICA, IL SOLE 24 ORE, THE TIMES, FINANCIAL TIMES, LE FIGARO', 06/14; LE MONDE, NEUE ZARCHER ZEITUNG 06/15; THE ECONOMIST 06/21).

* FRANCE. As pre-announced, in contravention of the police prohibition, a few thousands of people gathered together on June 16th in Parc de la Vilette, in order to express their support for the cannabis legalization. The absence of the police, the celebration of the movement's twentieth anniversary and the determination of the new "alternative" generation, turned the demonstration into an unexpected debate. According to the speaker of the Green Party, Ms Dominique Voynet: "millions of citizens did not identify themselves with the spirit of the demonstration. It is regrettable that our country became the red lantern in the care of drug users". (LIBERATION 06/15-17).

* FRANCE. The president of the International Alliance for the war against drugs, Mr Gabriel Nahas, faces the issue of international legislation. After he recalled all the important steps, from the first Conference on opium in 1912 to the Vienna Convention in 1986, he complains about the permissive atmosphere, during the seventies, which induced jurists, sociologists and economists to apply less severe normatives. These opinions, unfortunately, have been influencing the American policy for several years causing more drug users than in the past. Right now, the wind already turned and both Republicans and Democratics are showing a strong repressive policy. On the contrary, European countries like Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands are adopting less permissive normatives, whereas Sweden and France, contrary to the Netherlands, are not going to legalize cannabis. He ends with blaming the fact that the actual situation is the opposite of the one at the beginning of the century when the South-West Asian

countries and the Islamic Nations allowed people to use drugs (opiates), while today, they respect the U.N. Convention. (LE FIGARO 06/17).

* AUSTRIA. In 1995, the number of drug victims decreased compared to last year: 241 instead of 250. According to a press release from the Minister of the Interior this is the first time since 1989 that the trend has changed. Although the situation can not be considered "reassuring", it may be called stabilized on a high level. The number of crimes related to drugs is 13,093, which means 3,7% more than in 1994, and the drug distraint is 7,5% more than last year. (DIE PRESSE, 06/17).

* GERMANY. According to the magazine "Welt am Sonntag", drug use is increasing. In particular, the drug Ecstasy is more popular, in disco clubs, among young people. In the first four months of this year, 169,841 Ecstasy pills were distrained, which means tree times more than in 1995, during the same amount of time. The trend seams to show the use of more excitant drugs. However, the problem seems to be severe, especially in the Rheinland-Pfalz area. (SUDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG, 06/17)>

* FRANCE/HOLLAND. The crisis between France and the Netherlands seems to be over. In fact, in the past, the French refused to abolish the border control - against the Schengen agreements - unless the Dutch were willing to reduce the amount of coffee-shops and allowing a stronger repression on the drug traffic. Recently, the Dutch showed the intention to accept the French proposals in order to reduce the drug tourism on its own territory. France recognized that the Netherlands are working in the good direction and is waiting for new concrete results. (LE MONDE 06/18 THE EUROPEAN 06/19).

* ITALY. The mayor of Turin, Mr Valentino Castellani, who during a city council declared his support for the legalization of drugs, declared that he was surprised by all the clamor that his own opinion caused and he asked to held a debate on drug. (IL GIORNALE, LA STAMPA 06/18; LA REPUBBLICA 06/18-19; CORSERA 06/19).

The CORA goal is to organize a nonviolent, antiprohibitionist political movement starting with Europe. It is an ambitious goal, above our actual financial capabilities. Our only financial resources come from subscriptions or contributions that citizens pay individually to CORA: not one cent of our budget comes from other organizations or institutions. This financial weakness is our strength and our political freedom. This allows us to act on what we consider the most urgent and urgent and correct. With a view to the VIIth CORA congress, which will be held in Brussels in November, we want to establish a network of contacts and personal disposals to change the existing laws on drugs. In consequent we ask you to fill out and return this following form by mail or by fax or by sending us the answers by e-mail.

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