The first (*) results of the Brussels convention

by Jean-Luc Robert

When the CORA organized the convention on the costs of prohibition in October 1988 in Brussels, it was undoubtedly a pioneering act. The numerous experts gathered on that occasion were the first to be surprised at seeing that many other people who had examined the problem had reached the same solution: in order to fight drugs it is necessary to legalize them. Many things have changed since then. An antiprohibitionist list has obtained a seat at the European elections in Italy. In Italy, antiprohibitionist candidates have obtained seats in several municipal or regional councils. The International Antiprohibitionist League was able to constitute itself, and currently includes several hundreds of experts and militants from all over the world, in an international-based political movement. In Brussels, from the 16th to the 19th of January last year, an important international convention was held on the initiative of the CORA and of the Free University of Brussels, on the subject: "Prohibition and antiprohibitioni

sm on drugs". The aim was to give an evaluation of the situation and analyse over 70 years of prohibition in detail, investigating each of its aspects and estimating each of its consequences, from an economic, juridical, medical, ethical, sociological and criminological point of view.

In his introduction to the provocatively named talks "Peace to drugs", Professor Francis Caballero from the University of Paris Xième was pleased to prove the numerous violations of freedom and of fundamental rights generated by prohibition: wiretapping, searches without warrants, instigation to delation, violations of the general principle of the presumption of innocence, to mention the most important ones.

The economists attending the convention proved that no (economic) law can justify the persistence of prohibition. They analysed and proved that criminal organizations benefit from the commercial monopoly of illegal drugs, and showed how they successfully transformed themselves into efficient structures for the marketing of such products.

According to the participants, the illegitimacy of the repression of crimes with no victims remains insurmountable from a juridical point of view, and the illustration of the examples of Amsterdam and Liverpool has proved the superiority of a pragmatic, "tolerant" approach toward drug addiction as opposed to strict repression.

From a medical point of view, as Prof. Schwarzenberg, former French Health Minister, explained, the pros of legalization are many: a guarantee of the quality of the product, the possibility of carrying out an effective prevention, etc.

For his part, U.S. prohibitionist Bensinger, a Drug Enforcement Administration official, showed considerable interest toward the Radical theses, and expressed perplexities and even open criticism on the "American" model.

Lastly, it was truly reassuring to hear the Belgian Interior Minister, Louis Tobback, attending the round table, suggest the U.S. representative to draw a bit more inspiration from Marco Pannella's ideas.

(Further articles on the topic in the following issues, with the text of some of the most significant presentations of this convention, editor's note).