Founded in Paris on 30 January 30 1993, by Francis Caballero, the Movement for Controlled Legalization (MLC in French) numbers about 100 members. The MLC acts in the field mainly by actions in court. MLC lawyers successfully defend users and bring to the attention of public opinion the failure of prohibition, its contradictions and perverse effects.

SINCE the extent and the increase of illicit drug trafficking have disastrous economic, social, judicial and public health consequences;

OBSERVING, from an economic point of view, that there are links between drug trafficking and other organized criminal activities, such as arms trafficking and terrorism, threatening the stability, safety and sovereignty of the States; that they are favoured by the prohibition of drugs that finances cartels and mafias, promotes corruption and contaminates the banking system; that drug money laundering perverts the world's economy; that the cost of this prohibition increases constantly; that police agents and ustoms officers are unable to intercept more than 10% of the total of drugs circulating;

OBSERVING, from a social point of view, that drug prohibition induces an increase in criminality and delinquency, caused by the artificial price increase of some drugs, that can lead to aggressions against individuals and goods, to prostitution and re-selling by the users, that the number of users and drug addicts has been steadily increasing over the years; that the population segments that are the most severely hit by prohibition are the least favoured and are often the victims of discriminatin, or even racism, when it comes to applying the law;

OBSERVING, from a judicial point of view, that drug prohibition generates a constant repression against citizens, in discordance with civil and human rights; that especially the imprisonment of drug users is in contradiction with the article 4 of the Human Rights Declaration that proclaims that: "Freedom; consists in the right of doing everything that doesn't harm others"; that drug prohibition creates a right of exception that threatens individual freedom; that drug offences generate an overcrowding of prisons all over the world; that the inadequacy of the Law to treat the social problem inspires a lack of confidence of citizens in the law and its application;

OBSERVING, from a medical point of view, that drug prohibition generates very severe consequences for both users and Public Health; that it represents the main obstacle to an efficient information, prevention and treatment policy; that because the unreliable quality of the products is one of the main causes of death by overdose; that the prohibition of syringe sale, and the permanent difficulty of obtaining them is responsible for a significant number of victims; that consequently, numerous drug addicts are seropositive; that their marginalization isolates them from treatment structures and favours disastrous sanitary practice, spreading diseases like hepatitis and AIDS;

the goal of the association is to promote a policy of controlled legalization as an alternative to prohibition and drug repression, by trying to reconcile the respect of individual freedom with the safety of the general public.

The association would also like to develop information, research and debate on anti-drug abuse policies, together with the antiprohibitionist organizations in France and abroad and take action for:

-the modification of the treaties, laws, regulations and guidelines on the prohibition of drug production, trade, and use.

-the abrogation of the law of December 31, 1970 and its replacement with a regulation taking into account the specification and the danger level of each substance.

-the recognition of the user's rights, particularly the right to be treated without restrictions or constraints.

Finally, its vocation is to organize the defence of the persons prosecuted for offences against drug legislation, and to bring before civil, penal, and administrative authorities, all actions related to the interest that it has the mission to defend.