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Why is Europe refusing to change course on drugs?
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Regions
Publication date:
Is Europe being left behind? Sometimes it feels that way. In the US, Colorado and Washington have regulated recreational cannabis use, with Oregon and Alaska following suit. Uruguay is doing the same. Latin America leaders across the continent are turning against the war on drugs.
So it can be somewhat dispiriting to see such little progress in Europe. As the world changes, it feels as if Europe is in stasis.
(...)
But a briefing paper by Tom Blickman of the Transnational Institute shows that below the surface there is a vibrant and optimistic push for drug law reform in Europe. At its heart is the Cannabis Social Club movement. Above them are the local and regional authorities who are advocating change. The ingredients are there for grassroots change, even if national authorities often refuse to recognise the spectacular failure of the policy they have been pursuing for 50 years.