The “No Place for Drugs” Commitment

NSW Parliament House on the 23rd June 2009

Co-sponsored by Drug Free Australia and Women’s Federation for World Peace

The coalition of civil society actors, concerned individuals and public servants participating in the June 23rd, 2009 Community Forum at the NSW Parliament House,

Recalling with gratitude, the 100 years of international efforts to control drug trading,

Commending the ongoing work of the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, the International Narcotics Control Board and the international community of nations for their efforts to curtail the use and availability of illicit drugs,

Bearing in mind the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) international campaign which runs from 2007 to 2009, to inspire people and mobilize support for drug control and raise awareness of the major problem that illicit drugs represent to society and especially to young people,

Recognizing that teenagers and young adults are particularly vulnerable to using illicit drugs with the prevalence of drug use among young people being more than twice as high as that among the general population and that alcohol and drug-related deaths among indigenous people are 21 times higher than in the overall population

Recalling that at this age, peer pressure to experiment with illicit drugs can be strong, that self-esteem is usually undeveloped and that those who take drugs tend to be either misinformed or insufficiently aware of the health risks involved,

We the under signed are determined to work to ensure a healthy, happy, productive and creative life for all people free from the debilitating control of drugs and therefore stand with the United Nation’s Drug reduction policy and with one another, commit to the goals of the campaign and in particular to:

1. Mark the 21st anniversary of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking with this  “No Place for Drugs” Commitment,
    
2. Bring the international campaign "Do illicit drugs control your life? Your life. Your community. No place for drugs" to NSW communities, communicating that the destructive effects of illicit drugs concern us all;
    
3. Increase awareness that illicit drug use use harms individuals, families and society at large and that while drugs control the body and mind of individual consumers, drug crops and drug cartels control farmers, and trafficking and crime controls communities;
   
   
4. Support the UNODC’s “Health comes first” approach by:
   
   
   1. Reaching out to young people, who often talk about the "highs" induced by illicit drugs but may not be aware of the many "lows" and the accompanying threat to their physiological and emotional/mental health;
      
      
   2. Providing young people and others with tools to educate themselves about the health risks associated with illicit drug use.
      
      
   3. Increasing awareness that leading a healthy lifestyle requires making choices that are respectful of body and mind and that to make these choices, young people need guidance from role models and need to get the facts about drug use.
      
      
5. Provide the facts about drugs focusing on the drugs that Member States have decided to limit exclusively to medical and scientific purposes, given the adverse effects their abuse and trafficking have on health and society. These illicit drugs include amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), coca/cocaine, cannabis, hallucinogens, opiates, and sedative hypnotics.

A list of all the individuals who have signed this commitment is available here.