Last week, a record-breaking 205 cities in 93 countries joined the Support Don’t Punish campaign’s ‘Global Day of Action’. Activists, members of affected communities and allies joined a wonderfully-broad range of events and activities around the globe to decry the harmful, anachronistic, policies that structure the harmful war on drugs.
From a concert/debate in Brussels, to a float parade in Accra, through drug user gatherings in Kuala Lumpur and round-tables in Medellín, people took to public spaces with courage and ingenuity; demanding drug policies that are anchored in public health and human rights.
The Global Day of Action takes place on 26th June, which is the United Nations’ International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking – a day when governments typically celebrate their Pyrrhic “success” in enforcing the global drug control regime. Behind the self-congratulatory rhetoric of seizures and arrests, lays a trail of devastation. Families torn, prison overcrowding, increasing overdose deaths and HIV transmission among people who use drugs, just to name a few.
As a wave of reactionary, oppressive, thinking seems to sweep our nations, the strength of this fifth Global Day of Action showed there’s a vibrant, global, movement that will not be coerced.
Check out this album for a sample of the amazing photos that we have received from our local partners.
