For the last eight years, efforts by Support. Don’t Punish campaigners have materialised with great dedication around a Global Day of Action, observed annually on 26 June. This day is also the the United Nations’ International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Historically, this date has been used by governments to showcase drug control “achievements” in coercive terms that have no positive impact on communities’ well-being.
From grandstanding declarations of war, to burning displays of seized drugs, and even public trials where people criminalised for drug offences are sent off for execution, the gruesome theatrics of the “war on drugs” glorify violence and punishment over human dignity and rights.
To shift the day’s narrative and advance effective, achievable solutions to drug-related challenges, every year, an increasing number of campaigners in hundreds of cities worldwide join this unique, diverse show of force for change.
(Cover photo by Acción Técnica Social – Colombia)