Your brain, Your body, Your choice Matthijs Pontier, Ph.D Drugs in Debate / Pirate Party NL Psy-Fi 2016, 27-8-2016 2. Taboo  Taboo on recreational drug use 3. Taboo „I made a few mistakes on purpose. Otherwise they may be suspicious because I know that much about drugs”, says Rob as he walks away from the infostand of Unity drug education at the dancefestival Free Your Mind in Arnhem  Taboo makes drug education more difficult 4. Crime ‘Ridiculous’ laws such as drug prohibition  People lose respect for laws and judicial system Life / career prospects of drug users who don’t harm anybody are destroyed 5. Decriminalization did not increase drug use • NL relatively liberal, but low drug use numbers: • Often cannabis: NL 6,1% UK 10,8% USA 12,6% • Especially problem-use NL lower than neighbouring countries • International analysis effects drug prohibition: “No effect at all!! Only Harm Reduction is effective” • Study on increased repression NL: “Repression does not influence the amount of production, trade and use, but it does influence the way that this happens” Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, PsyFi 2016 6. Crime  Drug prohibition  Illegal, black market  Emergence organized crime  75% organized crime focused on production and trade of drugs  Police NL: 94% organized crime related to cannabis  Drug money finances other criminal activities  Drug money is being laundered  corruption Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, PsyFi 2016 7. Crime Since War on Drugs drug-prices have gone down Since War on Drugs, drug-use has gone up Even in prisons drugs are available Even organized drug trade coordinated from prison 8. Crime Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, PsyFi 2016 9. Crime Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, PsyFi 2016 10. Civil wars 11. Financial costs to society  Societal costs drug-related crime NL: 17 billion / year Police spend over 50% of their time on enforcing drug laws Detectives spend 75% of their time on enforcing drug laws  Illegal drug market worldwide $300-800 billion / year 12. Science  Professor David Nutt: ‘Outlawing drugs is the worst case of scientific censorship since the Catholic Church banned the works of Galileo' 13. Drugs are medicines LSD, Mushrooms vs Addiction (alcohol/tobacco) Cannabis against symptoms MS, cancer, etc. MDMA against PTSD MDMA for relation therapy Ketamine against depression Ibogaine against addiction 14. Health  Varying strengths  Polluted drugs  Misinformation 15. Improvements!  Portugal: After decriminalization 2001:  Problem use reduced by 50%  Drug deaths reduced: 400  290 per year  Drug use among youth reduced  Low cannabis use compared to rest EU  Percentage drug users among AIDS-patients reduced: 56%  20%  Number of addicts being treated doubled  No drug tourism has emerged Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016 16. Drug prohibition not based on harms

1. Your brain, Your body,
Your choice
Matthijs Pontier, Ph.D
Drugs in Debate / Pirate Party NL
Psy-Fi 2016, 27-8-2016

2. Taboo

Taboo on recreational drug use

3. Taboo
„I made a few mistakes on purpose. Otherwise
they may be suspicious because I know that
much about drugs”, says Rob as he walks
away from the infostand of Unity drug education
at the dancefestival Free Your Mind in Arnhem
 Taboo makes drug education more difficult

4. Crime
‘Ridiculous’ laws such as drug prohibition 
People lose respect for laws and judicial
system
Life / career prospects of drug users who don’t
harm anybody are destroyed

5. Decriminalization did not
increase drug use
• NL relatively liberal, but low drug use numbers:
• Often cannabis: NL 6,1% UK 10,8% USA 12,6%
• Especially problem-use NL lower than neighbouring countries
• International analysis effects drug prohibition:
“No effect at all!! Only Harm Reduction is effective”
• Study on increased repression NL:
“Repression does not influence the amount of
production, trade and use, but it does influence the
way that this happens”
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, PsyFi 2016

6. Crime

Drug prohibition  Illegal, black market

Emergence organized crime

75% organized crime focused on
production and trade of drugs

Police NL: 94% organized crime related to
cannabis

Drug money finances other criminal activities

Drug money is being laundered  corruption
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, PsyFi 2016

7. Crime
Since War on Drugs drug-prices have gone down
Since War on Drugs, drug-use has gone up
Even in prisons drugs are available
Even organized drug trade coordinated from prison

8. Crime
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, PsyFi 2016

9. Crime
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, PsyFi 2016

10. Civil wars

11. Financial costs to society

Societal costs drug-related crime NL: 17 billion / year
Police spend over 50% of their time on enforcing drug laws
Detectives spend 75% of their time on enforcing drug laws

Illegal drug market worldwide $300-800 billion / year

13. Science

Professor David Nutt: ‘Outlawing drugs is the worst
case of scientific censorship since the Catholic
Church banned the works of Galileo'

14. Drugs are medicines
LSD, Mushrooms vs Addiction
(alcohol/tobacco)
Cannabis against symptoms MS, cancer, etc.
MDMA against PTSD
MDMA for relation therapy
Ketamine against depression
Ibogaine against addiction

15. Health

Varying strengths

Polluted drugs

Misinformation

16. Improvements!

Portugal: After decriminalization 2001:

Problem use reduced by 50%

Drug deaths reduced: 400  290 per year

Drug use among youth reduced

Low cannabis use compared to rest EU

Percentage drug users among AIDS-patients
reduced: 56%  20%

Number of addicts being treated doubled

No drug tourism has emerged
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016

17. Drug prohibition not based on harms

NL:13x more alcoholics than drug addicts

1M anti-depressives, 800k alcohol, 9k cannabis

NL: 5x more Alcohol deaths vs Drug deaths

NL: 333x more Tobacco deaths vs Drug deaths

B: alcohol costs society 2x more than illegal drugs

US: 5x more paracetamol deaths vs XTC deaths

David Nutt: horse riding more dangerous vs XTC
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, PsyFi 2016

20. Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, PsyFi 2016

21. Drug prohibition not based on harms
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016

22. Drug prohibition not based on
harm to others either

23. Relative harm
Public and politicians are badly informed
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016

24. Why be tougher on ENDS than cigarettes!?

25. Addiction

Illegal drugs are not
necessarily more addictive

Not everyone gets addicted
to addictive drugs

26. Environment

Unregulated, illegal production
 Toxic drug waste dumped in forest
 Rainforest demolished

27. Discrimination Drug users
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016

28. Drug prohibition
& Racial profiling

29. Freedom

Drug use is ‘victimless crime’

Drug laws violate right to self-determination

Drug use can be beneficial:

Having fun our even therapeutic experiences

Study (Muller & Schumann, 2012):

Most drug use provides more pros than cons

Only a fraction of drug use is problematic

Study: Also without rules we behave well
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016

30. Freedom

Drug use harms yourself at most

We also don’t punish other risky activities
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016

31. How could this happen?
• Opium wars China vs UK
• China wants to get rid of opium UK, gets support USA
• UK was competitor USA  USA cuts income competitor
• UK demands: also ban coke, will cut income Germany
 Strategy to slow down process
• Cannabis prohibition: international top Egypt
• Alcohol prohibition just failed  Hunt for cannabis instead
• Not on agenda, not discussed, accepted to get it over with
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016

32. How could this happen?
• Propaganda: Repress minorities
• Opium mainly used by Chinese
• Cannabis used in USA by Mexican and Indian
immigrants, black jazz artists
• Qat used by Somalians

33. Who benefits from prohibition?
1. Drug lords, gangs and terrorists: Money
2. Privatized law enforcement and prisons: Money
3. Politicians: Opportunism. Tough talk  Votes
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016

34. Who pays for the lobby?
• Who pays for campaigns against cannabis legalization?
1.Privatized police & prison
2.Alcohol industry
3.Pharmaceutical industry

35. How can we do better?

Breaking the taboo  Fuel societal
debate

Education and sharing of knowledge
can stop stigmatization and reduce
drug harms

36. Improvement!

Cannabis legalized in 5 states US and Uruguay

Decriminalization / Cannabis Social Clubs

Latin America increases pressure on USA
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016

37. Online drug market
• 2012: Silk Road 4.5%-9% marketshare drug market
• GDS2014: 22% UK drug users bought drugs online
• 10% did so for the first time
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016

38. Reasons for using
Online drug market
Harm Reduction, Safety and Consumer choice
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016

39. Anonymous online drug market
• More efficient supply-chain
• Transparency in the supply chain
• More privacy for consumers
• Decentralization prevents power-concentration
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016

40. Legal market

Anonymous market places move part of the
supply-chain to legal market

End goal: Legalize all steps

41. Future vision

We look at drug use as any other ‘normal’ riskful
activity, such as horseriding or motorcycling

Drugs are legalized, so we can regulate them
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016

42. Crime in future vision

Police has time to go after thieves, killers and rapists

Organized crime reduced by 2/3 (cf. alcohol prohibition)

Money laundering and corruption drastically reduced
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016

43. Public health in future
 Drugs are sold at special salespoints
 With information brochure, like medicines
 With educated salesman
 Regulated market  Standardized products
 OD’s reduced to a minimum

44. Cannabis Social Clubs
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016

45. Economy in the future

Illegale market transformed to legal market that
contributes to economy

More legal jobs  Less spending on social security

No unnecessary spending on law enforcement,
justice system, punishments

Increased income from taxes

Through fair-trade drugs coca-farmers get a fair price

Through eco-drugs more sustainable drug economy

46. Freedom

Your brain! Your body! Your choice!

No discrimination of drug users
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016

47. Pirate party: Drug legalization and
Decentralization of Power

48. We are winning!

Within 50 years, people will not understand why
we ever prohibited drugs. Just as we do now
about homosexuality and women voting

Be part of the change? Contact us!
@Matthijs85
Matthijs Pontier
matthijs@piratenpartij.nl
Matthijs Pontier
Drugs in Debat
@DrugsInDebat
Matthijs Pontier, Your Brain, Your Body, Your Choice, Psy-Fi 2016