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Drug policy reform, also known as drug law reform, is any proposed changes to the way governments respond to the socio-cultural influence on perception of psychoactive substance use. Proponents of drug policy reform believe that prohibition of drugs—such as cannabis, opioids, cocaine, amphetamines and hallucinogens—has been ineffectual and counterproductive. They argue that, rather than using laws and enforcement as the primary means to responding to substance use, governments and citizens would be better served by reducing harm and regulating the production, marketing, and distribution of currently illegal drugs in a manner similar to (or some would say better than) how alcohol and tobacco are regulated. Proponents of drug law reform argue that relative harm should be taken into account in the scheduling of controlled substances. Addictive drugs such as alcohol, tobacco and caffeine have been a traditional part of Western culture for centuries and are legal, when in fact the first two are more harmful than some substances scheduled under Schedule I.〔(World health report 2002: reducing risks, promoting healthy life )〕〔(Report by the Dutch Government Stating Psilocybin's Relative Harmlessness )〕 The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a branch of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, rated the hallucinogen psilocybin (Schedule I) less toxic than Aspirin.〔 The Dutch government found this also to be true.〔 The addictive properties of the drug nicotine in tobacco are often compared with heroin or cocaine,〔(American Heart Association ) and Nicotine addiction.〕 but tobacco is legal, even though the World Health Organization (WHO) in the 2002 World Health Report estimates that in developed countries, 26% of male deaths and 9% of female deaths can be attributed to tobacco smoking.〔 According to the American Heart Association, "Nicotine addiction has historically been one of the hardest addictions to break." The pharmacologic and behavioral characteristics that determine tobacco addiction are similar to those that determine addiction to drugs such as heroin and cocaine.〔 ==History of drug policy reform== Initial attempts to change the punitive drug laws which were introduced all over the world from the late 1800s onwards were primarily based around recreational use. Timothy Leary was one of the most prominent campaigners for the legal and recreational use of LSD. In 1967, a "Legalise pot" rally was held in Britain.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.tdpf.org.uk/Policy_Timeline.htm )〕 However, as death toll from the drug war rose, other organisations began to form to campaign on a more political and humanitarian basis. The Drug Policy Foundation formed in America and Release, a charity which gives free legal advice to drugs users and currently campaigns for drug decriminalization, also incorporated in the 1970s. Today, the focus of the world's drug policy reform organisations is on the promotion of harm reduction in the Western World, and attempting to prevent the catastrophic loss of human life in developing countries where much of the world's supply of heroin, cocaine, and marijuana are produced. Drug policy reform advocates point to failed efforts such as the Mexican Drug War, which according to some observers has claimed as many as 80,000 lives, as signs that a new approach to drug policy is needed. In 2014 within the European Union, a European Citizens' Initiative called ''Weed like to talk'' was launched with the aim of starting a debate in Europe about the legalization of the production, sale and use of marijuana in the European Union and finding a common policy for all EU member states.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://weedliketotalk.wix.com/wltt#!-propos1/c22jk )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://weedliketotalk.wix.com/wltt )〕 As of June 30, 2014, the initiative has collected 100,000 signatures from citizens in European member states. Should they reach 1 million signatures, from nationals of at least one quarter of the member states, the European Commission will be required to initiate a legislative proposal and a debate on the issue. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「drug policy reform」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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