Trinity College Dublin, National University of Ireland Galway, and University College Cork. Speaking on the tour will be Canadian cannabis activist Marc Emery and Portugese drug policy coordinator Dr. João Goulão.
The events will be ticketed at a small fee and are open to anyone. They aim to provide a discussion on international drug policy for students, policy-makers, and professionals in the areas of drugs and drug addiction. Marc Emery, the “Prince of Pot,” will undergo his first tour since his release from a 5-year prison sentence in August 2014, following his extradition to the United States for selling cannabis seeds in Canada. Emery established Cannabis Culture Magazine, Pot TV, the BC Marijuana Policy, and Marc Emery’s Cannabis Culture Headquarters based in Vancouver.
Dr. João Goulão was part of the committee that advised the Portugese government to decriminalize the personal possession of all drugs in 1999, which lead to the subsequent reform of drug laws permitting up to 10-days worth of all drugs. Goulão has been the Chairman of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction since 2009 and a delegate for the annual United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
Event organizer and SSDP Board Member Graham de Barra stated that “we welcome policymakers in Ireland to see the results of drug decriminalization in Portugal. Portugal had the highest rate of HIV among injecting drug users in all of Europe before the change in law. Now the rate of drug use among 15-24 year olds has halved and drug-related deaths have dropped from 400 in 1999 to 290 in 2006.”
For more information, you can contact Graham at graham@ssdp.org or 00-41-76-482-87-18 or Seán Lynch at 089-234-1021.
By Jake Agliata
Source: ssdp.org
