BASICS Issue #22 (Sep/Oct 2010)

by Mike Brito

At the International AIDS conference in Vienna last month, a group of Canadians protested Canada’s lack of support for the Vienna Declaration. At least 50 activists closed down the Canadian government booth at the conference exhibition hall, wrapping it in tape and covering it with signs and copies of the Vienna Declaration, chanting “The war on drugs is a war on us” and “Shame on Canada.”

The Vienna Declaration is the official declaration of the 28th International AIDS conference. The statement is a call to improve community health and safety and to ensure illicit drug policies are based on scientific evidence. The declaration was drafted by a team of international experts, including some of the world’s leading scientific bodies dealing with HIV and drug policy. The declaration has received over 20,000 endorsements including AIDS activist Stephen Lewis, and the former president of Mexico, Ernesto Zedillo, as well as a range of experts in science, medicine and law. Read more…