Anyone's Child

Could be a casualty of the

war on drugs

It’s time for drug laws that protect our families

Anyone’s Child is a group of families whose relatives have died, disappeared or been locked up as a result of the war on drugs.

No one doubts that drugs can be dangerous – that’s why we should do all we can to prevent children and young people from taking them. But banning drugs and criminalising those who get involved with them causes even more harm.

Drug-gang violence, countless lives ruined by criminal records for possession, and entirely avoidable deaths from contaminated street drugs – the damage caused by the current approach can no longer be ignored.

We need to move beyond fear, discrimination and punishment, and towards drug laws that are centred around honesty, compassion and health.

If your child had a problem with drugs,

what do you think would help them most?

A doctor's appointment

OR

A criminal record

Mijn zus had wellicht nog geleefd, ware het niet dat onze onmenselijke drugswetgeving dit heeft verhinderd.
Leen
My sister might still be here if it weren’t for inhumane drug laws
Leen
I lost my brother because his drug use was criminalised and stigmatised.
Peter
Read more stories

How the war on drugs endangers families in Belgium

Fact 1

In Belgium, there are currently no drug consumption rooms, take-home naloxone programmes or heroin-assisted treatment available to reduce drug-related harms and save lives.

Traces of cocaine in wastewater indicate that cocaine use in cities in Belgium is the highest in European.

Lethal MDMA pills of over 300mg have been circulating around Belgian festivals this summer. Such potent pills would not exist under legal regulation.

There have been a number of deaths in Belgium caused by novel opioids which were sold as new psychoactive substances (NPS) on the internet. Users may be misinformed about what substance they are taking and how much to take. These deaths are unnecessary and avoidable.
Get the facts

Commissaris Voorkempen pleit voor legalisering drugs

atv

Reflections about the Commission on Narcotic Drugs March 2017 (CND)

Anyone’s Child

Legaliseer cannabis en andere drugs

De Standaard

Politiecommissaris pleit voor legalisering van alle drugs: “De war on drugs werkt niet”

VRT

Politiecommissaris pleit voor legalisering van alle drugs: “De war on drugs werkt niet”

HLN

How the war on drugs harms children and young people

Get the facts

Supporters of the drug war claim it protects children and young people. But the evidence shows otherwise.

Get the facts

Peter Muyshondt discussing legal cannabis cultivation in Amsterdam: “It is the only way forwards.”

Take the pledge

I pledge to spread the word about the need to reform our failed drug laws. I will tell my friends, family and politicians how the war on drugs is harming children and young people, rather than protecting them. I will encourage people to look at the evidence and consider alternative approaches – such as decriminalisation and legal regulation – that are based on care, not criminalisation.

* = required field

We should do everything we can to

prevent children from taking drugs,

but if they still do, which would you rather they took?

Drugs that are:

- Of known strength & purity

- Produced in accordance

with strict medical standards

- Available with health warnings &

safe dosage information

OR

Drugs that are:

- Of unknown strength & purity

- Cut with dangerous adulterants

- Produced by organised criminals

- Being sold to fund conflict

& corruption

"I am heartened by a touching new project in the UK.
Launched by Transform Drug Policy Foundation,
Anyone's Child: Families for Safer Drug Control
seeks to put a human face on the costs of the war on drugs
and show the public that it is the current approach which
is endangering their children, and that
legal regulation would help keep them safe."
Sir Richard Branson