A Call for Drug War Truce with Peace Negotiations

Preamble: No civilized nation makes war on its own citizens. We, the people, did not declare war on our government nor do we wish to fight its Drug War. Hence, we now petition for redress of grievances, as follows:

Whereas any just government derives its authority from a respect of the People's rights and powers; and

Whereas the government has resorted to unilateral military force in the Drug War without any good faith effort to negotiate a peace settlement;

Therefore, we hereby call for a Drug War Truce during which to engage our communities and governments in peace negotiations, under the following terms:

Article 1: The United States shall withdraw from, repudiate, or amend any and all international Treaties or agreements limiting its ability to alter domestic drug policy.

Article 2: No patient shall be prosecuted nor any health care professional penalized for possession or use of any mutually agreed upon medications.

Article 3: Drug policy shall henceforth protect all fundamental rights, as described below:

1. Each person retains all his inalienable Constitutional, and Human Rights, without exception. No drug regulation shall violate these rights.

2. The benefit of the doubt shall always be given to the accused and to any property or assets at risk. Courts shall allow the accused to present directly to the jury any defense based on these Rights; and explanation of motive, or any mitigating circumstances, such as religion, culture, or necessity.

3. No victim: no crime. The burden of proof and corroboration in all proceedings shall lie with the government. No secret witness nor paid testimony shall be permitted in court, including that of any government agent or informant who stands to materially gain through the disposition of a drug case or forfeited property. No civil asset forfeiture shall be levied against a family home or legitimate means of commercial livelihood.

4. Issues of entrapment, government motive, and official misconduct shall all be heard by the jury in any drug case, civil or criminal. Government agents who violate the law are fully accountable and shall be prosecuted accordingly.

5. Mandatory minimum sentences undermine our system of justice. The jury shall be informed of all penalties attached to any offense before deliberating a verdict. Courts shall have the discretion to reduce penalties in the interest of justice.

Artice 4: We propose a Drug War Truce and call for the immediate release of all non-violent and, aside from drug charges involving adults only, law-abiding citizens.

Article 5: No non-violent drug charges involving adults only shall be enforced or prosecuted until all parties have agreed to, and implemented, a drug policy based on full respect for fundamental Rights and personal responsibility.

"The war is being waged by a large number of unrelated interests, by millions of people, and it is being fought largely within the United States. It is the first full-scale instance of American citizens fighting American citizens in a battle fought on domestic soil in over a century. The last conflict of this size was the 1861 Civil War, or the War between the States, which consumed our energies and wealth, and destroyed so many of our youth in that four year period. But our present war has been underway now for well over a decade, and there is no victory in sight. The intensity and costs have been continuously increasing, and the suffering and damage from it is without precedent."

Alexander Shulgin, TiHKAL