Opinion: From Aid Worker and Researcher to Criminal: A Cannabis Social Club Inside story
Belgium, June 2019: I am convicted along with nineteen other pioneers, based on the 1921 drug law. As a doctor in medical science, researcher, nurse and former humanitarian aid worker, I am all of a sudden demoted to an ordinary criminal, convicted to fifteen months in prison for my volunteering in an Antwerp Cannabis Social Club. After a century of the war on drugs, isn’t it time for a change, especially when it comes to cannabis? On January 27 2021, the third lawsuit appeal will take place against the defendants of the non-profit organisation “Trekt Uw Plant”*. This is remarkable for two reasons. First, last month the United Nations reclassified cannabis as a less dangerous drug. Second, the Belgian drug legislation will celebrate its centenary in February. The latter led to a civil movement directed by professionals from drug prevention and drug care. Smart on Drugs and Stop1921 are campaigning in favour of the Cannabis Social Club concept.