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DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260611T060000
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SUMMARY:Social Justice Lecture Series : Ecological Harm Reduction: Reimagining Drug Policy with Clemmie James
DESCRIPTION:What if drug policy wasn’t just a health or legal issue\, but a climate issue too? \n\n\n\nIn this powerful and eye-opening talk\, Clemmie reveals how drug prohibition is not only failing to reduce harm\, but is also quietly driving deforestation\, environmental destruction\, and social injustice across some of the most fragile ecosystems on the planet. \n\n\n\nFocusing on the global coca and cocaine economy\, this talk uncovers how prohibition has created a vast\, unregulated market that fuels illegal mining\, land grabbing\, and violence\, particularly in regions like the Amazon. The communities most affected are often Indigenous peoples and smallholder farmers\, who are criminalised for their traditional practices while being pushed off lands that are critical to protecting biodiversity and tackling climate change. \n\n\n\nBut this isn’t just a story of harm\, it’s also about possibility. \n\n\n\nClemmie introduces the concept of “teacher plants” such as coca\, cannabis\, and poppy\, plants that have been used for generations in Indigenous cultures for healing\, spirituality\, and sustaining relationships with the natural world. Rather than recognising their value\, modern drug policies have reduced them to illicit commodities\, breaking vital cultural and ecological connections. \n\n\n\nThe talk also explores an innovative new approach: Ecological Harm Reduction\, developed by the International Coalition for Drug Policy Reform and Environmental Justice. This fresh framework challenges us to rethink drug policy as part of a wider system of environmental and social justice\, one that protects ecosystems\, respects Indigenous knowledge\, and supports sustainable\, community-led economies. \n\n\n\nAt a time of escalating climate crisis\, Clemmie makes a compelling case: without rethinking prohibition\, efforts to protect the planet may continue to fall short. \n\n\n\nJoin us for a thought-provoking discussion that connects drug policy\, climate justice\, and Indigenous rights and invites us to imagine a future rooted in care\, balance\, and sustainability.
URL:https://ahead.mmu.ac.uk/event/reimagining-drug-policy-clemmie-james/
LOCATION:Geoffrey Manton Building\, Rosamond St West\, Manchester\, M15 6EB
CATEGORIES:AHEAD,Talks
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