New documentary reveals systemic failure in rights protection
How does the constitution affect drug policy? Have governments fulfilled their obligations to the persecuted groups? What about the European Court of Human Rights?
New documentary reveals betrayal and a fight for legal certainty.
On September 7, Life Liberty Productions released Mikalsen v Norway: Moving a Nation Forward. This three-part documentary connects drug policy with the arbitrary persecution of the past and paints a picture of a lack of constitutional protection.
As shown, for more than 10 years, 700 million inhabitants have been without rights protection because judges at the European Court of Human Rights have stopped the necessary legal development. The documentary not only explains the legal consequences but reveals a larger pattern of human rights violations and cover-ups, and the response from the Norwegian state has been telling.
Officially, the Norwegian state has no comment. Formally, the representatives of the Norwegian state remain dedicated to punish drug use, but several reports invalidate the premises for the drug policy, and in a number of protests the Alliance for rights-oriented drug policy (AROD) has brought cannabis to the police and prosecution authorities to contest the validity of the prohibition.
While Norwegian law provides for severe penalties, the Director of Public Prosecutions has not intervened – which is testimony to the power of the rights argument. As demonstrated in this documentary series, moral panic continues to drive drug policy. Nevertheless, the power of principled reasoning has caused the Norwegian state to ignore violations of the drug law several times, and this pattern repeated itself at the premiere.
To celebrate the release of an important tool for rights protection, AROD once again brought cannabis to the Director of Public Prosecutions’ office while the Norwegian rap group Herreløse provided the music. Cannabis plants in full bloom were put on display for the judiciary to take care of them, but the police did not show up. Once again, AROD showed that Norwegian activists were above the law, and a video of the premiere event can be found here:
(107) Oslo Cannabis Protest – Mikalsen v Norway – Moving a Nation Forward – World Premiere – YouTube
To understand how Norwegian activists rose above the law, watch the entire series on youtube:
(107) Life Liberty Productions – YouTube
