Two prominent Canadian doctors have joined an international campaign calling on world leaders to stop the spread of AIDS by ending the so called war on drugs.
Their advertising campaign is being launched today and is endorsed by supporters of the 2010 Vienna Declaration, which urges governments to write evidence-based drug policies.
The campaign has a specific message for U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, “You can’t end AIDS unless you end the war on drugs. It’s dead simple.”
Among those asking world leaders to show “leadership,” “courage” and “to do the right thing” are British billionaire Richard Branson, the former presidents of Brazil and Colombia, and B.C. based AIDS specialists doctors, Evan Wood and Julio Montaner.
The campaign is being launched as delegates meet this week at a major international AIDS conference in Washington.
“I think people are really starting to question the war on drugs,” said Wood, lead researcher at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and chair of the Vienna Declaration.