News / Society
Fighting for global drug legalisation
A co-founder of coffee chain Boston Tea Party has taken on a new role as chief executive of Transform, a global think tank based in Bristol that campaigns for reform of drug policy and a more humane system of drug legalisation and regulation.
Nicky Saunter is now using the skills she has learned in 25 years of business to raise the profile of Transform – which has its headquarters on King Street and staff in London and Mexico.
Transform may be a small, independent charity with no government funding but it has official observer status at the UN, and one of its recent publications, After the War on Drugs: Blueprint for Regulation, has been downloaded more than 650,000 times worldwide.
“I see this as my chance to make a difference on a scale I would never have imagined possible,” says Nicky, who worked in publishing and advertising in Hong Kong and the US before setting up and developing her own businesses, which have included editorial services, coffee houses, building with cob and straw, local food events, and most recently, acoustic wool manufacturing with The Woolly Shepherd.
“Transform and Boston Tea Party both sprang out of the same period in Bristol’s history. They are both innovative, creative and passionate, and both are founded on one person’s ethics. For me, it led to a group of cafes that took a leading stance on sustainability, trading fairly and using local produce. We also joined in with campaigns we believed in, using the business to publicise and fund them.”
“For Danny Kushlick, the founder of Transform, it was the start of a long road of campaigning to end the War on Drugs – initially from the wilderness, but increasingly from a position of strength as Transform became the internationally respected think tank it is today. My role is to use the skills I have learned in 25 years of commerce to help Transform achieve its aims.”
So why do so few people know of this influential global think tank based right here in Bristol?
“With scarce resources, perhaps Transform has focused only on policymakers in London and the UN,” Nicky ponders. “But that is all about to change, thanks to our first major public-facing campaign, Anyone’s Child, which focuses on the damage current drug policy does directly to families here.”
“We are now actively seeking to work with people from Bristol’s civil, political and business community who are looking for a cause with lasting impact. You never know – perhaps Bristol could be the first city to campaign for national drug policy reform?”
For more information about Transform, visit www.tdpf.org.uk.