of heroin and cocaine in pharmacies. Bröckers attributes the demonization of the hemp plant to propaganda campaigns by Harry Anslinger in the United States, who declared the hemp plant a "killer weed" and, as head of the UN's drug agency, also brought cannabis into international disrepute. In 2018, he joined the call of the Bund Deutscher Kriminalbeamter for the legalization of cannabis and a "complete decriminalization of cannabis users."The ban, according to BDK chairman André Schulz, was "historically arbitrary and to this day neither intelligent nor purposeful." Instead of criminal repression, which stigmatizes people and promotes criminal careers, there are better methods of drug policy that also ensure effective protection of children and young people.Bröckers sees hemp as an important medicinal plant and an incomparable raw material for the construction industry, energy production and the textile industry. Prizes and awards 1985 Benno Martiny Medal for Clean Journalism in Bronze. Personal life Bröckers has been married since 1981, has twins (born 1982) and lives in Berlin-Kreuzberg. References External links "9/11 Conspiracy Theory Books Dominate Debate at Frankfurt Book Fair," Deutsche Welle (German Radio) Broeckers' website Broeckers' blog English translation of his Biography German male journalists German newspaper journalists Living people 1954 births 9/11 conspiracy theorists German conspiracy theorists German male writers Die Tageszeitung people 20th-century German journalists