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Time for a change

This year marks the anniversary of 100 years of the international drug prohibition. Faced with a complex range of drug related problems, a growing number of nations are exploring the…

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Unscheduling the coca leaf

The coca leaf has been chewed for centuries in the Andean region – and does not cause any harm. Yet the leaf is treated as if it is comparable to…

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Ending the war on drugs

The Global Commission on Drug Policy is calling to break the taboo on debate and reform of international drug control policies and recommends a paradigm shift towards harm reduction, decriminalization…

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  • Drug policy reform and the UN drug control conventions

    Evaluation and prospects of international drug control

    dlr16This joint project led by TNI and the International Drug Policy Consortium aims to promote an evidence-based and best practice approach to policy making in the field of drugs. The international drug control framework based on a restrictive interpretation of the UN drug conventions is often a barrier to innovative and effective drug policies. Objective and open debate is hampered by polarized ideological positions of a ‘war on drugs’ versus legalization. This dichotomy obscures the fact that much experience has been gained regarding more innovative and less repressive approaches. This project aims to generate discussion and support effective and humane approaches through a series of expert seminars, informal dialogues and specific briefings on legislative issues and alternative control measures.

  • Chewing over Khat prohibition

    The globalisation of control and regulation of an ancient stimulant

    khatmanKhat has been consumed for hundreds if not thousands of years in the highlands of Eastern Africa and Southern Arabia. Outside that area, khat use was first observed during the 1980s, but has only attracted wider attention in recent years. Where khat has been studied extensively, namely Australia, the UK and until recently the Netherlands, governments have steered clear of prohibition because the negative medical and social harms do not merit such controls. Where strict bans on khat have been introduced they have had severe unintended negative consequences and failed to further the integration, social incusion and economic prosperity of Somali communities in particular, which chew khat most widely. Experi­ences from North America and Scandi­navia show that a ban will not solve problems associated with kath but tend to increase them.

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  • The future of Alternative Development

    The International Workshop and Conference on Alternative Development (ICAD 2011-2012)

    cacaoThe International Workshop and Conference on Alternative Development (ICAD 2011-2012), an initiative of the Thai and Peruvian governments, will take place on 6-12 November 2011 in Thailand and will discuss the progress of and best practices on alternative development. A high-level international conference in Peru in February 2012 will aim to build a consensus on the future direction of alternative development among all stakeholders. The ICAD process – in which TNI participates – aims to develop a set of International Guiding Principles on Alternative Development, which could serve as an authoritative reference. A new paradigm and concerted strategy will be discussed for development-oriented drug control programmes worldwide. TNI has followed the discussions on alternative development closely and critically and published a range of policy briefings on the issue.

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  • Bolivia’s legal reconciliation with the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs

    IDPC supports Bolivia re-accession with a reservation allowing for the traditional use of the coca leaf

    evo-cocaThe Bolivian government denounced the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs on June 29, 2011, indicating its intention to re-accede with a reservation allowing for the traditional use of the coca leaf. The decision was triggered by Bolivia’s need to balance its obligations under the international drug control system with its constitutional and other international legal commitments. The move follows the rejection of Bolivia’s proposal to amend the Single Convention by deleting the obligation to abolish coca leaf chewing earlier this year. The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) called on countries to oppose Bolivia’s decision. This intervention is extremely unhelpful, and arguably an abuse of the Board’s mandate. The International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) supports the difficult decision taken by the Morales administration.

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  • End the War on Drugs

    Global Commission on Drug Policy calls for reform of international drug control

    On June 2, 2011, the Global Commission on Drug Policy presented its report in New York, calling to break the taboo on debate and reform of international drug control policies. The high-profile panel calls the global war on drugs a failure and recommends a paradigm shift towards harm reduction, decriminalization and legal regulation of cannabis. TNI has been closely involved in the initiative and its Latin American predecessor in an advisory capacity. Martin Jelsma of TNI’s drugs policy programme wrote a background paper for the Commission’s meeting in Geneva earlier this year: The development of international drug control: lessons learned and strategic challenges for the future.

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  • UN expert calls for a fundamental shift in global drug control policy

    At a press conference in New York on Tuesday 26 October, 2010, at the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly, one of the UN’s key human rights experts will call for a fundamental rethink of international drug policy. Anand Grover, from India, is the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health, whose mandate is derived from the UN Human Rights Council.

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TNI/WOLA Drug Law Reform Project

Drug Law Reform in Latin America is a joint project of TNI and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) tni_wola2
"Promoting a more effective and humane drug policy in Latin America"

UN Drug Control

In 2011 the 1961 UN Single Convention on drugs will be in place for 50 years. In 2012 the international drug control system will exist 100 years since the International Opium Convention was signed in 1912 in The Hague. Does it still serve its purpose or is a reform of the UN Drug Conventions needed? This site provides critical background.