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Bogotá’s medical care centres for drug addicts (CAMAD)
An initative wedged between political discourse and technical action
Julián QuinteroSeries on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 22
November 2012
In September 2012, the mayor of Bogotá, Gustavo Petro, launched the first centre for drug addicts in the Bronx, a marginalised city-centre neighbourhood. Called the Medical Care Centre for Dependent Drug Users (Centro de Atención Médica a Drogodependientes - CAMAD), it is staffed by psychiatrists, psychologists, doctors and nurses. The people given care in these centres are in an at-risk situation and socially excluded due to their high levels of drug dependency.
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A breakthrough in the making?
Shifts in the Latin American drug policy debate
Amira Armenta Pien Metaal Martin JelsmaSeries on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 21
June 2012
Remarkable drug policy developments are taking place in Latin America. This is not only at the level of political debate, but is also reflected in actual legislative changes in a number of countries. All in all there is an undeniable regional trend of moving away from the ‘war on drugs’. This briefing explains the background to the opening of the drug policy debate in the region, summarises the most relevant aspects of the ongoing drug law reforms in some countries, and makes a series of recommendations that could help to move the debate forward in a productive manner.
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Drugs, crime and punishment
Proportionality of sentencing for drug offences
Gloria LaiSeries on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 20
June 2012
Proportionality is one of the key principles of the rule of law aiming to protect people from cruel or inhumane treatment. The principle has been established in international and regional human rights agreements and many countries have adopted reflections of it in their constitution or penal code. Its application to drug-related offences is firstly the responsibility of the legislators, in defining the level of penalisation of certain behaviours. The level of penalisation should be determined according to the severity of damage that a certain behaviour causes to others or to society.
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Towards revision of the UN drug control conventions
The logic and dilemmas of Like-Minded Groups
Dave Bewley-TaylorSeries on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 19
March 2012
Recent years have seen a growing unwillingness among increasing numbers of States parties to fully adhere to a strictly prohibitionist reading of the UN drug control conventions; the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (as amended by the 1972 Protocol), the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances; and the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
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The Limits of Latitude
The UN drug control conventions
Dave Bewley-Taylor Martin JelsmaSeries on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 18
March 2012
Faced with a complex range of drug related problems, a growing number of nations are exploring the development of nationally appropriate policies that shift away from the prohibition-oriented approach that has long dominated the field but is losing more and more legitimacy. In so doing, such countries must pay close attention to the UN based global drug control framework of which practically all nations are a part.
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Chewing over Khat prohibition
The globalisation of control and regulation of an ancient stimulant
Axel Klein Martin Jelsma Pien MetaalSeries on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 17
January 2012
In the context of a fast changing and well documented market in legal highs, the case of khat (Catha edulis) provides an interesting anomaly. It is first of all a plant-based substance that undergoes minimal transformation or processing in the journey from farm to market. Secondly, khat has been consumed for hundreds if not thousands of years in the highlands of Eastern Africa and Southern Arabia. In European countries, khat use was first observed during the 1980s, but has only attracted wider attention in recent years.Download the briefing (PDF)
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'Legal highs'
The challenge of new psychoactive substances
Adam Winstock and Chris WilkinsSeries on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 16
October 2011
This paper aims to set out some of the policy and public health issues raised by the appearance of a wide range of emergent psychoactive substances of diverse origin, effect and risk profile (commonly referred to as ‘legal highs’). It will start by considering what is meant by the term ‘legal highs’ and consider the historical context that has framed their appearance and must inform any response. It will then consider some of the approaches that have been adopted by different nations to control their availability and associated harms, including a preliminary assessment of their consequences, both intended and not.
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How to determine personal use in drug legislation
The “threshold controversy” in the light of the Italian experience
Grazia ZuffaSeries on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 15
August 2011
Distinguishing between drug possession for personal use and supply and trafficking is widely acknowledged as one of the most difficult and controversial issues facing drug legislators and policy makers. To address the problem, two solutions are typically enacted: the threshold scheme and the "flexible" model.Download the briefing (PDF)
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Conviction by Numbers
Threshold Quantities for Drug Policy
Genevieve HarrisSeries on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 14
May 2011
Threshold quantities (TQs) for drug law and policy are being experimented with across many jurisdictions. States seem attracted to their apparent simplicity and use them to determine, for example, whether: a possession or supply offence is made out (e.g. Greece); a matter should be diverted away from the criminal justice system (e.g. Portugal); or a case should fall within a certain sentencing range (e.g. UK).
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Kratom in Thailand
Decriminalisation and Community Control?
Pascal TanguaySeries on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 13
April 2011
In early 2010, the Thai Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) developed a policy proposal to review different aspects of the criminal justice process in relation to drug cases. The possibility of decriminalising the indigenous psychoactive plant, kratom, was included in the ONCB’s proposal for consideration by the Ministry of Justice. This briefing paper provides an overview of issues related to kratom legislation and policy in Thailand as well as a set of conclusions and recommendations to contribute to a reassessment of the current ban on kratom in Thailand and the region.Download the briefing (PDF)
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