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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 2012Recent 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 2012Faced 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 2012In 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.
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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 2011This 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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USAID's Alternative Development policy in Colombia
A critical analysis
Ricardo VargasTNI Drug Policy Briefing Nr. 38
October 2011Alternative Development (AD) must not be part of a militarised security strategy, which is the predominant approach in Colombia. Instead of simply attempting to reduce the area planted with illicit crops, Alternative Development programmes should operate within the framework of a rural and regional development plan.
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Amphetamine Type Stimulants and Harm Reduction
Experiences from Myanmar, Thailand and Southern China
Tom BlickmanTNI Drug Policy Briefing Nr. 37
October 2011Little is known about the methamphetamine market in the region, but there are strong indications that the situation is deteriorating with substances becoming stronger, methods of use more harmful and the number of users steadily increasing. There is an urgent need for donors and governments to introduce effective harm reduction measures.
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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 2011Distinguishing 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.
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Conviction by Numbers
Threshold Quantities for Drug Policy
Genevieve HarrisSeries on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 14
May 2011Threshold 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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Alternative development from the perspective of Colombian farmers
Susana OjedaTNI Drug Policy Briefing Nr. 36
May 2011Alternative Development programmes have been widely discussed from the point of view of experts, technocrats, politicians and academics, with advocates and detractors debating whether such programmes contribute to decreasing the cultivation of illegal crops. However, little is known about the opinions of the people targeted by these programmes and the implications that they have for their daily lives.
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The Obama Administration’s drug control policy on auto-pilot
Coletta YoungersIDPC Briefing Paper
April 2011In a widely watched You Tube video, U.S. President Barack Obama is asked whether or not the drug war may in fact be counterproductive. Instead of the resounding NO that would have come from any of his recent predecessors, Obama responded: “I think this is an entirely legitimate topic for debate.” He then qualified his remarks by adding, “I am not in favor of legalization.” Nonetheless, even acknowledging the legitimacy of debate on U.S. drug policy is a significant shift from the past, when successive administrations stifled discussion and routinely labeled anyone promoting alternative approaches to the socalled U.S. “war on drugs” as dangerous and surreptitiously promoting massive drug use and poisoning America’s youth.
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