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Drugs, armed conflict and peace
How does the agreement on drugs between the government and the FARC help to put an end to the armed conflict in Colombia?
Ricardo VargasTNI Drug Policy Briefing Nr. 42
July 2014This policy briefing analyses the results of the partial agreement on drugs reached at the talks being held in Havana between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, and the Colombian government. The analysis is based on the joint communiqué issued on 16 May 2014, the eve of the first round of the presidential election in Colombia. Following a brief introduction to the drugs issue in the broader framework of the peace talks, the briefing looks at how the subject of illicit crops, drug use and trafficking is dealt with in the agreement. It concludes with an assessment of the progress that the agreement represents in terms of the link between drugs and armed conflict.
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Scheduling in the international drug control system
Christopher Hallam Dave Bewley-Taylor Martin JelsmaSeries on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 25
June 2014While often viewed as an obscure technical issue, the problem of scheduling lies at the core of the functioning of the international drug control system. Scheduling – the classification of a substance within a graded system of controls and restrictions, or 'schedules' – must take place in order for a substance to be included in the international control framework, and determines the type and intensity of controls to be applied. For this reason, the topic is of central importance.
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Bouncing Back
Relapse in the Golden Triangle
Martin Jelsma Tom Kramer Tom Blickman Ernestien JensemaTransnational Institute (TNI)
May 2014TNI's indepth examination of the illegal drug market in the Golden Triangle, which has witnessed a doubling of opium production, growing prison populations and repression of small-scale farmers. This report details the failure of ASEAN's 'drug free' strategy and the need for a new approach.
Bouncing Back - complete report (pdf, 4.6MB)
Chapter Alternative Development (pdf, 1.37MB)
Chapter Harm Reduction (pdf, 1.59MB)
Chapter Conflict, Crime and Corruption (pdf, 1.42MB)
Chapter Conclusions (pdf, 1.07MB)The Rise and Decline of Cannabis Prohibition
The History of Cannabis in the UN Drug Control System and Options For Reform
Dave Bewley-Taylor Tom Blickman Martin JelsmaTransnational Institute / Global Drug Policy Observatory
March 2014The cannabis plant has been used for spiritual, medicinal and recreational purposes since the early days of civilization. In this report the Transnational Institute and the Global Drug Policy Observatory describe in detail the history of international control and how cannabis was included in the current UN drug control system. Cannabis was condemned by the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs as a psychoactive drug with “particularly dangerous properties” and hardly any therapeutic value.
READ MORE...Download the report (PDF 5MB)Résumé en français (PDF) Download the press release (PDF)Cocaine: towards a self-regulation model
New developments in Harm Reduction
Grazia ZuffaSeries on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 24
February 2014By taking cues from users’ self-regulation strategies, it is possible to design innovative operational models for drug services as well as drug policies, strengthening Harm Reduction as an alternative approach to the disease model. A significant body of research on cocaine users recruited outside captive populations – that is, studies based on samples of users who have not been enrolled through drug addiction services – has been carried out in many European countries and outside Europe. These studies show a variety of patterns and trajectories of use other than “addictive” use.
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READ MORE...Scarica il rapporto in italiano (PDF)Eyes Wide Shut: Corruption and Drug-Related Violence in Rosario
Ross EventonBriefing Series on Drug Markets and Violence, Nr 1
December 2013In Rosario, Argentina, the presence of criminal organisations involved in drug trafficking was a low priority for the government until New Year’s day 2012, when the killing of three innocent civilians by members of a gang sparked press attention.
READ MORE...Download the full report (PDF)Infographic: How will Uruguay's regulation of cannabis work?
Transnational Institute (TNI)
Tuesday, December 10, 2013On December 10, 2013, the General Assembly of Uruguay approved a law that made the country the first one in the world to fully regulate the cultivation, trade and consumption of cannabis for medical, industrial as well as recreational purposes. This infographic gives a short overview of the main aspects of the new law.
READ MORE...Infographic: Why is Uruguay regulating; not criminalising cannabis?
Transnational Institute (TNI)
Tuesday, December 10, 2013"The approval of regulation under state control in Uruguay marks a tipping point in the failed war against drugs. The trend is becoming irreversible: the era of a globally enforced cannabis prohibition regime is drawing to a close," says Martin Jelsma in a press release welcoming the approval of the law on December 10, 2013. The new law makes Uruguay the first country in the world to fully regulate the cultivation, trade and consumption of cannabis for medical, industrial as well as recreational purposes. This infographic gives a quick summary of the reasons why Uruguay is regulating cannabis.
READ MORE...Drugs as war economy and the peace process in Colombia: dilemmas and challenges
Ricardo VargasDrug Policy Briefing Nr. 41
September 2013The fourth item on the agenda of talks “to end the conflict,” on the issue of drugs, seems to reflect rather a flat and simplistic view of the classic circuit of drug production, processing, trafficking and use. The relationship between drugs and armed conflict in Colombia is in fact much more complex. This report analyses the challenges that drug trafficking poses to the development of a sustainable peace.
READ MORE...Download the report (PDF)Working towards a legal coca market: The case of coca leaf chewing in Argentina
Ricardo Abduca Pien MetaalSeries on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies No. 23
June 2013Modern use of the coca leaf in Argentina provides a series of examples that could contribute to dispelling many of the myths that have polarized debate about the subject over the last few years. Argentine coca consumption does not fit commonly held preconceptions on the subject. Furthermore, the social acceptance and legitimacy of the habit has created an absurd situation in which the sale and possession of coca leaf for consumption is legal, but the supply and wholesale purchase of it are prohibited, and therefore part of an illegal circuit.
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Drugs in the News
- Zurich to launch recreational cannabis trial
14.09.2021 - Antwerp and Rotterdam are new epicentre of European cocaine trade
09.09.2021 - Italy set to decriminalise cultivation of cannabis plants for personal use
09.09.2021 - Teen use of marijuana does not increase with legalization, U.S. top drug researcher admits
08.09.2021 - South Africa’s cannabis master plan will finally establish a regulated industry
07.09.2021 - New regime, same old drug myths in Myanmar
07.09.2021
Hilites
Balancing Treaty Stability and Change
Inter se modification of the UN drug control conventions to facilitate cannabis regulation
Connecting the dots...
Human rights, illicit cultivation and alternative development
Morocco and Cannabis
The Rise and Decline of Cannabis Prohibition
The History of Cannabis in the UN Drug Control System and Options For Reform