2014
Reducing reoffending and improving rehabilitation (December 2014)
Managing drug misusing offenders (Home Office, Ministry of Justice)
Supply-side reduction policy and drug-related harm (December 2014)
The aim of this study was to examine the question of whether seizures of heroin, cocaine or amphetamine type substances (ATS) or supplier arrests for heroin, cocaine or ATS trafficking have any effect on the ED admissions related to or arrests for use and possession of these drugs (BOSCAR)
Risk assessment of 4-methyl-5-(4-methylphenyl)-4,5-dihydrooxazol-2-amine (4,4′-dimethylaminorex, 4,4′-DMAR) (November 2014)
Concerns over the availability and use of this stimulant drug in the European Union led to an assessment of the health and social risks posed by the substance, and, consequently, its control across the EU Member States (EMCDDA)
Risk Assessment Report of a new psychoactive substance: 1-cyclohexyl-4-(1,2-diphenylethyl)piperazine (MT-45) (November 2014)
Concerns over the availability and use of this stimulant drug in the European Union led to an assessment of the health and social risks posed by the substance, and, consequently, its control across the EU Member States (EMCDDA)
‘Third generation’ synthetic cannabinoids (November 2014)
Report presented to the crime prevention minister recommends a revised generic description, designed to control a broad-range of ‘third generation’ synthetic cannabinoids (AMCD)
New drug description to help ban family of legal highs (November 2014)
A revised description of cannabinoid-based drugs is needed to ban a dangerous new generation of legal highs, says the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD)
So-called ‘legal’ highs linked to deaths to be banned in UK (November 2014)
Two so-called ‘legal’ highs linked to deaths across Europe are set to be banned, the government announced (Home Office)
Report summary: synthetic stimulant 4,4′-DMAR (November 2014)
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs’ report on the synthetic stimulant known as 4,4’-DMAR
Report summary: synthetic opioid MT-45 (November 2014)
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs’ report on the synthetic opioid known as MT-45
America’s drug policies have done little more than make the most dangerous drugs even riskier (November 2014)
Daniel Faris looks at U.S. drug policy, and argues that we should look to emulate countries such as Germany, Canada and Australia, which have introduced supervised injection sites, as a way to remove as much danger as possible and to begin a societal discussion about how best to treat the problem of drug abuse (LSE USApp blog)
Precursor chemical licensing (October 2014)
Licence and registration application information for companies that deal in precursor chemicals (Home Office)
Illicit drug markets in Ireland (October 2014)
Through in-depth research with people involved in the illicit drug market in Ireland, as drug users or sellers, as professionals responding to it or as residents affected by it, this research fills a significant knowledge gap in this important area of Irish drug policy (NACDA)
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and WalesAnnual Report 2013–14 (October 2014)
Includes Substance misuse services
Legal thresholds for serious drug offences (October 2014)
Expert advice to the ACT on determining amounts for trafficable, commercial and large commercial drug offences (NDARC)
Changes to commissioning for victims’ services – implications for the substance misuse sector in London (October 2014)
The aim of this article is to briefly discuss MoJ plans to enhance support for victims and witnesses (priority 1) and consider some of the implications and opportunities for the substance misuse sector (LDAN)
Offenders get ‘through-the-gate’ support for drug and alcohol problems (September 2014)
A new Abstinence and Recovery Centre in Manchester will provide support to offenders affected by substance misuse issues, aiming to reduce reoffending (Ministry of Justice)
Resettlement provision for adult offenders: Accommodation and education, training and employment (September 2014)
The report follows a cohort of 80 offenders from prison through the gate into the community and identifies their accommodation and occupation status shortly before release, on release and one and six months later (HM Inspectorate of Prisons, HM Inspectorate of Probation and Ofsted)
Taking Control: Pathways to Drug Policies that Work (September 2014)
The report reflects the evolution in the thinking of the Commissioners, who reiterate their demands for decriminalization, alternatives to incarceration, and greater emphasis on public health approaches and now also call for permitting the legal regulation of psychoactive substances (The Global Commission on Drug Policy)
Circular 014/2014: lawful supply of foil (August 2014)
Announces a change to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 regarding the lawful supply of foil by persons employed or engaged in the provision of drug treatment services (Government, UK)
Prisoner health services in Australia 2012 (August 2014)
This bulletin provides an overview of health services in Australian prisons (AIHW)
Ketamine rescheduling consultation (August 2014)
This consultation seeks your views on the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs’ (ACMD) recommendation to reschedule ketamine to Schedule 2 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (as amended) (the 2001 Regulations)
Inquiry into new psychoactive substances (“legal highs”) (August 2014)
The National Assembly for Wales’s Health and Social Care Committee is currently looking into the issue of new psychoactive substances – also known as legal highs – in Wales
Home Office approved kits for testing controlled substances (August 2014)
This circular provides advice on drug testing kits that have been approved for the purpose of testing substances suspected to be controlled drugs (Home Office)
Controlled drugs list (August 2014)
The following is a list of the most commonly encountered drugs currently controlled under the misuse of drugs legislation showing their respective classifications under both the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (Home Office)
Government response to ACMD advice on ketamine (July 2014)
Norman Baker, Minister for Crime Prevention, writes to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs regarding the reclassification of ketamine (Home Office)
The heroin epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s and its effect on crime trends – then and now (July 2014)
A historical account of the heroin epidemic in England and Wales, assessing its impact on crime (Home Office, UK)
EMCDDA–Europol Joint Report on a new psychoactive substance: 4,4′-DMAR (July 2014)
In February 2014, the EMCDDA and Europol examined the available information on a new psychoactive substance, 4-methyl-5-(4-methylphenyl)-4,5-dihydrooxazol-2-amine (commonly known by the abbreviation 4,4′-DMAR). The two organisations concluded that sufficient information had been accumulated to merit the production of a Joint Report on 4,4′-DMAR as stipulated by Article 5.1 of the Council Decision (EMCDDA)
The Links between Mephedrone Use, Violence and other Harms in South Wales (July 2014)
This research, funded by Welsh Government and South Wales Police, was commissioned in response to growing concerns by police, other criminal justice professionals and a range of practitioners who work with drug users, about the negative impacts of mephedrone use upon users, their families and communities (Centre for Criminology University of South Wales)
In Search of Rights (July 2014)
Drug Users and State Responses in Latin America (CEDD)
Circular 011/2014: changes to Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 – khat (June 2014)
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2014 classifies khat as a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Government, UK)
NPS report: tryptamines (June 2014)
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs publishes recommendations and report on the new psychoactive substance tryptamines (Government, UK)
NPS report: AH-7921 (June 2014)
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs publishes recommendations and report on the new psychoactive substance and synthetic opiate AH-7921 (Government, UK)
Changes to Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 – khat (June 2014)
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2014 classifies khat as a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Government, UK)
Scheduling in the international drug control system (June 2014)
While 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 (TNI)
Ban on NBOMe and benzofurans comes into force (June 2014)
Drugs order also controls tramadol as a Class C substance and upgrades ketamine to Class B (Home Office)
Deadly “legal highs” which mimic Class A drugs to be banned (June 2014)
A lethal psychedelic drug should be controlled as a Class A substance, according to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD)
NPS reports on tryptamines and AH-7921 (June 2014)
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs publishes recommendations and reports on these new psychoactive substances: tryptamines and the synthetic opiate AH-7921 (ACMD)
It is in the interests of justice and health to decriminalise drug users (PDF) (June 2014)
As the drugs market has grown, socioeconomic costs of drug harms have soared. It has been estimated that this amounts to around £3.5 billion for Scotland (Scottish Justice Matters)
Prisoner survey 2013 – Substance Misuse (June 2014)
(Scottish Prison Service)
Khat fact sheet for England and Wales (June 2014)
Information leaflet about the classification of Khat as a Class C drug (Government, UK)
The Alcohol and CrimeCommission Report (May 2014)
A major survey has revealed that almost all UK prisons are ineffective in dealing with alcohol-related criminal behaviour (Addaction)
Analysis of Sentencing for Possession or Importation of Drugs for Sale or Supply (May 2014)
This analysis examines the sentencing practice of the courts in relation to certain drug trafficking offences,1 specifically the offences of possession or importation of controlled drugs for the purpose of sale or supply (JudicialResearchers’ Office, Ireland)
Illicit Drug Data Report 2012-13 (May 2014)
provides a statistical overview of illicit drug arrests and seizures as well as profiling the current situation, national impact and the emerging trends and threats of illicit drugs in Australia (Australian Crime Commission)
European policy on khat (May 2014)
Drug policy lessons not learned (Global Drug Policy Program)
Are we entering a new era of cannabis regulation? (April 2014)
An overview of current cannabis production regimes (Addiction and Lifestyles in Contemporary Europe – Reframing Addictions Project)
Opioid substitution therapy as a strategy to reduce deaths in prison: retrospective cohort study (April 2014)
Mortality of opioid-dependent prisoners was significantly lower while in receipt of OST (BMJ)
Crime and the Depenalization of Cannabis Possession (April 2014)
Evidence from a Policing Experiment (IZA)
Australian threshold quantities for ‘drug trafficking’ (April 2014)
Are they placing drug users at risk of unjustified sanction? (Australian Institute of Criminology)
America’s New Drug Policy Landscape (April 2014)
Two-Thirds Favor Treatment, Not Jail, for Use of Heroin, Cocaine (Pew Research)
Drugs: Stronger powers to seize drug cutting agents (April 2014)
The Home Office will enhance legislation allowing law enforcement agencies to enter and search premises and seize so-called cutting agents (Governemnt, UK)
Crime and the Depenalization of Cannabis Possession (March 2014)
Evidence from a Policing Experiment (Institute for the Study of Labor)
Australian threshold quantities for ‘drug trafficking’ (March 2014)
Are they placing drug users at risk of unjustified sanction? (Australian Government)
Drug Seizures by Scottish Police Forces, 2012-13 (March 2014)
The statistics in this bulletin relate to drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, which divides drugs into three classes A, B and C (Scottish Government)
Scheduling of tramadol and exemptions for temazepam prescriptions (March 2014)
The government has considered the concerns raised in the consultation and has decided to place tramadol in Schedule 3 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 when it is controlled later this year, but with exemption from the safe custody requirements. Summary of responses to the consultation (Government, UK)
Letter to ACMD on tramadol (March 2014)
The drug will be placed in Schedule 3 to accompany its Class C control. It will be exempted from the requirements under the Misuse of Drugs. Letter (Safe Custody) Regulations 1973 (Government, UK)
Drug Recovery Wings: set up, delivery and lessons learned (March 2014)
The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Interventions Unit carried out a process study to describe the defining characteristics of the regime at each pilot site and explore the challenges and lessons that can be learned from setting up a DRW pilot project (Government, UK)
Drug use in prison: assessment report (Feb 2014)
The report presents a review of tools for monitoring illicit drug use in prison population in Europe (EMCDDA)
Estimating public expenditure on drug-law offenders in prison in Europe (Feb 2014)
This study estimates how much 22 European countries spent on drug-law offenders in prisons during the last decade. Based on this, an estimate for public expenditure on drug-law offenders at the European level was made (EMCDDA)
Policing cannabis and drug related hospital admissions (Feb 2014)
Evidence form administrative records (UCLA)
Methamphetamine: Fact vs. Fiction and Lessons from the Crack Hysteria (Feb 2014)
This new report reveals the extreme stigmatization of users and dangerous policy responses that are reminiscent of the crack hysteria in the 1980s and 1990s, which led to grossly misguided laws that accelerated mass incarceration in the United States (Open Society Foundations)
Are the reasons why people take illegal drugs relevant to sentencing decisions? (Feb 2014)
If we are to penalize possession of small quantities of drugs, sentencing has to ignore the reasons why people possess these drugs (Practical Ethics, Oxford University)
Government response to ACMD advice on ketamine (Feb 2014)
Norman Baker, Minister for Crime Prevention, writes to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs regarding the reclassification of ketamine (Government, UK)
Precursor chemical import and export authorisation wallchart (Feb 2014)
This chart shows the regulation of precursor chemicals in the UK (Government, UK)
Drug and alcohol misuse amongst young offenders on probation in Ireland (Feb 2014)
This research report presents the findings from a national survey on: “Drug and Alcohol Misuse among Young Offenders on Probation Supervision in Ireland”. Undertaken by the Probation Service, the survey included all young offenders, aged 20 years or less who were subject to statutory supervision on the 3rd December 2012 (Probation Service, Ireland)
Controlled drugs list (Feb 2014)
A list of the most commonly encountered drugs currently controlled under the misuse of drugs legislation showing their respective classifications under both the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (Government, UK)
This study shows a statistical association between the reclassification of cannabis and hospital admissions for cannabis psychosis in the opposite direction to that predicted by the presumed relationship between the two (International Journal of Drug Policy)
Human Rights Watch – World Report 2014 (Jan 2014)
The human rights case for drug reform how drug criminalization destroys lives, feeds abuses, and subverts the rule of law -page 19 onwards (HRW)
The Harms of Drug Use: Criminalisation, Misinformation,and Stigma (Jan 2014)
Report argues that where harms that may surround illicit drug use are numerous,it is laws and policies, along with their justificatory social constructions and stigmas,that are responsible for driving and worsening many of these avoidable harms (Inpud, UK)
Equipping law enforcement and other emergency responders with this overdose-reversal drug will save lives and also help guide many more people suffering from substance use disorders into treatment and long-term recovery (ONDCP)
Trends and developments in drug legislation in South Eastern Europe (Jan 2014)
SE European countries have adopted –to a greater or lesser extent– a national strategy within the limits of international conventions and the European Strategy on Drugs model, but much room exists for substantial changes and improvements PDF (International Drug Policy Consortium)
2013
Drugs: new psychoactive substances and prescription drugs (Dec 2013)
Twelfth Report from the Home Affairs Committee PDF (UK Government)
Drug squads: units specialised in drug law enforcement in Europe (Dec 2013)
Drug law enforcement activity targets the supply of drugs and is responsible for much of the key data that informs our understanding of drugs supply in Europe. This study looks, for the first time, at how drug law enforcement is organised in European countries. Download (EMCDDA)
Drug strategy annual review: 2012 to 2013 (Dec 2013)
The second annual review of the drug strategy, ‘Delivering within a new landscape’, updates progress on the 3 strands of the strategy since May 2012 (Government, UK)
Review launched to target reckless trade in ‘legal highs’ (Dec 2013)
Laws on new psychoactive substances will be reviewed in a bid to clamp down on the trade in potentially fatal drugs (Government, UK)
Drugs policy: review into new psychoactive substances (Dec 2013)
This written ministerial statement was laid in the House of Commons by Norman Baker MP and in the House of Lords by Lord Taylor of Holbeach (Government, UK)
Action against head shops (Dec 2013)
Advice for local authorities on the types of offences head shops may be committing and offers guidance and recommendations (Government, UK)
Government letter to the ACMD on control of NBOMe and Benzofuran (Dec 2013)
Letter to the ACMD about the control of the NBOMe and Benzofuran compounds as Class A and B drugs respectively (Government, UK)
Home Secretary letter to ACMD on the government’s work priorities for 2013 to 2014 (Dec 2013)
Theresa May writes to Les Iversen regarding the government’s priorities for inclusion in the work programme of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (Government, UK)
Government letter to the ACMD on reviewing generic definitions (Dec 2013)
A government letter to the ACMD reviewing generic definitions used in the Misuse of Drugs Act 197 (Government, UK)
Terms of reference for new psychoactive substances (Dec 2013)
Terms of reference of a review into enhancing our legislative response to new psychoactive substances (Government, UK)
The International Narcotics Control Board(INCB) regrets that the legislation to legalize production, sale and consumption of cannabis for non-medical purposes approved yesterday in Uruguay contravenes the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, to which Uruguay is a party (INCB)
Ketamine report (Dec 2013)
‘Ketamine: a review of use and harm’ provides advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to the Home Secretary (Government, UK)
How to Regulate Cannabis: A Practical Guide (Dec 2013)
This is a guide to regulating legal markets for the non-medical use of cannabis. It is for policy makers, drug policy reform advocates and affected communities all over the world, who are witnessing the question change from, ‘Should we maintain cannabis prohibition?’ to ‘How will legal regulation work in practice?’ (Transform)
Women, drug offences and penitentiary systems in Latin America (Dec 2013)
This paper analyzes the roles played by women in criminal networks in Latin America and the means by which they become involved, highlighting the ways in which gender relations and socio-economic factors shape the configuration of international drug trafficking networks and women’s participation. It also critically examines the main characteristics of the region’s penitentiary systems from a gender standpoint (IDPC)
Legally regulated cannabis markets in the US (Dec 2013)
Implications and possibilities (Global Drug Policy Observatory)
Benzofurans: A review of the evidence of use and harm (Dec 2013)
The evidence concerning these substances and closely related analogues was considered by the ACMD at meetings of the Novel Psychoactive Substances Committee and by the full Council in 2012 and 2013. A Temporary Class Drug Order (TCDO) for these substances and some closely related analogues came into force on 10 June 2013. Download (Government, UK)
ACMD recommends permanent ban on two “legal highs” (Nov 2013)
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) recommends NBOMe drugs, which have a hallucinogenic affect similar to LSD, are controlled as Class A drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. It further recommends the group of stimulants known as Benzofury are controlled as Class B drugs (Government UK)
Better Courts Case-study: West London Drug Court (Nov 2013)
This paper briefly describes what sets West London Drug Court apart from other courts and identifies lessons that can be drawn from its example (Justice Innovation)
A Lifetime of Punishment: The Impact of the Federal Drug Ban on Welfare Benefits (Nov 2013)
The nation’s “war on drugs” posture of recent decades may have a devastating impact on the health and safety of women and children of color and their communities (The Sentencing Project)
A decade of crime in South Australia (Nov 2013)
This poster aims to compare criminal activity among regular ecstasy users and people who inject drugs in South Australia, from 2003-2013 (NDARC)
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales Annual Report 2012–13 (Nov 2013)
Pages 30-31 on substance misuse, with particular focus on diverted medicines (HMIP, UK)
Tables for ‘Seizures of drugs in England and Wales, financial year ending 2013’ (Nov 2013)
Listing of the data tables included in ‘Seizures of drugs in England and Wales, financial year ending 2013’ (Home Office, UK)
Seizures of drugs in England and Wales, financial year ending 2013 (Nov 2013)
User guide (Home Office, UK)
Smoking and quitting smoking among prisoners 2012 (Oct 2013)
Results from the 2012 National Prisoner Health Data Collection, focusing on smoking and smoking cessation behaviours of prisoners in Australia. Includes: Alcohol and other illicit drug use among smokers. Download PDF (AIHW)
Balancing Act (Oct 2013)
Addressing health inequalities among people in contact with the criminal justice system – A briefing for Directors of Public Health (Revolving Doors and PHE)
Trends in Drug Use and Related Harms in Australia, 2001 to 2013 (Oct 2013)
The purpose of this resource document is to collate various data sources that document trends in alcohol and other drug use and harms in Australia (NDARC)
California Statewide Poll Finds Strong Support for Legalizing, Regulating and Taxing Marijuana (Oct 2013)
With a broad and diverse coalition backing this policy change, our research finds that a solid majority of voters in California support a proposal to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana. We provide below a summary of key findings from the survey (Tulchin Research)
Drugs Policy – Lords Library Note (Oct 2013)
This Library Note provides background reading for the debate to be held Thursday, 17 October on the report of the Home Affairs Select Committee on drugs policy (Parliament, UK)
Locked Up in America (Oct 2013)
Infographic (Criminal Justice Degree Hub)
Synthetic drugs banned under new laws (Oct 2013)
The Victorian Coalition Government will broaden the ban on synthetic drugs designed to copy the effects of illegal drugs such as ecstasy, cannabis and LSD, Minister for Police and Emergency Services Kim Wells said (Premier of Victoria)
Psychoactive substances – Frequently asked questions (Oct 2013)
Ministry of Health, New Zealand
Serious and organised crime strategy (Oct 2013)
Released in October 2013, the serious and organised crime strategy sets out how we will prevent people getting involved in serious and organised crime (Government, UK)
ACMD advice on the scheduling of GHB (Oct 2013)
Advice to Minister of State for Crime Prevention, Jeremy Browne MP, on the scheduling of GHB (ACMD, UK)
ACMD advice on the scheduling of khat (Oct 2013)
ACMD letter to Minister for Crime Prevention, Jeremy Browne MP, advising on the scheduling of khat (ACMD, UK)
European Commission takes decisive action against legal highs (Oct 2013)
The European Commission today proposed to strengthen the European Union’s ability to respond to ‘legal highs’ – new psychoactive substances used as alternatives to illicit drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy (Europa)
With few exceptions and despite increasing investments in enforcement-based supply reduction efforts aimed at disrupting global drug supply, illegal drug prices have generally decreased while drug purity has generally increased since 1990. These findings suggest that expanding efforts at controlling the global illegal drug market through law enforcement are failing (BMJ)
Simple cautions for serious offences to be scrapped (Oct 2013)
Ban ‘simple’ cautions for supplying Class A drugs (Government, UK)
Ketamine: Living in dreams, managing the realities (Sept 2013)
Ketamine is often perceived as a novelty drug which seems to have emerged out of nowhere with a catastrophic set of health and social consequences. Instead of repeating the mistake of further criminalising its users, the Government is urged to take a more enlightened approach to the growing ketamine crisis (openDemocracy)
Fresh legislation proposed to address new psychoactive substances (Sept 2013)
EMCDDA welcomes European Commission call for stronger EU action on new drugs (EMCDDA)
Drug Driving (Assessment of Drug Misuse) Bill 2013-14 (Sept 2013)
This Bill is expected to have its second reading debate on 18 October 2013 (Parliament UK)
Transnational organized crime in eastern Africa (Sept 2013)
A Threat Assessment (UNODC)
In response to the growing concern over the availability and use of products containing synthetic cannabinoids in Australia, the Australian Institute of Criminology, in consultation with NCPIC, surveyed a sample of offenders through the DUMA program to ask about their experience with using synthetic cannabis (NCPIC)
This report demonstrates that the policing and prosecutions of drug possession offences in England and Wales is unduly focussed on black and minority communities. This report looks at racial disparity rates at stop and search arrest, prosecution and sentencing and clearly demonstrates that the drug laws in the UK are a major driver of the disproportionality that exists in our criminal justice system in relation to the black community R(elease, LSE, UK)
Drug misuse: findings from the 2012 to 2013 CSEW July 2013
This release examines the extent and trends in illicit drug use among a nationally representative sample of 16 to 59 year olds resident in households in England and Wales and is based on results from the 2012 to 2013 Crime Survey for England and Wales (Home Office, UK)
Illicit Drug Data Report 2011-12 May 2013
The Illicit Drug Data Report is produced by the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) and is recognised as one of the most valuable tools for law enforcement agencies, policy and decision makers, research bodies and other stakeholders in developing strategies to combat the threat posed by illicit drugs (ACC, Australia)
Drug Seizures by Scottish Police Forces, 2011-12 April 2013
This bulletin presents figures for drug seizures made by police forces in Scotland in 2011-12, as well as revised data for 2010-11. The statistics in this bulletin relate to drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, which divides drugs into three classes A, B and C (Scottish Government, UK)
2012
A Quiet Revolution: Drug Decriminalisation Policies in Practice Across the Globe December 2012
This report looks at over 20 countries that have adopted some form of decriminalisation of drug possession, including some States that have only decriminalised cannabis possession (Release)
Prisons and drugs in Europe: the problem and responses November 2012
The study looks at how the internationally recognised rights of prisoners and the European and international rules that set standards for the care of prisoners apply to those with drug problems | EMCDDA
Mexxy, Black Mamba and other ‘legal highs’ to be banned November 2012
Following advice from the government’s independent drug experts, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), new synthetic cannabinoids (such as those sold under the name ‘Black Mamba’) and methoxetamine (sold as Mexxy) and its related compounds will be classified under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 | Home Office, UK
The Government’s response to the ACMD advice November 2012
The Government responds to the ACMD’s further advice on synthetic cannabinoids and advice on methoxetamine and related compounds as well as O-desmethyltramadol | Home Office, UK
ACMD advice on O-desmethyltramadol October 2012
The ACMD recommends that Odesmethyltramadol is controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as a Class B substance and, as it has no legitimate medical use, scheduled as a Schedule I substance under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 | AMCD, UK
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales Annual Report 2011–12 October 2012
Multiple references to drugs and alcohol | Justice, UK
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) Methoxetamine Report (2012) October 2012
The ACMD has followed its initial assessment with a consideration of methoxetamine in the context of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Report | ACMD, UK
Further consideration of the synthetic cannabinoids (2012) October 2012
In July 2009 the ACMD recommended the compounds considered in that review should be made Class B and placed in Schedule I of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations (2001) under a generic definition. Download | ACMD, UK
Ending the revolving door September 2012
How the first generation of police and crime commissioners can cut crime by working in partnership to address multiple needs | Revolving Doors, UK
Drug policy reform September 2012
Moving beyond strict criminal penalties for drugs | Policy Talk, Australian Drug Foundation
The second Australia21 report on Illicit Drugs, Alternatives to Prohibition September 2012
llicit drugs: How we can stop killing and criminalising young Australians, is now available for download | Australia21
Supply, Demand and Harm Reduction in Australian Prisons August 2012
The operation of Australia’s prisons need far greater levels of accountability and transparency, as well as a much stronger commitment to providing effective programs and treatment for people with drug and alcohol problems issues if we are to see any real reductions in reoffending rates. Download | Australian National Council on Drugs
Crises and radical thinking on drug policy August 2012
Reform has always been a “two-steps forward, one-step back” undertaking | Transnational Institute, Netherlands
Police and crime commissioners – candidate briefings: national policy and strategy August 2012
Briefings that look at the various areas where central government input is important including: Tackling drugs | Home Office, UK
Health groups celebrate decision on Needle & Syringe Exchange Program for ACT prison August 2012
Key health organisations are celebrating the ACT Government’s decision to include a Needle and Syringe Exchange Program as part of its broader strategy for management of blood borne viruses (BBVs) in the ACT’s prison | Public Health Association Australia
Irish Prison Service annual report 2011 August 2012
For information on drugs and prison policy see chapter 4 (page 30)
HIV and the Law: Risks, Rights & Health July 2012
How evidence and human rights based laws can end an epidemic of bad laws and transform the global AIDS response! Download | Global Commission on HIV and the Law
Drug Misuse Declared July 2012
Findings from the 2011/12 Crime Survey for England and Wales which examines the extent and trends in illicit drug use among a nationally representative sample of 16 to 59 year olds resident in households in England and Wales | Home Office, UK
Beyond Crime and Drug Use July 2012
Do Adult Drug Courts Produce Other Psychosocial Benefits? | Journal of Drug Issues
Crimes detected in England and Wales 2011/12 July 2012
Home Office Statistical Bulletin 08/12 presents police recorded crime statistics on the levels and trends in detections and detection rates in England & Wales for the financial year 2011/12. Download | Home Office, UK
New regulatory regime for psychoactive substances July 2012
Current legislation has proved ineffective in dealing with the rapid growth in new psychoactive substances, such as party pills and other legal highs, which can be synthesised to be one step ahead of existing controls. Cabinet has agreed to new legislation to address this by prohibiting the sale of all psychoactive substances unless approved by a regulator. Download | Ministry for Health, New Zealand
Criminal activity among regular ecstasy users in Australia July 2012
Prevalence and predictors. Download | NDARC, Australia
The war on drugs has failed – is legalization the answer? July 2012
March conference report | Baker Institute
Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2011-12 June 2012
Drug crimes recorded by the police, 2002-03 to 2011-12 | Scottish Government, UK
The War on Drugs and HIV/AIDS June 2012
How the Criminalization of Drug Use Fuels the Global Pandemic | Report of the Global Commissionon Drug Policy
Drugs, crime and punishment June 2012
Proportionality of sentencing for drug offences | TNI, IDPC
Analogue controls: an imperfect law June 2012
In this joint Briefing Note, the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs and the UK Drug Policy Commission set out some of the drawbacks with analogue control systems. Download | UKDPC
Amphetamine users and crime in Western Australia, 1999–2009 June 2012
Statistics consistently highlight a higher prevalence of the use of amphetamines in Western Australia compared to other Australian drug markets. It is the third most commonly used drug in Western Australia behind cannabis and ecstacy | Australian Institute of Criminology
Decriminalization and Initiation into Cannabis Use June 2012
Decriminalizing cannabis shifts the age distribution of uptake towards younger age groups while leaving the proportion of those who will start using cannabis unchanged. This suggests that decriminalization eects when individuals start using cannabis, rather than whether or not they start | University of Melbourne, Australia
The purpose of this report is to critically examine drug treatment courts (DTCs) in Canada using the available evidence, which includes process and outcome evaluations of existing DTCs, grey literature and academic research | Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Temporary Class Drug) order 2012 May 2012
First Delegated Legislation Committee | House of Commons, UK
Drug use among police detainees May 2012
A comparative analysis of DUMA and the US Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring program, Download | Australian Institute of Criminology
Drug use among police detainees May 2012
A comparative analysis of DUMA and the US Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring program, Download | Australian Institute of Criminology
How much crime is drug or alcohol related? May 2012
Self-reported attributions of police detainees – Download | Australian Institute of Criminology
Legal status of drugs May 2012
What does the research evidence tell us about what Australians think about the legal status of drugs? | Drug Policy Modelling Program, Australia
Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program May 2012
2011 Annual Report | ONDCP, USA
Illicit Drug Data Report 2010-11 May 2012
It provides a statistical overview of illicit drug arrests and seizures as well as profiling the current situation, national impact and the emerging trends and threats of illicit drugs in Australia – full report | Australian Crime Commission
How the War on Drugs Distorts Privacy Law May 2012
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon determine whether a trained narcotics dog’s sniff at the front door of a home constitutes a Fourth Amendment search | Stanford Law Review, USA
Report estimates number of crimes prevented by drug treatment May 2012
Every £100 invested in drug treatment services prevents a crime being committed, according to a study released today – ‘Estimating the Crime Reduction Benefits of Drug Treatment and Recovery‘ | National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, UK
Drug Trafficking, Violence, and Instability May 2012
The complex relationship between human security, crime, illicit economies, and law enforcement. It also seeks to disentangle the linkages between insurgency on the one hand and drug trafficking and organized crime | Strategic Studies Institute
Irish Prison Service three year strategic plan 2012-2015 May 2012
Rising prisoner numbers have placed enormous strain on the prison system across the board from accommodation to the provision of services including work training/education, healthcare and drug treatment services | Irish Prison Service
ACPO published UK national problem profile commercial cultivation of cannabis April 2012
A national problem profile published today by the Association of Chief Police Officers shows the commercial cultivation of cannabis continues to pose a significant risk to the UK with increasing numbers of farms being detected by police | Association of Chief Police Officers, UK
Drug Seizures by Scottish Police Forces, 2010-11 April 2012
The statistics in this bulletin relate to drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, which divides drugs into three classes A, B and C | Scottish Government, UK
Female offenders 2011 April 2012
71% of female offenders reported that they had used drugs in the 12 months prior to coming into prison (compared to 61%of male offenders. 36% of female prisoners reported that they were being prescribed methadone and of these a majority (82%) reported that it controlled their craving | Scottish Prison Service, UK
Report of a high level Australia21 Roundtable April 2012
The Prohibition of Illicit Drugs is Killing and Criminalising Our Children and We Are All Letting It Happen | Australia21
Commentary on the Australia 21 report April 2012
Here are what some of NDARC’s academic staff have had to say in the wake of the report’s release | NDARC, Australia
A war against people who use drugs April 2012
The costs | Eurasian Harm Reduction Network
Providing guidance to policy makers for developing coherent policies for licit and illicit drugs April 2012
This policy paper aims to provide decision makers and policy managers with an overview of the basic principles, instruments and tools that will support them in developing, reviewing and implementing drug policies, strategies and action plans | Pompidou Group, Europe
Substance misuse interventions within the young people’s secure estate March 2012
Guiding principles for transferring commissioning responsibility from the YJB to local partnership areas | NTA, UK
Illicit Drug Use and Property Offending among Police Detainees March 2012
The primary objective of the current study was to examine whether the frequency of recent illicit drug use is related to higher levels of offending among police detainees in Australia. In particular, the study investigated whether the frequency of property offending escalates with offenders’ self-reported illicit drug use | Australian Institute of Criminology
Linking data on drug misusers and drug-misusing offenders March 2012
This is the first report using the Drug Data Warehouse. It provides information about this new resource and summarises the findings from initial, descriptive analysis | Home Office, UK
Increasing the voluntary and community sector’s involvement in Integrated Offender Management March 2012
The initiative helped foster positive links between the voluntary and statutory sector bodies. VCS bodies were felt to have successfully addressed specific gaps in offender provision – Summary – Full report | Home Office, UK
2009–10 report on drug use among police detainees March 2012
Monitoring report no.17 – Download | Australian Institute of Criminology
‘Safe ketamine’ referred to drug experts March 2012
The government has referred the legal high ‘mexxy’ to drug experts in a move which could lead to a temporary ban | Home Office, UK
Australian crime March 2012
Facts & figures: 2011 | Australian Institute of Criminology
Safe Management and Use of Controlled Drugs in Prison Health in England February 2012
Final report | National Prescribing Centre, UK
Pharmaceutical drug use among police detainees February 2012
In light of increased concern regarding the illegal use of prescription medication and the extent of the diversion of pharmaceuticals into the black market, the AIC incorporated a set of new questions into its third quarterly DUMA survey in 2011 | Australian Institute of Criminology
ACMD letter on further advice on the classification of two steroidal substances February 2012
Letter from Les Iversen to Lord Henley provides further advice on the classification of two steroidal substances | ACMD, UK
New legal limits in traffic for drugs other than alcohol February 2012
Legal limits for twenty illegal drugs and medicines with an abuse potential have been introduced by the Norwegian government | Norwegian Institute of Public Health
A resounding success or a disastrous failure: January 2012
Re-examining the interpretation of evidence on the Portuguese decriminalisation of illicit drugs | Drug and Alcohol Review
Drug advice for schools January 2012
Updated: 25 January 2012 | Department for Education and the Association of Chief Police Officers, UK
Sentencing Council launches new definitive guideline for drug offences January 2012
The new guideline, which has been issued following a 12-week public consultation, will come into effect on 27 February 2012 | Sentencing Council, UK
Drug Advice for Schools January 2012
Drugs and drug-related incidents – advice for local authorities, head teachers, school staff and governing bodies from the | Department for Education and the Association of Chief Police Officers, UK
Consultation Paper on Mandatory Sentences January 2012
That current minimum sentence law for drugs offences be reviewed because it has led to bulge in prison population without any major effect on those at the top of the drugs industry. Consultation Paper | Irish Penal Reform Trust
Penalties for illegal drug trafficking January 2012
The following table shows the penalties foreseen in, and the most common judicial practices applied by, the EU Member States | EMCDDA
Legal topic overviews: classification of controlled drugs January 2012
This Topic Overview looks at the UN system, the EU’s system of pan-European control, and finally gives a table outlining the similarities and differences of the national systems in the EU and Norway | EMCDDA
2011
Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics, 2010-11 December 2011
Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics. Includes data on Drug Treatment Testing Orders | Scottish Government, UK
Intensive Judicial Supervision and Drug Court Outcomes December 2011
These interim findings provide strong evidence that intensively supervising drug court participants in the early phases reduces early-phase substance use and sanctioning rates | NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Australia
Amphetamine: a European Union perspective in the global context December 2011
This joint publication with the European Police Agency, Europol, is an in-depth study on the illicit market in amphetamine – Download – Press release | EMCDDA
Iran: Surge of secret executions for drug offences must end December 2011
This year has seen a dramatic rise in the number of people – many impoverished – who are executed for drug offences in Iran. Report: Addicted to Death: Executions for Drug Offences in Iran | Amnesty International
The Challenge of Violent Drug-Trafficking Organizations December 2011
An Assessment of Mexican Security Based on Existing RAND Research on Urban Unrest, Insurgency, and Defense-Sector Reform | RAND, USA
Responding to new psychoactive substances December 2011
This briefing paper describes some of the practical and legal obstacles facing Member States when responding to such new substances. It underlines the importance of national early-warning systems in detecting and identifying new substances as the first step towards assessing the risks of, and ultimately controlling, potentially dangerous new drugs. English download | EMCDDA
Bromley Briefing December 2011
Our overcrowded jails increasingly act as an early port of call for the courts, expected to deter, to rehabilitate and to act as a dumping ground for all those failed by other services | Prison Reform Trust, UK
Legality of Denying Access to Medication Assisted Treatment In the Criminal Justice System December 2011
This report examines the prevalence of opiate addiction in the criminal justice system, its devastating consequences, and the widespread denial of access to one of its most effective forms of treatment: medication assisted treatment | Legal Action Center, USA
Adult Drug Courts December 2011
Adult Drug Courts: Studies Show Courts Reduce Recidivism, but DOJ Could Enhance Future Performance Measure Revision Efforts. Full report | GAO, USA
Substance misuse services in adult prisons in England November 2011
As part of the Government’s October 2010 spending review, responsibility for the funding of non-clinical substance misuse services in contracted adult prisons in England transfered to NHS primary care trusts. This letter published jointly by the Department and National Offender Management Service outlines the next steps required to intergrate substance misuse services in prisons | Department of Health, UK
Substance Misuse Detainees in Police Custody November 2011
Guidelines for Clinical Management – Report of a Medical Working Group | Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK
Inflicting Harm November 2011
Judicial corporal punishment for Drug and Alcohol Offences in Selected Countries | IHRA
California Faces Challenges Meeting Health Needs of Offenders Released from Prison November 2011
People released from prison have high need for health care, particularly mental health care and alcohol and drug treatment. Download | RAND, USA
Interventions for Drug Users in the Criminal Justice System: Scottish Review November 2011
The purpose of this review was to examine the available research evidence on criminal justice interventions in Scotland in terms of „effectiveness?, (measured by rates of reconviction/reoffending, and reductions in drug use) and costs | SCCJR, University of Stirling, UK
The Challenge of Violent Drug-Trafficking Organizations November 2011
An Assessment of Mexican Security Based on Existing RAND Research on Urban Unrest, Insurgency, and Defense-Sector Reform | RAND, USA
New guidance on prison prescribing November 2011
The Secure Environments Group at the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has published guidance for GPs and pharmacists on Safer Prescribing in Prison. Download | RCGP, UK
Seizures of drugs in England and Wales, 2010/11 November 2011
The Home Office Statistical Bulletin contains figures for seizures of drugs made in 2010/11 by local police forces and the UK Border Agency within England and Wales | Home Office, UK
Mexico: Widespread Rights Abuses in ‘War on Drugs’ November 2011
Mexico’s military and police have committed widespread human rights violations in efforts to combat organized crime, virtually none of which are being adequately investigated, Human Rights Watch said in a report: “Neither Rights Nor Security: Killings, Torture, and Disappearances in Mexico’s ‘War on Drugs,’” | Human Rights Watch
ASAM’s Policy Position on Marijuana Legalization October 2011
ASAM does not support any law or regulation or modification therein that results in a significant increase in the availability of any dependence-producing drug | American Society of Addiction Medicine, USA
Recorded crime quarter 3 2011 October 2011
In Q3 2011, there were 4,766 recorded Controlled drug offences, a decrease of 15.0% on Q3 2010. There were 3,449 recorded offences of Possession of drugs forpersonal use offences in Q3 2011, a decrease of over 14% on the corresponding figure in Q3 2010 | Central Statistics Office, Cork, Ireland
TNI – IDPC Expert seminar on proportionality of sentencing for drug offences October 2011
The Expert Seminar on Proportionality of Sentencing for Drug Offences was an initiative of the Transnational Institute working together with the International Drug Policy Consortium (‘IDPC’) and co-hosted by the Sentencing Council of England and Wales – Download | IDPC
Juvenile justice in Australia 2009-10 October 2011
In Australia, around 7,250 young people were under juvenile justice supervision on any given day in 2009-10 | AIHW, Australia
Crime in England and Wales October 2011
Quarterly Update to June 2011 | Home Office, UK
The Treatment of Incarcerated Mentally Disordered Women Offenders October 2011
A Synthesis of Current Research | University of Western Ontario, Canada
Narcoterrorism and the Long Reach of U.S. Law Enforcement October 2011
In testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, Vanda Felbab-Brown speaks on the relationship between drug trade and criminal and belligerent groups in Afghanistan, Mexico, Colombia and West Africa | Brookings, USA
Guatemala: Drug trafficking and violence October 2011
International Crisis Group, Latin America Report N°39, 11 October 2011. PDF | IDPC
Campaign for Youth Justice Youth Justice System Survey October 2011
By a margin of 78 – 15 percent, the public overwhelming wants the focus of the juvenile justice system to be on prevention and rehabilitation, rather than incarceration and punishment | GBA Strategies, USA
Drug Policy in Portugal: The Benefits of Decriminalizing Drug Use October 2011
The effects of Portugal’s experiment with drug policy have been corroborated by research, and the Portuguese people’s reactions to it have been verified by reliable surveys; this experience can and should be a lesson for a world caught up in a failed “war on drugs.” | Open Society Foundations, USA
Australian Institute of Criminology Annual Report October 2011
The information contained in these reports is provided to inform the Australian Government, Members of Parliament, state and territory agencies, grants recipients, award winners, consultants, students of crime and criminal justice, potential employees and the public | Australian Institute of Criminology
Drug enforcement in an age of austerity October 2011
Key findings from a survey of police forces in England | UKDPC
Drop in ‘legal high’ poisonings following ban October 2011
Banning so-called ‘legal highs’ including mephedrone led to a fall in the number of queries on how to treat users, poisoning experts have found. National Poisons Information Service – Annual Report | Health Protection Agency, UK
Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland Annual Report 2010-2011 October 2011
One aspect of prison is to reduce re-offending and there is a need to address the underlying issues of offending behaviour such as alcohol or drug addiction. Considerable money, time and effort is put into addressing these and of course this is wasted if illegal drugs are still being taken | Scottish Government, UK
Mexico’s Battle Against Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking September 2011
This 54-page US monograph explores the effectiveness of the security and law enforcement and socio-economic approaches adopted in Mexico over the past several years to combat the drug trafficking organizations | Brookings, USA
The health of Australia’s prisoners 2010 September 2011
Over half report drinking alcohol at risk levels and 2 in 3 had used illicit drugs during the previous 12 months | AIHW, Australia
Regulating Medical Marijuana Dispensaries September 2011
An Overview with Preliminary Evidence of Their Impact on Crime. Full Document | RAND, USA
Incarceration Predicts Virologic Failure for HIV-Infected Injection Drug Users Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy September 2011
Among IDUs achieving viral suppression while receiving ART, virologic failure occurred with high frequency and was strongly associated with brief incarceration | Clinical Infectious Diseases
2011 Death Penalty report September 2011
Responsibility and Shared Consequences’ is the fourth report on the death penalty for drug-related offences produced by | Harm Reduction International
Response to Liberal Democrat Conference motion on drug harms September 2011
Motion to be debated Sunday 18 September | UKDPC
Community or Custody? A National Enquiry September 2011
Are rigorous community sentences more effective than short prison terms in stopping persistent, low-level offending? | Make Justice Work
Assessing the social climate of Australian prisons September 2011
This research is based on the premise that the social climate of a prison will exert a profound influence on rehabilitative outcomes – Download | Australian Institute of Criminology
Poly drug use among police detainees August 2011
Offenders with complex drug dependencies involving two or more drug types comprise a substantial proportion of drug court and drug diversion clients, yet evaluation studies have demonstrated that these offenders often have poorer retention rates and higher post-program reoffending rates. Download | Australian Institute of Criminology
The Multi-Site Adult Drug Court Evaluation August 2011
The Drug Court Experience | Urban Institute, USA
Prescription drug use among detainees: Prevalence, sources and links to crime August 2011
Concern regarding the diversion and non-medical use of prescription pharmaceuticals continues to grow as anecdotal evidence and other research points to a sizeable increase in the illegal market for such drugs. Download | Australian Institute of Criminology
SCDEA – Annual Report 2010-11 August 2011
Protecting our Communities – Disrupting Serious Organised Crime | Scottish Crime and Drugs Enforcement Agency, UK
Development of a European Crime Report August 2011
Improving safety and justice with existing crime and criminal justice data. Full report | RAND, USA
Drug Misuse Declared July 2011
Findings from the 2010/11 British Crime Survey England and Wales | Home Office, UK
Balancing Access and Safety: Meeting the challenge of blood borne viruses in prison July 2011
Moore report into implementation of a Needle and Syringe Program in the Alexander Maconochie Centre | ACT Health, Australia
Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime: Converging Threats in the 21st Century July 2011
ONDCP Director Kerlikowske and colleagues from throughout the Administration announced The Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime, a comprehensive plan that will, in part, help us build on our progress to further reduce drug use in the United States and disrupt drug trafficking and its facilitation of other transnational threats | ONDCP, USA
The Multi-Site Adult Drug Court Evaluation July 2011
Funded by the National Institute of Justice, the five-year multi-site study compared participants in 23 drug courts in seven states to similar defendants who went through conventional case processing. The results offer vivid evidence that drug courts are effective at reducing both substance abuse and crime | Center for Court Innovation
Khat: Social harms and legislation July 2011
A literature review by David M. Anderson and Neil C. M. Carrier, University of Oxford | Home Office, UK
Drug Treatment and Testing Orders: Guidance for Schemes July 2011
The emphasis of a DTTO is on drugs treatment as the primary means of reducing offending behaviour rather than the specific offence focused approach of a probation order | Scottish Government, UK
Denial of Petition To Initiate Proceedings To Reschedule Marijuana July 2011
Accordingly, and as set forth in detail in the accompanying DHHS and DEA documents, there is no statutory basis under the CSA for DEA to grant your petition to initiate rulemaking proceedings to reschedule marijuana. Your petition is, therefore, hereby denied | Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Justice, USA
Illicit Drug Data Report 2009 – 10 June 2011
The report is recognised as one of the most valuable tools for law enforcement agencies, policy and decision makers, research bodies and other stakeholders in combating illicit drugs. Full report and a series of press releases | Australian Crime Commission
Medicine and the Epidemic of Incarceration in the United States June 2011
On January 1, 2008, one of every 100 adults or more than 2.3 million people, were behind bars | NEJM, USA
Drugs (Roadside Testing) Bill (HC Bill 25) June 2011
A bill to make provision for roadside testing for illegal drugs; and for connected purposes | Parliament, UK
Court-based mental health diversion programs June 2011
Court-based mental health diversion programs are based on the concept of therapeutic jurisprudence. Download | Australian Institute of Criminology
Inquiry into the Impact of Drug-related Offending on Female Prisoner Numbers June 2011
The Drugs and Crime Prevention Committee tabled its Interim Report of the Inquiry into the Impact of Drug-Related Offending on Female Prisoner Numbers on 6 October 2010. An electronic copy of the Final Report can be downloaded via the this link | Parliament of Victoria, Australia
The Global Commission Report on Drug Legalization June 2011
Setting the Record Straight | Of Substance Blog, ONDCP, USA
Global Commission on Drug Policy Report June 2011
Commission members have agreed on four core principles that should guide national and international drug policies and strategies, and have made eleven recommendations for action. Press release | Global Commission on Drug Policy
Medicine and the Epidemic of Incarceration in the United States June 2011
Locking up millions of people for drug-related crimes has failed as a public-safety strategy and has harmed public health in the communities to which these men and women return. A new evidence-based approach is desperately needed | New England Journal of Medicine, USA
Patterns of mephedrone, GHB, Ketamine and Rohypnol use among police detainees May 2011
Findings from the DUMA program – download | Australian Institute of Criminology
The Family Drug & Alcohol Court (FDAC) Evaluation Project May 2011
This report presents the findings from the evaluation of the first pilot Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) in England and Wales | Brunel University, UK
Coverage of Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean May 2011
This report provides a summary of the discussions of nearly 50 journalists and academics from Latin America and the Caribbean on media coverage of organized crime and drug trafficking in the continent. Download | Open Society Foundations,
Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) – Evaluation Research StudyMay 2011
The final report, separate executive summary and highlights are now available | Brunel University, UK
Kratom in Thailand: decriminalisation and community control? May 2011
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 | IDPC
Taking Drugs Seriously May 2011
A Demos and UK Drug Policy Commission report on legal highs. Full report and background paper | UKDPC
Ministry of Justice business plan May 2011
1.3 Work with the Department of Health to co-design and establish pilots to provide payments, based on outcomes, to providers to help individuals (including offenders) achieve sustained recovery from drug dependency | Ministry of Justice, UK
NZLC R122 Controlling and Regulating Drugs – A Review of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 May 2011
The Law Commission issues its latest report, Controlling and Regulating Drugs – A Review of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. Part 1 and Part 2 | Law Commission, New Zealand
NSW Recorded Crime Statistics 2010 April 2011
The broad picture among the 17 major offence categories is largely one of stable or falling crime. In the 24 months to December 2010 – Full PDF | NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Australia
Funding for 2011/12 substance misuse services in prisons April 2011
Joint letter from Department of Health, National Offender Management Service and National Treatment Agency confirming funding allocations for substance misuse services in adult prisons in England for 2011/12. The Department of Health became responsible for these services in April 2011 | Department of Health, UK
The 2010 Spending Review transferred responsibility for substance misuse services in adult prisons in England to the Department of Health from April 2011. This letter confirms new responsibilities and funding allocations for 2011/12 | Department of Health, UK
Alternatives to Imprisonment April 2011
Those surveyed were especially supportive of community sentences for mentally ill offenders (92% support) and youngoffenders (88% support) – Report [Sentencing Advisory Council, Victoria, Australia]
Greater flexibility for drug testing in police stations March 2011
Police forces will now have greater freedom and flexibility to drug test people on arrest, Minister for Crime Prevention James Brokenshire announced today [Home Office, UK]
The Seven Costs Summary Briefing March 2011
The War on Drugs: Are we paying too high a price? [Count the Costs]
The War on Drugs: Undermining international development and security, increasing conflict March 2011
These costs result not from drug use itself, but from choosing a punitive enforcement-led approach that, by its nature, places control of the trade in the hands of organised crime, and criminalises many users [Count the Costs]
Sentencing for drugs offences – public consultation launched on new guideline for judges March 2011
The Sentencing Council is launching a three-month public consultation on its proposals to introduce a new guideline for judges and magistrates for the sentencing of drugs offenders [The Sentencing Council, UK]
Research and analysis publications March 2011
Regularly published research reports and analysis and research bulletins [The Sentencing Council, UK]
The Drug War in Mexico: Confronting a Shared Threat March 2011
This 35-page US report analyzes the drug war in Mexico [Council on Foreign Relations, USA]
Measuring the effectiveness of drug law enforcement February 2011
Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no.406 Download paper [Australian Institute of Criminology]
Rethinking America’s Illegal Drug Policy February 2011
This paper provides a critical review of the empirical and theoretical literatures on illegal drug policy, including cross-country comparisons, in order to evaluate three drug policy regimes: criminalization, legalization and “depenalization.” [National Bureau of Economic Research]
Reoffending of juveniles February 2011
The latest National Statistics on the reoffending of juveniles released from custody or commencing out-of-court or non-custodial court disposals in England and Wales in the first quarter of a particular year. 2008 cohort [Ministry of Justice, UK]
Reoffending of adults February 2011
The latest National Statistics on the reoffending of adults released from custody or starting a community sentence in England and Wales in the first quarter of a particular year. 2008 cohort [Ministry of Justice, UK]
Global Commission on HIV and the Law January 2011
IDPC calls Global Commission on HIV and the Law to consider health and human rights implications of current drug control strategy. Submission to HIV Law Commission [IDPC]
Dedicated drug court: process evaluation January 2011
A process evaluation study of dedicated drug courts, their implementation and factors underpinning the potential for DDCs to reduce drug use and associated offending. PDF [Ministry of Justice, UK]
2009/10 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey: Drug Use January 2011
The survey is based on, annually, 16,000 in-home face-to-face interviews with adults (aged 16 or over) living in private households in Scotland [Scottish Government, UK]
Criminal proceedings in Scotland 2009-10 January 2011
The number of persons with a charge proved increased for a handful of crime groups, including drugs crimes which increased by 5 per cent [Scottish Government, UK]
Together launch mental health guide for criminal justice staff January 2011
Believed to be the first of its kind, ‘A common sense approach to working with defendants and offenders with mental health problems‘ was launched by Louis Appleby CBE, National Clinical Director for Health and Criminal Justice [Together, UK]
Crime in England and Wales: Quarterly Update to September 2010 January 2011
This Quarterly Update presents the most recent crime statistics from two different sources: the British Crime Survey (BCS) and police recorded crime [Home Office, UK]
2010
Systems Overload December 2010
Drug Laws and Prisons in Latin America [Transnational Institute, Netherlands]
Drug Misusing Offenders: Results from the 2009 cohort for England and Wales December 2010
This report presents the latest annual statistics on the proven offending of individuals (aged 18 and over) identified as Class A drug-misusing offenders [Home Office, UK]
Drink and drug driving law December 2010
First Report of Session 2010–11. House of Commons Transport Committee [Parliament, UK]
Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill December 2010
[Parliament, UK]
Final Connections Project Update: December 2010
T3E final research report – Ethnicity, drugs, HIV and prisons in Europe
Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) Report: Prison and Risks
The Limits of Equivalence November 2010
Ethical Dilemmas in Providing Care in Drug Detention Centers PDF [Open Society Foundations, USA]
Out of Harm’s Way November 2010
A new report released by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies [IHRA]
Prison policy said to be a ‘disaster’ November 2010
Prison chaplains have described the prison policy as a disaster for both prisoners and society – Annual report [RTE, Ireland]
Ex-offenders and the Labor Market November 2010
Dramatic increases in sentencing, especially for drug-related offenses, account for the mushrooming of the ex-offender population that we document here [Center for Economic and Policy Research, USA]
Leave No Veteran Behind November 2010
The Inquiry into Former Armed Service Personnel in Prison visits the United States of America [Howard League for Penal Reform]
Foil report November 2010
This report by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs considers the use of foil, as an intervention, to reduce the harms of injecting heroin [Home Office, UK]
Joint UNODC / INCB Statement on the International Drug Control System and Human Health and Human Rights November 2010
The recent report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health focuses on the international drug control system [UNODC]
Mephedrone: still available and twice the price November 2010
These findings suggest that classification of mephedrone has had a limited effect on controlling its availability and use [The Lancet, UK]
Import ban on psychoactive drug November 2010
The government has today banned the importation of a drug found in some samples of so-called legal high Ivory Wave [Home Office, UK]
Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2009/10 November 2010
3.5 Alcohol or drug related violent crime [Scottish Government, UK]
Seizures of Drugs in England and Wales, 2009/10 October 2010
The statistics in this publication relate to all drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (MDA), which divides drugs into three categories (classes A, B and C) according to their harmfulness, with class A drugs considered to be the most harmful [Home Office, UK]
Reducing Drug Trafficking Revenues and Violence in Mexico October 2010
This paper examines how marijuana legalization in California might influence DTO revenues and the violence in Mexico PDF [RAND, USA]
IHRA releases new briefing on the death penalty for drug offences October 2010
The purpose of this briefing is to highlight the dangers associated with funding drug control activities in countries with capital drug laws as detailed in IHRA’s report Complicity or Abolition Report? The Death Penalty and International Support for Drug Enforcement PDF [IHRA]
The Patel report: Reducing drug-related crime and rehabilitating offenders September 2010
A report by Professor Lord Patel of Bradford OBE, chair of the independent Prison Drug Treatment Strategy Review Group has been produced on drug treatment and interventions in prison and has been submitted to Ministers in the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health in response to the drug strategy consultation. The report focuses on drug treatment and interventions for people in prison, people moving between prisons and the continuity of care for people on release from prison. The report outlines the evidence gathered and work carried out by the Review Group and summarises their conclusions and recommendations. PDF [DoH, UK]
MSIC monitoring report September 2010
The Medically Supervised Injection Centre has not had a negative impact on robbery, property crime or drug offences in Kings Cross LAC, according to the latest monitoring report by the [NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Australia]
Drug crimes recorded by the police, 2000-01 to 2009-10 September 2010
Recorded Crime in Scotland [Scottish Government, UK]
The Criminal Justice (Psychoactive Substances) Act 2010 August 2010
The Criminal Justice (Psychoactive Substances) Act 2010 (No. 22 of 2010) will come into operation next Monday, 23 August 2010 [Drugs.ie, Ireland]
Kerlikowske draws the wrong conclusions August 2010
What can be learned from the Dutch cannabis experience? [Transnational Institute, Netherlands]
An Evaluation of the Compulsory Drug Treatment Program August 2010
The evaluation was limited to assessing the impact of the CDTP on the health and wellbeing of participants, measuring changes in perceived coercion, affective reactions, treatment readiness and therapeutic alliance, gauging participant satisfaction with various aspects of the program, and monitoring participants’ drug use whilst on the program [NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Australia]
International Statistics on Crime and Justice August 2010
Chapter 3 – Drug crime [Henui and UNODC]
Guidance on policing new psychoactive substances (formerly legal highs) July 2010
This Crime Business Area Guidance has been developed to provide information on the appearance and effects the drugs have and to recommend to Forces a consistent national approach to policing the possession and distribution of such substances as Class B and Class C drugs [Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, UK]
State election 2010 – Drugs, crime and prisons July 2010
This paper was produced in June and utilised during meetings with Members of Parliament in Drug Action Week [VAADA, Australia]
Legal Highs – Taking drugs seriously July 2010
This project will examine and evaluate the ways in which the UK seeks to control drugs following the proliferation of new synthetic substances. This will include a fundamental rethink of drug control approaches, policy objectives and a serious consideration of intended and unintended consequences, including alternatives to criminal penalties [Demos, UK]
Drug Misuse Declared July 2010
Findings from the 2009/10 British Crime Survey England. Accompanying tables and reports [Home Office, UK]
This document will be of interest to policymakers from the European Commission, as well as other governmental bodies which are concerned with measuring the effectiveness of their drug supply-reduction strategies [RAND]
SPS Framework for the Management of Substance Misuse in Custody Strategy July 2010
To provide staff with strategic direction and guidance in the management of prisoners with substance misuse problems [Scottish Prisons Service, UK]
Crime in England and Wales 2009/10 July 2010
Findings from the British Crime Survey and police recorded crime. Links to tables [Home Office, UK]
Women in prison July 2010
Thematic report by [HM Inspectorate of Prisons, UK]
Green Paper on Criminal Justice and Addiction July 2010
This paper presents an achievable vision that places full recovery at the heart of the drug and alcohol treatment system, and rehabilitation at the heart of the criminal justice system [Centre for Social Justice, UK]
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs Naphyrone Report (2010) July 2010
This report is a consideration of naphyrone (also known as NRG-1, Energy1, or O-2482; or naphthylpyrovalerone), a naphthyl analogue of pyrovalerone, which acts as a triple monoamine reuptake inhibitor, producing psychostimulant effects (hereafter referred to as naphyrone). Internationally, it is controlled under Schedule IV of the 1971 UN Conventions. PDF [Home Office, UK]
Deadly disregard June 2010
Government refusal to implement evidence-based measures to prevent HIV and hepatitis C virus infections in prisons [CMAJ, Canada]
Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency Annual Report for 2009 – 2010 June 2010
More serious organised criminals arrested than ever before and the targeting of high-purity drug seizures overseas are highlighted – Full report [Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, UK]
Links between executions and foreign funding of counter-drug operation June 2010
IHRA’s Senior Human Rights Analyst Damon Barrett appeared on Radio Australia to discuss the organisation’s latest report, ‘Complicity or Abolition? – The Death Penalty and International Support for Drug Enforcement’ [IHRA]
Clockwork drug driving report released
A Clockwork Research report has been published as a key supporting document to Sir Peter North’s ‘Report of the Review of Drink and Drug Driving Law’ [Clockwork Research, Department for Transport, UK]
Globalization of Crime June 2010
A Transnational Organized Crime Threat Assessment – Report [UNODC]
Drugs and Crime – Question for Short Debate June 2010
Tabled By Baroness Meacher – To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime discussion paper Treating Drug Dependence through Healthcare, not Punishment. House of Lords debates, 15 June 2010 [TheyWorkForYou, UK]
Sentencing for Drug Offences in England and Wales June 2010
The purpose of this report is to examine and evaluate this mechanism for law reform, without the need for legislative reform, and to consider the specific discussion around sentencing for drug offences which it has led to [IDPC]
2010 Annual Evidence Update – Drugs misuse – treatment in offender populations June 2010
This evidence update covers drugs misuse treatment in offender populations with a special focus on female offenders [NHS Evidence – National Library for Public Health, UK]
High levels of mental illness, substance use and communicable diseases among Australian prisoners June 2010
Australian prisoners have significant health issues, with high levels of mental health problems, communicable diseases, smoking, risky alcohol consumption and illicit drug use, according to a new report released today by the [Australian Institute of Health and Welfare]
Coming Clean: Combating drug misuse in prisons June 2010
This report contends that there are a series of fundamental problems with the way these issues are approached – and that despite repeated warning signs, the Prison Service appears destined to continue down the same failed path – PDF [Policy Exchange, UK]
Detention as Treatment May 2010
Detention of Methamphetamine Users in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand PDF [Open Society Institute, USA]
Canadian Court of Appeal upholds supervised injection site’s right to operate May 2010
North America’s first supervised injection facilty, was a provincial undertaking that did not undermine the federal goals of protecting health or eliminating the market that drives drugrelated offences. As such, the Court held that the drug possession and trafficking provisions of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) did not apply to Insite. Download [International Yearbook on Human Rights and Drug Policy]
Review of the Glasgow and Fife Drug Courts: Report May 2010
Review of the Drug Courts in Glasgow and Fife Sheriff Courts conducted by the Community Justice Services Division of the [Scottish Government]
Effect of Drug Law Enforcement on Drug-Related Violence: Evidence from a Scientific Review April 2010
International Centre for Science in Drug Policy released its first report [ICSDP]
Medical Marijuana and the Law April 2010
The U.S. legal landscape surrounding “medical marijuana” is complex and rapidly changing [New England Journal of Medicine, USA]
Time to rethink our drug control laws April 2010
The UK Drug Policy Commission and think-tank Demos are joining forces to examine how drug control in the UK can be handled in different ways [UKDPC]
ACPO guidance on policing new psychoactive substances April 2010
[Association of Chief Police Officer of England, Wales & Northern Ireland]
Tackling problem drug use April 2010
Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence [The Committee of Public Accounts, House of Commons, UK]
Broad Public Support For Legalizing Medical Marijuana April 2010
Modest Rise in Percentage Favoring General Legalization – Complete report [Pew Research Centre, USA]
An environmental scan on alcohol and other drug issues facing law enforcement in Australia 2010 April 2010
This is the second alcohol and other drug environmental scan undertaken for the law enforcement sector in Australia [NDLERF]
Consideration of the cathinones April 2010
Report from the [Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, UK]
Human Rights and Drug Policy March 2010
Briefings for the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs [Open Society Institute]
National Drug Threat Assessment 2010 March 2010
This report provides policymakers, law enforcement executives, resource planners, and counterdrug program coordinators with strategic intelligence regarding the threat posed to the United States by the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs [National Drug Intelligence Center, USA]
Effect of Drug Law Enforcement on Drug-Related Violence March 2010
Evidence from a Scientific Review [UHRI, Canada]
Australian crime: facts and figures 2009 March 2010
A a quick reference guide summarising trends in crime and criminal justice in AustraliaPDF 4.8MB [Australian Institute of Criminology]
Sentencing for Drug Offences March 2010
This advice to the Sentencing Guidelines Council makes proposals in relation to the sentencing of the most commonly sentenced drug offences. It considers those offences which derive from conduct intended to bring illicit drugs into circulation (including importation, production and supply) as well as those relating to possession and use [Sentencing Advisory Panel, UK]
Illicit drug markets in Queensland March 2010
A strategic assessment – PDF of the report [Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission, Australia]
Drug control, crime prevention and criminal justice March 2010
A Human Rights perspective [UNODC]
Afghanistan Drug Control March 2010
Strategy Evolving and Progress Reported, but Interim Performance Targets and Evaluation of Justice Reform Efforts Needed – Summary [GAO, USA]
Drug-misusing offenders March 2010
Results from the 2008 cohort for England and Wales [Home office, UK]
The Cocaine Trade March 2010
Home Affairs Committee – Seventh Report [Parliament, UK]
Garda Recorded Crime Statistics 2004-2008 February 2010
Chapter 10 Controlled Drug Offences [Central Statistics Office, Ireland]
Behind Bars II: Substance Abuse and America’s Prison Population February 2010
65 Percent of all U.S. Inmates Meet Medical Criteria for Substance Abuse Addiction, only 11 Percent Receive any Treatment – Full Report [CASA, USA]
Understanding illicit drug markets, supply-reduction efforts, and drug-related crime in the European Union February 2010
In this study we reviewed literature and RAND’s previous work in this area, and we gathered insights from European experts and policymakers. Full report – Summary [RAND, USA]
Drug use monitoring in Australia February 2010
2008 annual report on drug use among police detainees. 3.21 MB PDF [Australian Institute of Criminology]
Crime and the Criminal Justice System: Substance Misuse February 2010
An Ideas Wales Policy Discussion Paper by Julian Buchanan, Jonathan Evans, Gordon Hughes and Kate Williams [Ideas Wales, UK]
Severe Substance Dependence Treatment Bill 2009 January 2010
The Bill is likely to be passed or rejected by parliamentarians in February of this year [Victorian Government, Australia]
“Skin on the Cable” January 2010
The Illegal Arrest, Arbitrary Detention and Torture of People Who Use Drugs in Cambodia [Human Rights Watch]
Crime in England and Wales: Quarterly Update to September 2009 January 2010
These recorded crime statistics are heavily influenced by policing priorities, and may reflect changes in the policing of drug crime more than real changes in its incidence. Police Force Area tables [Home Office, UK]
Cost of Enforcement of Poland’s Drug Use Prevention Act January 2010
A think tank in Poland, released a report that estimates that a single article of the severe Drug Use Prevention Act of 2005 drains roughly 80 million PLN (£17.5 million) out of the public coffers each year [Institute for Public Affairs]
Drug law resentencing January 2010
Saving tax dollars with minimal community risk [Legal Aid Society of New York, USA]
The Past, Present, and Future of Medical Marijuana in the United States January 2010
This article seeks to place the attorney general’s action in historical, medical, and legal context [Psychiatric Times, USA]
“Where Darkness Knows No Limits” January 2010
Incarceration, Ill-Treatment and Forced Labor as Drug Rehabilitation in China. 42-page PDF [Human Rights Watch]
The Death Penalty for Drug Offences January 2010
A Violation of International Human Rights Law. 33-page PDF [IHRA]
2009
Misleading and Misguided: Mandatory Prison Sentences for Drug Offences December 2009
Brief to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs regarding Bill C-15, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts. 19-page PDF [Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network]
Status of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Counternarcotics Programs in Afghanistan December 2009
Full Status report. 67-page PDF [United States Department of State, Office of Inspector General]
Banned – GBL and other ‘legal highs’ December 2009
A range of former so called ‘legal highs’ including GBL, BZP and man-made chemicals sprayed on herbal smoking products such as ‘Spice’ are now illegal [Home Office, UK]
NSW recorded crime statistics quarterly updates December 2009
Quarterly update September 2009. 19-page PDF [NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Australia]
Children and Young People in Custody 2008–2009 December 2009
An analysis of the experiences of 15–18-year-olds in prison. 108 page PDF [HM Inspectorate of Prisons Youth Justice Board, UK]
SCDEA Annual Plan 2009 – 2010 December 2009
This Plan describes our strategic priorities set by Scottish Government Ministers, together with the funding available to the Agency and the manner in which I propose to allocate this funding [Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, UK]
Family Drug and Alcohol Court Evaluation Project – Interim report November 2009
This report presents interim findings from the evaluation of the first pilot Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) in Britain. FDAC is a new approach to care proceedings, in cases where parental substance misuse is a key element in the local authority decision to bring proceedings. 99-page PDF [FDAC Research Team Brunel University, UK]
Improving health, supporting justice November 2009
The national delivery plan of the Health and Criminal Justice Programme Board. 68-page PDF [DoH, UK]
Equality Impact Assessment of Improving Health, Supporting Justice November 2009
The findings from this EIA have been fed into the policy development stage and should be recognised as key areas for development to ensure equality of access for all. 86-page PDF [DoH, UK]
Mental Health, Abuse, Drug Use and Crime: Does Gender Matter? November 2009
Theories on the causal relationship between drug use and crime in Australian literature have often overlooked the influence of gender as a confounding variable [Australian Institute of Criminology]
Mentoring Former Prisoners November 2009
A Guide for Reentry Programs. 98-page PDF [Private / Public Ventures, USA]
Seizures of Drugs in England and Wales, 2008/09 October 2009
This publication presents figures for drug seizures made by law enforcement
agencies in England and Wales during 2008/09 [Home Office, UK]
Legalizing Marijuana: Issues to Consider Before Reforming California State Law October 2009
Testimony presented before the California State Assembly Public Safety Committee [RAND, USA]
Crime in England and Wales October 2009
Quarterly Update to June 2009. 18-page PDF [Home office, UK]
European Organised Crime Threat Assessment 2009 October 2009
The OCTA is based on a multi-source approach, including law enforcement and non-law enforcement contributions. 68-page PDF [Europa]
Guidance for the pharmacological management of substance misuse among young people in secure environments October 2009
This guidance document describes good practice on the best ways to manage a clinically complex condition. 111-page PDF [NTA, UK]
Reducing child imprisonment in England and Wales September 2009
Lessons from abroad. 72-page PDF [Prison Reform Trust, UK]
Comparing the drug situation across countries: Problems, Pitfalls and Possibilities September 2009
This briefing paper seeks to compare the drugs situation in a number of developed countries. Data from six European countries, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are included [Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme]
National Forensic Laboratory Information System August 2009
Annual report 2008. 32-page PDF [DEA, United States Department of Justice]
FEAD (Film Exchange on Alcohol and Drugs) August 2009
A resource that brings short video presentations from leading figures in the alcohol and drugs field direct to your screen. The contributors cover a range of topics honestly and directly – including: achievements, problem areas, and reflections on the field’s history. Many people have found the website useful in helping discussions and expanding on practice and theory. Please feel free to use the material to enrich your events, seminars, groups, teaching etc
Drugs, the law and safer injecting August 2009
For injecting drug users who want to know about how the law in Victoria affects them [Victoria Legal Aid, Australia]
Inquiry Into Strategies To Prevent High Volume Offending And Recidivism By Young August 2009
In this Report we have tried to focus on this group of offenders, namely repeat offenders, and have attempted to develop strategies that will assist these young people, firstly to try to stop them from ever getting into the juvenile justice system, and secondly, if this is unsuccessful, to outline strategies that will reduce or eliminate further offences. 397-page PDF [Drugs and crime prevention committee, Victoria Parliament, Australia]
Drug policy reform in practice August 2009
This article provides an overview of European drug policy practices regarding harm reduction, decriminalization of consumption and possession, and more tolerant policies towards cannabis, particularly in The Netherlands and several states in the US. 19-page PDF [TNI, Netherlands & Nueva Sociedad]
Annual Report of HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales 1999 – 2000 August 2009
As this, my fifth report, also marks the end of my five year contract, I am taking the opportunity to reflect on that period, draw some conclusions, and, as in all my prison and thematic review reports, highlight both good and bad practice and make recommendations for future development. 136-page PDF [Sir David Ramsbotham, GCB, CBE Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons, UK]
SCDEA – Annual Report 2008-09 August 2009
A year of success. 1.1 MB PDF [Scottish Crime & Drugs Enforcement Agency, UK]
Drug Offences August 2009
One of the chapters in the [Law handbook, Australia]
Breaking the Link August 2009
The role of drug treatment in tackling crime 24-page PDF [NTA, UK]
Drug and Alcohol Strategy 2009-2014 July 2009
This is the fourth Drug and Alcohol Strategy the Department has produced [Department of Corrections, New Zealand Government]
Refocusing Drug-Related Law Enforcement to Address Harms July 2009
This report describes the findings of a project conducted by the UK Drug Policy Commission that seeks to consider how an explicit refocusing of drug law enforcement on the reduction of drug-related harms could deliver a real impact on the drug related harms experienced by individuals and communities. 96-page PDF [UKDPC]
Moving towards Real Impact Drug Enforcement – Briefing July 2009
Strategy and policy implications. 16-page PDF [UKDPC]
Drug use patterns among Thai illicit drug users amidst increased police presence July 2009
Thailand has traditionally pursued an aggressive enforcement-based anti-drug policy in an effort to make the country “drug-free.” In light of this ongoing approach, we sought to assess impacts of enforcement on drug use behaviors among a cohort of injection drug users (IDU) in Thailand [Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy]
Harm Reduction in Prison: The Moldova Model July 2009
This report focuses on the introduction of harm reduction programmes in Moldovan prisons and describes successes achieved as well as remaining challenges. 70-page PDF [IDPC]
Bridges and barriers – addressing Indigenous incarceration and health July 2009
The strong links between substance misuse and Indigenous incarceration highlight an urgent need for government to address this disturbing problem. 18-page PDF [ADF, Australia]
Extending our reach: A comprehensive approach to tackling serious organised crime July 2009
This strategy sets out the reforms we will make to ensure that the government, law enforcement agencies, businesses and the public have the necessary tools to reduce the harm caused by organised crime [Home Office, UK]
The Role of DEA in Controlling Drug Abuse July 2009
Slide show – American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians. 119-page PDF [DEA, USA]
Drugs misuse treatment in offender populations July 2009
The first Annual Evidence Update on Drugs focussing on Drugs misuse treatment in offender populations [NHS Evidence, UK]
Drug Misusing Offenders: Ensuring the continuity-of-care between prison and community July 2009
This document provides specific guidance on managing the continuity-of-care journey that drug misusing offenders follow on entering prison from the community, whilst in prison, and exiting prison [Home Office, UK]
Do Better Do Less: The report of the Commission on English Prisons Today July 2009
The final report of the Commission on English Prisons Today takes a radical look at the purposes and limits of a penal system and how it should sit alongside other social policies [Howard League for Penal Reform, UK]
Towards a Popular, Preventative Youth Justice System July 2009
It includes proposals for early intervention for preventative purposes, as well as for the extension of the system to some of those in the 18-21 age group [Institute for Public Policy Research, UK]
Are short term prison sentences an efficient and effective use of public resources? June 2009
Two sets of analyses are presented in this paper. First, brand new analysis is presented for the first time that estimates the economic impact expected from diverting offenders from short-term prison sentences to community sentences. Second, the paper summarises the analysis of the costs and benefits of alternative sentences. 22-page PDF [Make Justice Work, UK]
Massachusetts Bar Association releases Drug Policy Task Force report June 2009
Massachusetts must enact meaningful drug reform for nonviolent offenders, focusing on education and treatment instead of incarceration and punishment, according to a report of the MBA Drug Policy Task Force. 60-page PDF [Massachusetts Bar Association, USA]
2009 Annual Evidence Update – Drugs misuse treatment in offender populations June 2009
As it is the first AEU, the period it covers is wider. Evidence is presented from January 2005 to March 2009 [NHS Evidence , UK]
National Offender Management Service drug strategy 2008-2011 June 2009
The drug strategy provides staff, delivery partners, service providers and other stakeholders with an overview of the role NOMS will take in addressing drug misuse and the crime it causes. PDFs Strategy – Action plan – Getting the message across [Home Office, UK]
Understanding the Public Health Implications of Prisoner Reentry in California June 2009
Examining the demographic and health profiles of the prison population shows that it is disproportionately sicker on average than the U.S. population in general, with substantially higher rates of infectious diseases (such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and hepatitis B and C), serious mental illness, and substance abuse disorders. 220-page PDF [RAND, USA]
Illicit Drug Data Report 2007–2008 June 2009
The Illicit Drug Data Report is produced by the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) and is recognised as one of the most valuable tools for law enforcement agencies, policy and decision makers, research bodies and other stakeholders in combating illicit drugs [Australian Crime Commission]
Assessing Changes in Global Drug Problems, 1998–2007 May 2009
This Main Report provides a dispassionate overview of the true nature and extent of the problem today, and to assist policy makers at national and regional levels to deal with it. It was suggested that the drugs market be looked at as if it were licit, in order to get a clearer picture of the way that it works. 84-page PDF [Trimbos Institute and RAND]
Evaluation of the Mandatory Drug Testing of Arrestees Pilot May 2009
Findings of a process evaluation and cost effectiveness analysis of the three Mandatory Drug Testing of Arrestees pilot schemes in Scotland [Scottish Government, UK]
Seizures of Drugs in England and Wales,2007/08 May 2009
This publication presents figures for drug seizures made by law enforcement agencies in England and Wales during 2007/08. 18-page PDF [Home Office, UK]
The unintended consequences of drug policies: Report 5 April 2009
This report provides a systematic analysis of the unintended consequences of drug prohibition and enforcement. Seven mechanisms of unintended consequences are distinguished [RAND]
Misleading and Misguided: Mandatory Prison Sentences for Drug Offences (April 2009) April 2009
Brief for submission April 22, 2009 to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights regarding Bill C-15, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts,. 18-page PDF [Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network]
Population in custody monthly tables January 2009 England and Wales January 2009 March 2009
Decreases were seen in motoring and drug offences, down by 18 and 9 per cent respectively. 14-page PDF [Department of Justice, UK]
UKDPC Special Edition of ‘Safer Communities’ March 2009
Features a paper by US academics Jonathan Caulkins and Peter Reuter ‘Towards a harm-reduction approach to enforcement’ followed by responses from four different perspectives. 44-page PDF [UKDPC]
Too Little, Too Late: An Independent Review of Unmet Mental Health Need in Prison February 2009
Reveals that many people who should have been diverted into mental health or social care from police stations or courts are entering prisons, which are ill equipped to meet their needs, and then being discharged back into the community without any support. Full report (79-page PDF) or Summary (6-page PDF) [Prison Reform Trust, UK]
Counternarcotics and Law Enforcement Country Programs January 2009
Listed by country [Department of State, USA]
2008
UNODC launches HIV/AIDS toolkit for detention centres December 2008
The Toolkit (155-page PDF) is designed to assist countries to mount an effective national response to HIV in prisons and to improve and, if necessary, reform their prison systems [UNODC]
A compendium of alcohol and other drug-related resources for law enforcement in Australia December 2008
The compendium is intended to serve as an information resource for police and other law enforcement officers working in a variety of settings, student law enforcement officers, policy makers, researchers and others with an interest in this area. [National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, Australia]
Police drug diversion: a study of criminal offending outcomes October 2008
As a whole, the findings were generally very positive. Across all jurisdictions, the majority of people who were referred to a police-based IDDI program did not reoffend in the 12 to 18-month period after their diversion. 104-page PDF [Australian Institute of Criminology]
Seizures of Drugs in England and Wales, 2006/07 October 2008
These statistics cover seizures made during the year by police (including the British Transport Police), together with information from HM Revenue and Customs. Previous bulletins have included data from the National Crime Squad. 15-page PDF [Home Office, UK]
Police drug diversion: a study of criminal offending outcomes October 2008
It looks at the structure and effectiveness of Australian state and territory approaches to IDDI programs through comparison of offending behaviour before and after program attendance 2.1MB PDF [Australian Institute of Criminology]
Drug Control [August 2008]
Cooperation with Many Major Drug Transit Countries Has Improved, but Better Performance Reporting and Sustainability Plans Are Needed. 59-PDF [GAO, USA]
Volatile Substance Misuse: A Review of Interventions [June 2008]
Examining literature about interventions designed to combat volatile substance misuse. 182-page PDF [Department of Health and Aging, Australia]
The Blakey Review: Disrupting the supply of illegal drugs into prisons [June 2008]
A report by David Blakey CBE QPM DL, a former Inspector of Constabulary and Chief Constable of West Mercia, following his review of measures to disrupt the supply of drugs into prison. 39-page PDF [Ministry of Justice, UK]
Illicit Drug Data Report 2006-2007 [June 2008]
This report is recognised as one of the most valuable tools for law enforcement agencies, policy and decision makers, research bodies and other stakeholders in combating illicit drugs [Australian Crime Commission]
How to get drugs out of prisons. 37-page PDF [CPS, UK] [June 2008]
Service Provision for Detainees with Problematic Drug and Alcohol Use in Police Detention [May 2008]
A Comparative Study of Selected Countries in the European Union. 28-page PDF [HEUNI]
National corrections drug strategy [May 2008]
The ANCD would like to acknowledge the support of all the adult, juvenile and community corrections Ministers & senior administrators in Australia for their support and approval of this strategy. PDF [ANCD, Australia]
Racial bias and police policy in New York City 1997 – 2007 [May 2008]
Marijuana possession arrests in New York City are racially skewed. 106-page PDF [NYCLU, USA]
The Effectiveness of the Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative in Rural and Remote Australia [May 2008]
An evaluation of the effectiveness of the Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative (IDDI) in rural and remote areas of Australia. 240-page PDF [AIHW, Australia]
The treatment and supervision of drug-dependent offenders [March 2008]
A 88-page PDF review of the literature prepared for the [UK Drug Policy Commission]
Pre 2008
Final Report on the Impact of United States v. Booker On Federal Sentencing [March 2006]
This final report assesses the impact of United States v. Booker on federal sentencing. March 2006, 277-page PDF [USSC, USA]
Monograph #5 Drug law enforcement: the evidence [December 2005]
This monograph (No. 05) provides an annotated bibliography of all the relevant drug law
enforcement literature. The team at Griffith University have collated and summarised the extant research literature and completed two systematic reviews – a narrative review and a meta-analytic review. These have both been published in peer review journals. This monograph provides the reader with a detailed list of all the published law enforcement literature, broken down into categories of: international/national interventions; reactive/aggressive interventions; proactive/partnership interventions; individualised interventions; and combination of reactive/aggressive & proactive/partnership interventions.
Long-Run Trends in Incarceration of Drug Offenders in the US [May 2005]
Estimates are developed for the number of people incarcerated in the US for drug-law violations between 1972-2002, broken down by type of institution (federal prison, state prison, or jail) and to the extent possible by nature of drug offense (possession/use, trafficking, or other). These time series are compared to trends in drug use indicators, revealing at best weak correlations, and the absolute levels are compared to different market indicators to draw various inferences
Jonathan P. Caulkins, Sara A. Chandler Carnegie Mellon, Heinz School 2005-8, May 2005
This systematic review comprises a summary of the research literature on the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing criminal behaviour among drug users. Systematic reviews use rigorous methods for locating, appraising, and synthesising evidence from existing evaluation studies. They have explicit objectives and criteria for including or excluding studies and they are based on extensive searches of the literature for eligible evaluations. They are also based on careful extraction and coding of key features of studies and are written up in a structured and detailed report of the methods used and the conclusions drawn
Katy Holloway Trevor Bennett David Farrington Home Office Online Report 26/05
Harm reduction policies and programs for persons involved in the criminal justice system [2005]
Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA), May, 2005
Prison population projections 2005 – 2011
This bulletin presents the latest projections of the prison population in England and Wales for the period from January 2005 – June 2011. The projections are based on assumptions about future sentencing trends and the implications of new policy initiatives with an agreed timescale. Nisha de Silva Home Office UK 2005
Treating Doctors as Drug Dealers: The DEA’s War on Prescription Painkiller [2005]
The media began reporting that the popular narcotic pain medication OxyContin was finding its way to the black market for illicit drugs, resulting in an outbreak of related crime, overdoses, and deaths. Though many of those reports proved to be exaggerated or unfounded, critics in Congress and the Department of Justice scolded the U.S.Drug Enforcement Administration for the alleged pervasiveness of OxyContin abuse. The DEA responded with an aggressive plan to eradicate the illegal use or “diversion” of OxyContin. The plan uses familiar law enforcemet methods from the War on Drugs, such as aggressive undercover investigation, asset forfeiture, and informers
Policy Analysis no. 545 CATO Institute 2005
Annual Report of Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales: 2004-05 [2005]
101-page PDF [HM Inspector of Prisons, UK]
Long-Run Trends in Incarceration of Drug Offenders in the US [May 2005]
Estimates are developed for the number of people incarcerated in the US for drug-law violations between 1972-2002, broken down by type of institution (federal prison, state prison, or jail) and to the extent possible by nature of drug offense (possession/use, trafficking, or other). These time series are compared to trends in drug use indicators, revealing at best weak correlations, and the absolute levels are compared to different market indicators to draw various inferences
Jonathan P. Caulkins, Sara A. Chandler Carnegie Mellon, Heinz School 2005-8, May 2005
2005 Annual Report of the Irish Prison Service [2005]
[IPRT, Ireland]
The governance of illicit synthetic drugs [2004]
The focus of this report is on amphetamine type substances (ATS) mainly amphetamine, methamphetamine and ecstasy (i.e. MDMA) [118 pages]
Adrian Cherney, Juani O’Reilly, Peter Grabosky National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund (An Initiative of the National Drug Strategy) and the Australian Federal Police 2004
Beckley Briefing Paper 14. ‘The Effects of Decriminalisation of Drug Use in Portugal’
In 2004, the Beckley Foundation reported on the legal changes that took place in Portugal in 2001, which effectively decriminalised the possession and use of all drugs, and diverted those arrested into education or treatment programmes (Allen, Trace, & Klein, 2004). This report aims to provide an updated overview of the effects of these changes. 10-page PDF [IDPC]
The Economic Case For and Against Prison
Are prison sentences really a cost-beneficial way of reducingoffending behaviour in those populations who are at risk of further offending? 20-page PDF [Matrix, UK]
Criminal justice responses to drug and drug-related offending : are they working?
This report attempts to provide some insight by giving an overview of key findings from national and state-based evaluations that have been undertaken of these initiatives. 131-page PDF [Australian Institute of Criminology]
Framework for measuring the performance of drug law enforcement
It has been estimated that Australia expends between $1.3 and $2 billion annually on drug law enforcement activity [Australian Institute of Criminology]
Policing guidance following reclassification of Cannabis
[Association of Chief Police Officers, UK]
Policing cannabis as a Class C drug
This research by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research, King’s College London, studies the policing of cannabis as a Class C drug. 68-page PDF [Joseph Rowntree Foundation, UK]
In the 1990s, the United States operated a program in Colombia and Peru called Air Bridge Denial (ABD). The ABD program targeted drug traffickers that transport illicit drugs through the air by forcing down suspicious aircraft, using lethal force if necessary. The program was suspended in April 2001 when a legitimate civilian aircraft was shot down in Peru and two U.S. citizens were killed. The program was restarted in Colombia in August 2003 after additional safeguards were established. To date, the United States has provided about $68 million in support and plans to provide about $26 million in fiscal year 2006. We examined whether the ABD program’s new safeguards were being implemented and its progress in attaining U.S. and Colombian objectives. [GAO, USA]
Drug Seizures by Scottish Police Forces
This publication presents figures for drug seizures made by Police forces in Scotland in 2004/05 and 2005/06 [Scottish Executive, UK]
Asian transnational organized crime and its impact on the United States.
This monograph is based on a final report to the National Institute of Justice, November 2004. 40-page PDF [NCJRS, USA]
Australian approaches to drug-crime diversion
This paper describes the five main types of drug-crime diversionary programs currently in use across Australia. The continuum of opportunities for minimising the progress of offenders through the criminal justice system or diverting them out altogether is described, along with some examples of diversionary measures. The key stages for drug crime diversionary interventions are: pre arrest; pre trial; pre sentence; post conviction at sentencing; and pre release from detention or gaol. Australian Crime Commission ISSN 1448-1383 6 May 2004
Drug Use Monitoring in Australia : 2004 annual report on drug use among police detainees
The Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) project has been in operation since 1999. Over the years it has provided police, policy-makers, criminal justice practitioners and other professionals with systematic empirical data on illegal drug use among people detained and brought to a police station or watchhouse. Australian Crime Commission Carmen Schulte, Jenny Mouzos, Toni Makkai 2005 ISBN 0 642 53880 8 ; ISSN 1326-6004
Drugs and Crime Across America: Police Chiefs Speak Out 2004
In the view of America’s police chiefs, the drug problem facing our communities is greatertoday than it was in the mid-1990s. They believe that drugs are now a far more serious problthan property crime, violent crime, domestic violence or even the threat of terrorism. Despitemaking drugs a priority for more than a decade, top law enforcement officers report little progress. Strong majorities of chiefs say that law enforcement has been unsuccessful in reducing the drug problem, while most do not believe that major progress has been made over the past ten years
Drug Strategies and Police Foundation
State-by-State Illicit Drug & Medical Marijuana Laws
American Civil Liberties Union April 12, 2004
Evaluation of the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act 2004 Report
This is the third in a series of annual reports from the independent statewide evaluation of the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (157-page PDF)
By Douglas Longshore, Ph.D., Darren Urada, Ph.D., Elizabeth Evans, Yih-IngHser, Ph.D., Michael Prendergast, Ph.D., and Angela Hawken Prepared for the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs California Health and Human Services Agency by University of California Los Angeles
Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004
Prior drug use among State prisoners remained stable on all measures between 1997 and 2004, according to the most recent findings from the Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities [U.S. Department of Justice]
Drugs and crime : a study of incarcerated female offenders
The Australian Institute of Criminology is undertaking research on the drug use careers of adult males, females and juveniles incarcerated in Australian prisons. The objective of the Drug Use Careers of Offenders (DUCO) female study is to contribute to the empirical evidence about the interaction between drug use and criminal offending among incarcerated women
Holly Johnson Australian Institute of Criminology 2004 No. 63. ISBN 0 642 53861 1 ; ISSN 1326-6004
The impact of heroin dependence on long-term robbery trends
Around Christmas 2000 Australia began to experience an acute heroin shortage. The shortage was associated with a steep fall in the rate of heroin overdose and a somewhat slower fall in many of the major categories of property crime in NSW. The incidence of robbery, however, increased markedly after the heroin shortage but then began falling in tandem with the other major categories of property crime. This bulletin examines the factors behind the unusual trend in robbery and discusses their significance for future drug law enforcement policy. Neil Donnelly, Don Weatherburn and Marilyn Chilvers NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research 2004
Evaluation of the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act 2004 Report
This is the third in a series of annual reports from the independent statewide evaluation of the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (SACPA). Prepared by UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs for the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, the report describes the SACPA “pipeline” in its third year (July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004): the number of offenders referred to SACPA, the number who completed their assessment, and the number who entered treatment. Also described are treatment completion rates; probation/parole revocations; and effects of SACPA on re-offending, drug use, and employment.
Douglas Longshore, Ph.D., Darren Urada, Ph.D., Elizabeth Evans, Yih-IngHser, Ph.D., Michael Prendergast, Ph.D., and Angela Hawken Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs California Health and Human Services Agency
Drug seizure and offender statistics 2001 & 2002
Home Office 2004
The impact of AFP drug law enforcement on the availability of heroin
The AFP in conjunction with Australian National University conducted an analysis of the impact of AFP law enforcement efforts on the supply of heroin in Australia. The results suggest that both the number and size of AFP heroin seizures influenced the availability of heroin. The study confirms the value of supply reduction strategies and when taken in conjunction with the results of other studies, supports the hypothesis that AFP drug law enforcement efforts result in benefits both to the drug user and the community as a whole
Australian Federal Police Research Note 7 2004. ISSN 1447-9621
The role of police in preventing and minimising illicit drug use and its harms
There has been substantial documentation and evaluation of the range of illicit drug-related initiatives conducted by the health sector in Australia.1 However, there has been much less documentation and evaluation of initiatives conducted by police, especially on illicit drug harm reduction and demand reduction. Such information is necessary for enhancing the efficacy of police practice [201 pages]
Catherine Spooner, Mark McPherson, Wayne Hall Funded by the National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund An Initiative of the National Drug Strategy 2004
Criminal justice responses to drug and drug-related offending : are they working?
This report attempts to provide some insight by giving an overview of key findings from national and state-based evaluations that have been undertaken of these initiatives. 131-page PDF [Australian Institute of Criminology]
IHRA Launch Death Penalty Report
IHRA release a major report (33-page PDF) calling for an end to the use of the death penalty for drug offences around the world. The report concludes that the on-going execution of drug offenders is a violation of international human rights law [International Harm Reduction Association]
This 57-page PDF report found that routine police harassment and arrest – as well as the lasting effects of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s 2003 drug war – keeps drug users from receiving lifesaving HIV information and services that Thailand has pledged to provide [Human Rights Watch]
Federal Sentencing Statistics by State, District & Circuit
October 1, 2002, through September 30, 2003
United States Sentencing Commission
Review of Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics
The collection and analysis of statistics on drug seizures and drug offenders is a complex exercise. Data are collected from a number of different sources, in a variety of formats, covering different geographical areas and over different timescales. There are inherent difficulties in collecting statistical information from such a wide range of agencies particularly since these agencies are primarily concerned with the reduction in drug misuse and the enforcement of law rather than the collection of statistics. Rodney M Taylor National Statistics Quality Review Series Report No.29 2002/3
Illicit Drug Data Report 2002 – 2003
This report is produced by the Australian Crime Commission (ACC). It contains data provided by federal, state and territory police as well as forensic laboratories and the Australian Customs Serv
Australian Crime Commission
Federal Sentencing Statistics by State, District & Circuit
October 1, 2002, through September 30, 2003
United States Sentencing Commission
Drug Treatment in the Criminal Justice System
Only 61 percent of state correctional facilities provide substance abuse treatment. Notwithstanding a significant infusion of federal funds to support residential substance abuse treatment in prisons, the percentage of state prisoners participating in such programs has declined from 25 percent in 1991 to 10 percent in 1997. The policy shortfall is clear: Prisoners are not getting the drug treatment programs that would reduce their drug abuse and criminal behavior
Daniel P. Mears, Laura Winterfield, John Hunsaker, Gretchen E. Moore, Ruth White Urban Institute January 01, 2003
Toward a Drugs and Crime Research Agenda for the 21st Century
In 2001, researchers and policymakers came together at the Drugs and Crime Research Forum to set an agenda to guide research on the drugs-crime link. Toward a Drugs and Crime Research Agenda for the 21st Century is the product of the Forum
National Institute of Justice NCJ 194616, September 2003, Research Forum,
How State Medical Marijuana Laws Vary
A Comprehensive Review
Research brief RB-6012, 2003 RAND
Beyond Profiling: Race, Policing and the Drug War
This Article aims to reorient debate about race, policing, and the drug war by critically examining the focus on racial profiling that burdens the innocent. I conclude that policymakers should abandon efforts to ferret out and eliminate racial profiling in drug interdiction. Instead, policy analyses should consider the race-related consequences of the drug war, without regard to whether officers engage in racial profiling
R. Richard Banks Center for the Study of Law and Society Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program Paper 4 2002
Report to the Congress: Cocaine and Federal Sentencing Policy
This is the first of a series of reports the United States Sentencing Commission will be issuing as we approach the 15th anniversary of the effective date of the federal sentencing guidelines. The purpose of this report is to contribute to the ongoing assessment of federal cocaine sentencing policy by Congress and others in the federal criminal justice system. United States Sentencing Commission May 2002
Substance Dependence, Abuse, and Treatment of Jail Inmates, 2002
Presents data from the 2002 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails on inmates’ prior use, dependence, and abuse of alcohol and illegal drugs
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Report to the Congress: Cocaine and Federal Sentencing Policy May 2002
This is the first of a series of reports the United States Sentencing Commission will be issuing as we approach the 15th anniversary of the effective date of the federal sentencing guidelines. The purpose of this report is to contribute to the ongoing assessment of federal cocaine sentencing policy by Congress and others in the federal criminal justice system. United States Sentencing Commission
Times they are a-changing: Policing of cannabis
This report, by South Bank University’s Criminal Policy Research Unit, represents the first, detailed study of the policing of cannabis in England and Wales. It has taken place against a backdrop of intensive media and political debate on the issue and the prospect of imminent legislative reform
Tiggey May, Hamish Warburton, Paul J. Turnbull and Mike Hough ISBN1 84263 062 8 (FREE PDF) JoesephRowntree Foundation 13 March 2002
Prosecution and Plea-Bargaining Resulting in Prison Sentences on Low-Level Drug Charges in California and Arizona [RAND, USA]
Testimony on Drug Treatment Alternatives to Incarceration
Testimony presented to the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources of the House Committee on Government Reform, April 4, 2000
Martin Y. Iguchi CT-169, ©2001RAND
Report to Congress – Federal Cocaine Sentencing Policy
This is the Commission’s fourth report to Congress on the subject of federal cocaine sentencing policy. 202-page PDF [U.S. Sentencing Commission]
At a crossroads: Drug Trafficking, Violence and the Mexican State
In this joint WOLA-BFDPP policy brief, the authors provide an overview of current and past drug policies implemented by the Mexican government, with a focus on its law enforcement efforts. 12-page PDF [IDPC]
Counting the costs of crime in Australia : technical report
The report then discusses in detail the costing of particular crimes, as well as the estimation of other costs, including costs of the criminal justice system, lost productivity of prisoners, victim assistance, the security industry and insurance administration
Pat Mayhew Australian Institute of Criminology 2003 ISBN 0 642 24273 9; ISSN 1445-7261
Towards a national prisoner health information system
The report notes that the large and growing population of prisoners in Australia presents a strong challenge to the public’s health. There is an opportunity to intervene and treat prisoners while in prison, leading to their better health, and subsequently reducing risks to the community on their release [AIHW, Australia]
Legislating for Health and Human Rights: Model Law on Drug Use and HIV/AIDS
Many countries with injection-driven HIV/AIDS epidemics continue to emphasize criminal enforcement of drug laws over public health approaches, thereby missing or even hindering effective responses to HIV/AIDS. There is considerable evidence that numerous interventions to prevent HIV transmission and reduce other harms associated with injection drug use are feasible, effective as public health measures and cost-effective [Aidslaw, Canada]
Hepatitis C in prisons is a public health crisis tied to current drug policy’s emphasis on the mass incarceration of drug users. Prison policy acts as a barrier to hepatitis C care by limiting medical care for the infected, especially drug users, and by inhibiting public health measures addressing the epidemic [SSRN / University of California, Los Angeles – School of Law, USA]
This study uses data from the Australian Institute of Criminology’s Drug Use Careers of Offenders Study (DUCO) to examine the temporal pattern of drug use and offending [Australian Institute of Criminology]
Illicit drug use in the EU: legislative approaches
The aim of this paper is to provide an outline of current legal provisions and amendments on the use and possession of drugs for personal use (1), in the Member States of the European Union
This study uses data from the Australian Institute of Criminology’s Drug Use Careers of Offenders Study (DUCO) to examine the temporal pattern of drug use and offending [Australian Institute of Criminology]
The Economic Case For and Against Prison
Are prison sentences really a cost-beneficial way of reducingoffending behaviour in those populations who are at risk of further offending? 20-page PDF [Matrix, UK]
Opium Licensing in Afghanistan: Its Desirability and Feasibility
A US policy paper assessing the viability of licensing opium for medical use in Afghanistan. 17-page PDF [Brookings Institution, USA]
Licensing poppy for the production of essential medicines: an integrated counter-narcotics, development, and counter-insurgency model for Afghanistan. 112-page PDF [Transnational Institute]
Poor Prescription: The Cost of Imprisoning Drug Offenders in the United States.
As America entered the new millennium we culminated the most punishing decade in our nation’s history. While the number of persons in jail and prison grew by 462,006 in the seven decades from 1910 to 1980, in the 1990s alone, the number of jail and prison inmates grew by an estimated 816,965.The cost of this massive growth in incarceration is staggering. Americans will spend nearly $40 billion on prisons and jails in the year 2000. Almost $24 billion of that will go to incarcerate 1.2 million nonviolent offenders.4 Meanwhile, in two of our nation’s largest states, California and New York, the prison budgets outstripped the budgets for higher education during the mid-1990s. Schiraldi, V., Holman, B., & Beatty, P. Justice Policy Institute. 2000
Are Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences Cost-Effective?
Research brief, RB-6003, 1997 RAND
Methadone Maintenance Treatment and the Criminal Justice System
Current status of MMT in four facets of the criminal justice system: jails and prisons; pre-trial services, probation and parole; reentry initiatives; and drug courts (23-page PDF) [NASADAD, USA]
Principles of Drug Abuse Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations – A Research-Based Guide
This guide is intended to describe the treatment principles and research findings that are of particular relevance to the criminal justice community and to treatment professionals working with drug abusing offenders [NIDA, USA]
DIP and Prolific & Other Priority Offender Programmes
This paper is work in progress or a “living” document which aims to provide examples of emerging practice and lessons learned in relation to the working partnerships between CJITs and PPO teams in effectively case managing drug misusing PPOs 56-page ODF [Home Office, UK]
Drug Courts: The Second Decade
As part of the evaluation of these courts, researchers have begun to look at their inner workings and to investigate how key functional components, singly and in combination, affect outcomes. 38-page PDF version [National Institute of Justice, USA]
ANCD research paper 14—Compulsory treatment in Australia
A discussion paper on the compulsory treatment of individuals dependent on alcohol and/or other drugs [ANCD, Australia]
Why Are So Many Americans in Prison?
Why are so many Americans incarcerated? Why did the incarceration rate increase so much in so short a time period? This paper seeks to answer these questions. 96-page PDF [Institute for Research on Poverty, USA]
The impact of enforcement on street users in England
Concerns have mounted in recent years about the ‘problematic street culture’ sometimes associated with rough sleeping – especially begging and drinking in the street. There has been a significant shift towards enforcement measures aimed at street users involved in such activities. This study evaluated the impact of these measures on the welfare of street users in five different areas in England. Full report 79KB PDF [JRF, UK]
Does drug use cause crime? : understanding the drugs-crime link
While many studies have repeatedly established a close relationship between drugs and crime, what is the nature of this relationship? Does drug use cause or lead to crime? Or does crime lead to drug use? Could it be that those who use drugs and those who are inclined to be criminals just happen to share many characteristics in common? This paper summarises the findings of research into the drugs-crime link, which has generally concluded that the relationship is extremely complex and defies attempts to sort out directionality. As drug use and crime involvement appear to have common origins, action to address drugs and crime must be a balanced mixture of measures designed to address long-term underlying causes as much as the immediate problems through education, law enforcement and treatment
Australian Crime Commission
Do Not Cross: Policing and HIV Risk Faced by People Who Use Drugs
This paper reviews the research literature of relevance to Canada on the impact of law enforcement practices on HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment for people who use illegal drugs. 26-page PDF [Aidslaw, Canada]
The Establishment of a Drug Court Pilot in Tasmania
This 99-page PDF Australian research paper contains statistical and other information about drug use and drug courts [Policy Pointers]
Policy Paper 1 – Criminal Justice Drug Policy in Ireland
This paper outlines the need in Ireland for a review of the effectiveness of our present criminal justice drug policy. It will define what constitutes criminal justice drug policy. It proposes key principles and specific recommendations to guide in the development of a more effective criminal justice drug policy [Drug Policy Action Group, Ireland]
Increasing cannabis availability in rural and remote areas has extended a thriving illicit drug trade to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander settlements in some of Australia’s most isolated regions. 178-page PDF [National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, Australia]
Interdiction Efforts in Central America Have Had Little Impact on the Flow of Drugs
The supply of illegal drugs reaching the United States via Central America continues virtually uninterrupted despite years of U.S. drug interdiction efforts. Letter Report, 08/02/94, GAO/NSIAD-94-233 [Global Security.Org]
Drugs and crime trends in Europe and beyond
Europe remains a destination of choice for international drug traffickers [UNODC]
Trends in U.S. military programs with Latin America [WOLA]
The governance of illicit synthetic drugs
The aim of the project has been to: Identify concrete examples of law enforcement agencies harnessing external institutions (public, private and non-profit) in furtherance of amphetamine and other illicit synthetic drug control. Identify objective, replicable measures of each partnership’s institutional properties, and their impacts. Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of each. [118-page PDF]
Adrian Cherney, Juani O’Reilly, Peter Grabosky Funded by the National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, an initiative of the National Drug Strategy
Drug Treatment and Testing Orders: Final evaluation report
This report presents findings from an 18-month evaluation conducted by South Bank University, on behalf of the Home Office, in three pilot areas – Gloucestershire, Liverpool and Croydon. Results include an evaluation of the type of offenders sentenced to a DTTO, how well they met the treatment, testing and review elements of the order, and how successful the pilot projects were in reducing their drug use and related offending.
Paul J. Turnbull, Tim McSweeney, Russell Webster, Mark Edmunds and Mike Hough. Home Office Research Study 212 Date: 2000
“Unlocking Potential: Making Prisons Safe for Everyone”
Report of the 8th European Conference of Drug and HIV/AIDS Services in Prison 149-page PDF [ENDIPP, Europe]
Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program (ADAM)
The Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program collected data about drug using, drug and alcohol dependency and treatment, and drug market participation among recently booked arrestees (within 48 hours) in 40 communities around the United States
National Institute of justice
Drug Treatment in the Criminal Justice Syste
It is clear that we need to understand what happens as correctional agencies bring drug treatment into their systems. There are, perhaps, conflicting expectations, systems constraints, and philosophies. There are yet-to-be-specified roles that federal agencies might play to assist the integration of treatment into corrections
Daniel P. Mears, Laura Winterfield, John Hunsaker, Gretchen E. Moore, Ruth White Urban Institute 2003 ID=410618
Improving the Link Between Research and Drug Treatment in Correctional Settings Drug Treatment
According to some estimates, only 61 percent of state correctional facilities provide substance abuse treatment. Despite a significant infusion of federal funds to support residential substance abuse treatment in prisons, the percentage of state prisoners participating in such programs declined from 25 percent in 1991 to 10 percent in 1997. The policy shortfall is clear: Inmates with substance abuse problems may not be receiving the treatment that would reduce their drug problems and criminal behavior. Why they are not getting treatment remains largely unknown. One possibility is simply a lack of political or correctional interest in providing drug treatment. But an equally plausible explanation is a lack of sufficient funding
Daniel P. Mears, Gretchen E. Moore, Jeremy Travis, Laura Winterfield Urban Institute 2003 ID=410620
Drug Treatment Program Evaluations
This report focuses on the effects of the BOP’s in-prison DAP on post-release drug use, recidivism, employment, and halfway house placements, while controlling for a variety of other factors related to treatment outcomes
Federal Bureau of Prisons (2000)
The role of police in preventing and minimising illicit drug use and its harms
200-page PDF [NDLERF]
This site summarizes U.S. statistics about drug-related crimes, law enforcement, courts, and corrections from Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and non-BJS sources [ Bureau of Justice Statistics]
Collateral Casualties: Children of Incarcerated Drug Offenders in New York
For over a quarter of a century, New York’s drug laws have mandated severe prison sentences for drug offenses and have filled the state’s prisons with low-level offenders, most either black or Hispanic. Many of the 150,000 prison sentences handed down to drug offenders have been so disproportionate to the crime-mostly retail street sales and other minor drug offenses-that they violate basic principles of justice and internationally recognized human rights, as detailed in an earlier report.1 Excessively long sentences can constitute cruel and counterproductive punishment for those who are incarcerated. Such sentences also needlessly harm the children left behind
Human Rights Watch June 2002 Vol. 14, No. 3 (G)
Imprisonment casts a long shadow in the United States. Incarceration rates have grown substantially over the past three decades, resulting in a fourfold increase since the early 1970s. Currently, 1.4 million individuals are behind bars in America’s state and federal prisons, and more than 600,000 individuals—about 1,600 a day—will be released to return to their communities this year (Beck, Karberg, and Harrison 2002). These prisoners are parents to 1.5 million children—an increase of more than a half-million children in the last decade
Jeremy Travis and Michelle Waul Urban Institute Press ISBN 0-87766-715-2
Is the American drug policy the only possible one that would comply with international drug law ? The point here, is not to describe in details what is the American drug policy. It is enough to state that it is a repressive policy, and even an increasing repressive policy. This simple statement is in opposition with another way of dealing with the use of drugs: the “legalization policy”. The question is then: is it possible to legalize drugs within the frame of the current International Conventions on Drugs ?
ChristopheMarchand, Member of the Brussels’s Bar 2000
Research on drug courts: A critical review 2001 update
This is a critical review of 37 published and unpublished evaluations of drug courts (including seven juvenile drug courts, one DUI court, and one family drug court) produced between 1999 and April 2001
Belenko, S. New York: The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University
The Australian heroin drought and its implications for drug policy
The extent to which individuals who are detained by police are drug users is a matter of policy significance, since drug using offenders commit disproportionately more crime than their non-drug using colleagues. In this study the level and type of drug use among a sample of detainees from two local area commands in Sydney are examined. The study validates self reported drug use with urinalysis results
Don Weatherburn, Craig Jones, Karen Freeman and Toni Makkai Australian Institute of Criminology 2001 ISBN 0 7313 2633 4; ISSN 1030-1046
Caught in the Net: the Impact of Drug Policies on Women & Families
The ACLU, Break the Chains: Communities of Color and the War on Drugs, and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law co-authored this report that compiles for the first time existing research on the effects of current drug laws and sentencing policies on women and their families
Brennan Center
Links between illicit drug use and crime
There is research both in Australia and internationally which shows that a significant proportion of those apprehended for a range of criminal offences are frequent illicit drug users. However, whether drug use is a causal factor for crime continues to be debated [Australian Institute of Criminology]
Drug Treatment and Testing Orders: Final evaluation report
Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) were introduced as a new community sentenceunder the Crime and Disorder Act, 1998 … This report presents findings from an 18-month evaluation conducted by South Bank University, on behalf of the Home Office, in three pilot areas – Gloucestershire, Liverpool and Croydon. Results include an evaluation of the type of offenders sentenced to a DTTO, how well they met the treatment, testing and review elements of the order, and how successful the pilot projects were in reducing their drug use and related offending.
Paul J. Turnbull, Tim McSweeney, Russell Webster, Mark Edmunds and Mike Hough Home Office Research Study 212 October 2000
The Review of Crime Statistics – a discussion document
This report presents the findings of a review of the routine information regarding crime that is currently produced by the Home Office. It is the first in a series of reviews looking at all of the statistical series produced in the department, and which aim to ensure that each statistical series is capable ofmeeting the standards of probity that are required from national statistics
Home Office 2000
How Large Should the Strike Zone Be in “Three Strikes and You’re Out” Sentencing Laws?
So-called “three strikes and you’re out” sentencing laws for criminal offenders have proliferated in the United States in 1990s. The laws vary considerably in their definitions of what constitutes a “strike”. the paper adapts the classic Poisson Process model of criminal offending to investigate how varying sentence lengths and definitions of what constitutes a strike affect the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of these sentencing laws. In particular, it asks whether by using different definitions for the first, second, and third strikes or different sentence lengths, one can make the resulting incarceration more “efficient” in the sense of incapacitating more crimes per cell-year served
Jonathan P. Caulkins Carnegie Mellon, Heinz School 1999-14, Jul 1999
Mandatory drug testing (MDT) was introduced in all prison establishments in England and Wales by March 1996. The Oxford Centre for Criminological Research was commissioned by the Home Office to assess the impact of the drug testing programme on the extent and nature of prisoners’ drug misuse. In order to examine these issues, both staff and prisoners were interviewed and official records were examined.
Kimmett Edgar and Ian O’Donnell Home Office 1998 ISBN 1 84082 160 4
Drug Use, Testing, and Treatment in Jails1998
Describes the drug involvement of jail inmates and the level of drug use, testing, and treatment in jails. This report is the third in a series on prior drug use and treatment of offenders, and uses data from the 1998 Annual Survey of Jails and the 1996 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails
Bureau of Justice, USA NCJ 179999
Substance Abuse and Treatment of State and Federal Prisoners, 1997
Presents data from the 1997 Survey of Inmates in Adult State and Federal Correctional Facilities concerning prisoners’ use of alcohol and illegal drugs and the substance abuse treatment they received
Bureau of Justice, USA NCJ 172871
DRUGS AND THE LAW: Report into the Independent Inquiry into the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
It is nearly 30 years since the main legislation controlling the misuse of drugs in the United Kingdom was enacted. Our task has been to consider the changes which have taken place in our society in that time and to assess whether the law as it currently stands needs to be revised in order to make it both more effective and more responsive to those changes. It has also been our duty to examine the implications of our proposals.
Published by The Police Foundation March 2000, ISBN 0-947692-47-9
Drug Offenders and the Criminal Justice System: Will Proposition 36 Treat or Create Problems?
In the tradition of previous RAND research evaluating the California threestrikes initiative in 1994, RAND Criminal Justice has conducted an independent analysis of Proposition 36–what can and cannot be said about its effects on the basis of readily available information
K. Jack Riley, Pat Ebener, James Chiesa, Susan Turner, Jeanne Ringel RAND IP-204 (2000)
Federal Drug Offenders, 1999 with Trends, 1984-99
Describes offenders investigated for and charged with Federal drug offenses during 1999. This report includes statistics describing type of drug involved in the offense, criminal history of defendants charged, demographic characteristics of defendants charged, defendants’ role in the drug conspiracy, and sentences imposed
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Drug control strategies of United States law enforcement
The most pressing needs in law enforcement are (a) improved intelligence-gathering and analysis and (b) research on the illicit drug industry and on the effectiveness of drug control strategies
Williams, H Bulletin On Narcotics Volume 42, Issue 1 , 1990, Pages 27-39
Cruel And Usual Disproportionate Sentences for New York Drug Offenders
In the past decade, the U.S. Congress and many state legislatures have established harsh criminal penalties for a wide range of drug offenses, often using the vehicle of mandatory minimum prison sentences. As a consequence, drug offenders in the United States face sentences that are uniquely severe among constitutional democracies. Supporters insist that severe mandatory sentences guarantee serious drug offenders are put behind bars, offer prosecutors leverage for securing cooperation from drug traffickers, deter prospective offenders, and enhance community safety and well-being. Opponents point to data showing the laws have had little impact on the demand for or the availability of drugs. Instead, they have resulted in the unnecessary confinement of low-level nonviolent offenders
Human Rights Watch March 1997 Vol. 9, No. 2 (B)
Predatory Public Finance and the Origins of the War on Drugs 1984 –1989
Escalation of the war on drugs, when measured by drug arrests relative to Index I arrests, apparently ended in 1989. In the United States the drug arrest/Index I arrest ratio fell from 0.46 in 1989 to a 1990 figure of 0.36, a decline of 24 percent. This decline in drug enforcement is not inconsistent with bureaucratic incentives, however, including those created by asset forfeiture legislation. Police may simply be arresting “smarter,” for example, concentrating on drug offenders with some potential yield via forfeiture
Bruce L. Benson, David W. Rasmussen The Independent Institute 1996
Today, many states face the legacy of the 1984–89 drug war that continues to plague their criminal justice systems: mandatory sentences for drug crimes, federal and state seizure laws, and other legislative actions produced in an effort to appear tough on drugs mean that drug control activity is not likely to return to its pre-1984 level, let alone to a level that might be an appropriate reflection of the true costs and benefits of drug enforcement
Bruce L. Benson, David W. Rasmussen The Independent Institute