International policy issues

UNODC Annual Report [2008]

Unique in International Relations? [2008]

Beckley Foundation Report 13 [2008]

IDPC Briefing 7 [2008]

Partnership with business [2008]

Co-operation with Industry is a core element of international drug precursor control [European Commission]

Drug precursors: external aspects [2008]

This Regulation lays down the rules governing the thorough monitoring of the trade in precursor drugs between the European Union (EU) and third countries [Europa]

Combating drugs [2008]

Cooperation between the Member States in the fight against drugs [Europa]

New Report on the INCB

“Unique in International Relations?: A Comparison of the International Narcotics Control Board and the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies”. 46-page PDF [IHRA]

UNODC Annual Report 2007

The UNODC Annual Report for 2007 (covering activities in 2006) provides an overview of the organization's activities worldwide [UNODC]

EMCDDA Annual report 2007

The report on the state of the drugs problem in Europe presents the EMCDDA's yearly overview of the drug phenomenon [European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction]

International drug control: 100 years of success?

TNI comments on the UNODC World Drug Report 2006 [TNI]

Tackling drugs to reduce poverty

The United Nations Office of Drug Control claimed in 2006 that 'Drug control is working and the world drug problem is being contained'. Yet the scale and diversity of the illicit global drug trade has increased in the last decade, as have rates of drug use in most countries [id21, UK]

2006 Report on the global AIDS epidemic: May 2006

This report includes country, regional and global estimates for the HIV and AIDS epidemic at the end of 2005 and 2003. It also describes the evidence, the success stories and the challenges that confront countries and the international communitiy in responding to the epidemic [UNAIDS]

Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 2006

For many generations, attempts have been made to combat the adverse effects of illicit drug trafficking and abuse, and institutions have been set up at the national and international levels to address those issues. Significant progress has been made in reducing illicit drug trafficking and abuse, though a lot more remains to be done [United Nations]

EU drugs strategy (2005-2012)

The EU drugs strategy for the period 2005–2012 was endorsed by the European Council of 16–17 December 2004. This new strategy builds on the final evaluation of the 2000–2004 EU drugs strategy and action plan on drugs (COM (2004) 707 final) and on Europol and EMCDDA contributions in this context (Snapshots 1999-2004 and thematic papers) [EMCDDA]

The EU drugs action plan (2005-2008)

Having examined the proposal of the Commission put forward in February 2005, the Council endorsed the EU drugs action plan (2005-2008) in June 2005 (taking fully into account the final evaluation of the EU drug strategy and EU action plan (2000-2004) [EMCDDA]

Bern – Informal drug policy dialogue

Report from 6 & 7 November 2006, the third meeting of the [Andreas G. Papandreou Foundation (APF) and the Transnational Institute (TNI)]

Looking at the UN, smelling a rat

A comment on ‘Sweden’s succesful drug policy: a review of the evidence’ UNODC september 2006 [CEDRO, Netherlands]

International Narcotics Control Strategy Report

The 2005 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) is an annual report by the Department of State to Congress prepared in accordance with the Foreign Assistance Act. It describes the efforts of key countries to attack all aspects of the international drug trade in Calendar Year 2004

[US Department of State]

Report of the International Narcotics Control for 2004

INCB

A Fourth International Convention for Drug Policy: Promoting Public Health Policies

The book outlines various opportunities for a new international drug regime and proposes a new Fourth Framework Convention. This incorporates measures for promoting public health through substitution treatment, prevention, education and alternative development, as well as the evaluation and application of such measures

David Spivack, The British Institute of International and Comparative Law

Senlis Council March 2004

Illicit Drug Policies and the Global HIV Epidemic Effects of UN and National Government Approaches

While HIV transmission through contaminated injection equipment is well documented, less attention has been paid to the ways that illicit drug policy and related issues, such as patterns of arrest of drug users or government stance toward provision of sterile injection equipment, shape global trends in HIV infection

Daniel Wolfe and Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch

International Harm Reduction Development Program March 2004 OSI

Public spending on drugs in the European Union during the 1990s - retrospective research

An initial overview (using the information available) of the first comprehensive research carried out at European level on public expenditure [EMCDDA]

Public expenditure on drugs in the EU

Postma, M. (2004).EMCDDA

Public spending on drugs in the European Union during the 1990s, EMCDDA

Retrospective research 2003 [EMCDDA]

Reducing the harm of drugs

Some have perceived a contradiction between drug prevention and treatment on the one hand and efforts to reduce the negative health and social consequences of drug use on the other. However, in a new discussion paper, UNODC says that these are in fact complementary rather than contradictory [UNODC]

U.S. Assistance Has Helped Mexican Counternarcotics Efforts

But Tons of Illicit Drugs Continue to Flow into the United States. 46-page PDF [GAO, USA]

IDPC Advocacy Guide (Version Two)

The second version of the IDPC Advocacy Guide provides an update on the emerging process for the review of global policies on controlled drugs being conducted under the auspices of the United Nations. 10-page PDF [IDPC]

Closed to reason: Time for accountability for the International Narcotic Control Board

For more than two decades, the International Narcotic Control Board (INCB) has tried to stop harm reduction and its HIV prevention programs. This posture is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of their responsibilities and of drug addiction itself [Harm Reduction Journal]

International Human Rights Jurisprudence on Issues Relating to Drug Use and Harm Reduction

Commissioned by the Open Society Institute Law and Health Initiative, this research paper reviews jurisprudence from treaty-monitoring bodies of the United Nations and selected regional and national human rights courts that can be used to advocate for the human rights of people who use drugs. 24-page PDF [Open Society Institute, USA]

EMCDDA publishes Country situation summaries for 28 countries

Country situation summaries provide a quick, structured overview of the trends and characteristics of national drug problems [EMCDDA]

Crime and Development in Central America

The countries of Central America are diverse. But they have one thing in common. They are all affected - to varying degrees - by drugs, crime and poverty. 101-page PDF [UNODC]

Closed to Reason: The International Narcotic Board and HIV/AIDS

A 37-page report arguing that the International Narcotics Board hampers efforts to address the HIV epidemic among injecting drug users [Policy Pointers Worldwide]

Situational analysis of illicit drug issues and responses in the Asia-Pacific region

The body of this report provides a brief summary of the current illicit drug use situation, country responses to illicit drug issues, and Australian and international involvement in relation to illicit drugs for each country [Australian Policy Online]

Study on the legal aspects of substitution treatment for opioid dependent drug users : an insight into nine European countries

Because little is known about the regulation of substitution treatment in the EU-countries, the EMCDDA commissioned a research project in addition to the forementioned study. It was granted to the Catholic University of Leuven (KULeuven), Belgium, the main purpose being to focus specifically on laws and other regulations with regard to substitution treatment and their implication(s) on practices in several EU countries. The following is an outline of this research project and the general conclusions mentioned in the final report.

KarolienMeuwissen

Research Centre Forensic Mental Health Care (Prof. Dr. JorisCasselman), Catholic University Leuven, Belgium 2002

Evidence for Action on HIV/AIDS and Injecting Drug Use

5 Policy briefs [WHO]

Drugs and decision-making in the European Union

Drugs figure prominently on the political agenda of the European Union. While policy on drugs is still primarily the responsibility of individual member states, the Council of the European Union increasingly forges agreements on a joint approach. The European Commission too has complementary powers in certain drug-related matters as part of Community policy

[Tim Boekhout van Solinge. 2002. CEDRO]

Injecting drug users in Europe

It has been estimated that there are now 800,000 active drug injecters living in the European Union. Drug injecting, which causes AIDS, is commonly practised among the drug abusers in this part of the world, where it quickly triggered a full-scale endemic of AIDS, HBV and HCV The various member-countries have responded in different ways. But the rates of infection are still alarmingly high everywhere: they are often above 50%, and in some groups, 90% of the drug abusers have been contaminated with the hepatitis C virus

Lucas Wiessing

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), Lisbon 2001

The role of Civil Society in Drugs Policy in the European Union

Green paper on the role of Civil Society in Drugs Policy in the EU [Europa]

Cracks in the Vienna Consensus - The UN Drug Control Debate

Four decades have passed since the first United Nations drug control convention entered into force. Numerous UN conferences and summits have been devoted to negotiating a harmonized global approach to illicit drugs. Yet more and more cracks are now beginning to appear in the supposedly universal model which is, in reality, based on a highly fragile consensus

Martin Jelsma and Pin Metaal WOLA Drug War Monitor, January 2004 [Transnational Institute]

49th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs

The documentation of the 49th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, which took place on March 13th-17th, is now available for download [UNODC]

Beckley report 11 - The Funding of the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime; An Unfinished Jigsaw

This report aims to provide a broad and accessible summary of the UNODC funding situation since 2002 [Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme, UK]

IDPC Briefing paper 3 - Civil society involvement in the European Union drug strategy

The third briefing paper from International Drug Policy Consortium is a response to the call of the European Commission for civil society organisations to express their views on the Commissions's Green Paper on the Role of Civil Society in Drugs Policy in the European Union [International Drug Policy Consortium]

State of Siege: Drug-Related Violence and Corruption in Mexico

WOLA's new report analyzing drug-related violence in Mexico and its relation to US drug policy [WOLA, USA]

Crisis or opportunity? Bolivian Drug Control Policy and the U.S. Response

A brief by WOLA and the Andean Information Network (AIN) with information on cooperative eradication of coca by the Morales government and U.S. policy recommendations [WOLA, USA]

Integration of supply and demand reduction strategies: moving beyond a balanced approach

INCB 2004

HIV/AIDS Policy in the United States

Monitoring the UNGASS Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS [Open Society Institute, USA]

The Evidence Base for the Classification of Drugs

This report, prepared for the UK House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology, presents the results of four case studies examining the evidence base for the classification of illegal drugs in the context of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 [RAND, USA]

The United Nations Drug Conventions Regime and Policy Reform

This paper describes and evaluates the options highlighted in the context of key scenarios for reform. The legal consequences which are consequences of the different options are addressed. One conclusion is that a route to Convention reform may be founded on collective action based on alliances between like-minded states

Dr. MadsAndenas and David Spivack, The British Institute of International & Comparative Law

Senlis Council August 2003

International Drug Policy Status Quaestionis

The review of the current international drug system, drafted for the Network of European Foundations Comité des Sages. The selection of articles covers various components of the drug issue and the possible implications and influence of alternative policies on the current drug control system

Prof Brice De Ruyver, Tom Vander Beken, GertVermeulen, Freya Vander Laenen, Institute for International Research on Criminal Policy, Ghent University, Maklu Publishers, Antwerp,

Senlis Council September 2003

Unintended Consequences: Drug Policies Fuel the HIV Epidemic in Russia and Ukraine

Strict UN drug control treaties directly undermine HIV prevention efforts by discouraging countries from implementing effective, realistic, and compassionate public health measures

International Harm Reduction Development Program April 2003 OSI

An Agenda for Vienna Change of Course

By 1998, when the United Nations convened a special General Assembly on drugs, there was already overwhelming evidence that the current approach to global drugs control had failed miserably, given the continuing rise in consumption and production. However, the evidence was ignored and no evaluation of what was wrong with current drug policy took place

Drugs & Conflict Debate Papers 6, March 2003 [Transnational Institute]

Cannabis Policy, Implementation and Outcomes

The political debate on cannabis policy is often more based on opinions than on evidence. However, evidence-based knowledge is required to design effective cannabis policy. A review of the scientific literature on cannabis policy and its consequences was conducted

Mirjam van hetLoo, StijnHoorens, Christian van ‘t Hof, James P. Kahan

MR-1805-VWS, © 2003 RAND

The Mechanics and Dynamics of the UN System for International Drug Control

The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the UN international drug control system and offer the reader the context necessary to engage with the debates surrounding some form of change within that system

David R. Bewley-Taylor B. Sc (Econ), PhD & Professor Cindy S. J. Fazey B. Sc. (Soc), PhD

Forward Thinking on Drugs 2003.

Drug Use and Drug Policy Futures: Insights from a Colloquium

Are there reasons to think drug problems and policy could change rapidly over the next 5 to 20 years? The authors believe so

Jonathan P. Caulkins, Peter Reuter, Martin Y. Iguchi, James Chiesa

IP-246-DPRC, © 2003 RAND

Illicit drugs convention reform & the United Nations agencies

This background paper, prepared for the September 2002 Comité des Sages Meeting, provides a brief summary of the positions (stated or implicit), interests and potential contributions of various UN agencies regarding reform of the three main international conventions on illicit drugs

Andrew Wilson

Senlis Council September 2002

Breaking the Impasse Polarisation & Paralysis in UN Drug Control

The big trends in drug policy over the past decade reveal two opposing tendencies: one tends towards tolerance and pragmatism and has its centre of gravity in Europe, while the other under US guidance tries to reinvigorate a zero-tolerance mentality using more repressive means. The polarisation has led to paralysis on the UN level. A more assertive European role, combined with the UNDCP reform process and the evaluation in April 2003 could provide an opportunity for a breakthrough

Drugs & Conflict Debate Paper 5, July 2002 [Transnational Institute]

Unsavory Bedfellows Washington's International Partners in the War on Drugs

The United States has made common cause with an assortment of dubious regimes around the world to wage the war on drugs. Perhaps the most shocking example was Washington's decision in May 2001 to financially reward Afghanistan's infamous Taliban government for its edict ordering a halt to the cultivation of opium poppies

Ted Galen Carpenter

Cato Foreign Policy Briefing No. 71

Coca yes, cocaine no?

Time has come to repair an historical error responsible for including the leaf amongst the most hazardous classified substances, having caused severe consequences for the Andean region. This issue of Drugs and Conflict explains the motives, context and range of this petition, as well as the procedures that need to be followed to reach this objective (20-page PDF) [TNI, USA]

The Evidence Base for the Classification of Drugs

A 16-page paper providing an evidence base for the classification of drugs, with additional information on drug use, strategy, punishment, treatment regimes and drug education in several countries [RAND, Europe]

A Failed Balance Alternative Development and Eradication

In 1961, the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs prohibited planting crops having no medical or scientific purpose, fixing a period of 15 years –for opium– and 25 years – for coca– as deadlines for their ultimate extinction. Those targets were clearly not met. In 1998, ignoring decades of lack of success in addressing the issue of illicit crops, the UN set the year 2008 as yet another deadline by which to eliminate coca and opium. At the UN Special Session on drugs, AD was identified as a key instrument to be used in fulfilling this objective, as part of an integral anti-drugs strategy

Drugs & Conflict Debate Paper 4, March 2002

Drugs and Insurgents in Colombia

A Regional Conundrum

Research brief RB-69, 2001 RAND

Colombian Labyrinth: The Synergy of Drugs and Insurgency and Its Implications for Regional Stability NGO

Argues that U.S. policy toward Colombia has been driven to a large extent by counter-narcotics considerations, but the evolving situation in that South American country confronts the United States with as much of a national security as a drug policy problem

Angel Rabasa, Peter ChalkAngelRabasa, Peter Chalk

MR-1339-AF, 2001 RAND

Merging Wars Afghanistan, Drugs and Terrorism

Today, the two major producers of opium poppy and coca, Afghanistan and Colombia, are in the midst of shifting counterdrug strategies. In this issue we will look at the case of Afghanistan, analysing the UN International Drug Control Programme’s (UNDCP) ill fated interventions. And while international attention is focused on Afghanistan, the linkage of drugs and terrorism is endangering the troubled peace talks between the government and the FARC guerrilla in Colombia

Drugs & Conflict Debate Paper 3, November 2001 [Transnational Institute]