A global network promoting objective and open debate on drug policy
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The Beckley Foundation is a charitable trust that promotes the scientific investigation of consciousness and its modulation from a multidisciplinary perspective. We also seek to change global drugs policy to reflect a more rational, evidence-based approach, shifting the emphasis from criminalisation to health.
The film follows the Global Commission on Drug Policy on a mission to break the political taboo and expose the biggest failure of global policy in the last 50 years.
The campaign 'Breaking the taboo' highlights that the war on drugs has failed and that it is time to reform drug policies. It calls for governments to break the taboo on drug policy debates and reform.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Beckley Foundation published a public letter calling for a new approach in drug policy.
The book entitled "Cannabis Policy: Moving Beyond Stalemate", published on 25 January 2010 by the Beckley Foundation and Oxford University Press, was researched and written by a group of the world's leading drug policy analysts. It gives an overview of the latest scientific evidence surrounding...
This article argues that the chemical imbalance in street cannabis (skunk) makes it more harmful. If the recreational cannabis market was regulated to ensure a balanced chemical structure in cannabis it would be safer for users.
This paper contributes to recent debates surrounding the improvement of the UN drug control system’s methods of gathering and analyzing data. It critically examines the current predominance of quantitative evidence, arguing for a greater emphasis on the cultural understanding of drug use and...
Sweden’s drug policies have recently attained symbolic status in international policy debates. This paper examines the country’s policies, their effectiveness or otherwise and the historical and cultural context that underpins them. It considers whether these policies should or could be applied...
This Beckley Briefing compares the drug situation in a number of developed countries presenting data to stimulate further research and provide information for analysts and policy makers for more effective drug control.
This new report undertaken by The Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme is concerned with one of the most worrying aspects of the global trade in illicit drugs - the link to urban violence. This is a leading cause of death in many countries.
This BFDPP Briefing paper provides an overview of Cannabis Policy: Moving Beyond Stalemate, the Report of the Beckley Foundation Global Cannabis Commission. The report was produced after a group of international experts were commissioned to undertake a review of the current evidence regarding...
The Cannabis Commission was an international group of academics and experts in drug policy analysis, commissioned by the Beckley Foundation to produce a Report on cannabis policy in a global perspective.
This Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme briefing paper presents a critical assessment of Plan Colombia. Originally proposed as a peace programme, this soon became a military strategy aimed at weakening the link between illicit drugs and insurgency.
This latest report in the Beckley series looks at the operation of middle-level drug dealers, and how their behaviour is influenced by the activities of the law enforcement agencies.
This report includes a wide range of examples in which human rights standards and norms are infringed as a result of state activities pursued in the name of drug control. This clearly demonstrates the need for close attention to this issue within the UN system.
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...
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.
The latest report from the Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme describes the high rates of drug problems in all prison systems, summarises the current state of global knowledge and research evidence, and provides a guide for policymakers on how to develop effective policies and programmes...
