The review was mandated by Heads of State at 2012 Summit of the Americas. The new study should enrich the already-vibrant hemispheric debate over drug policy alternatives, including the option of legal, regulated markets for cannabis.

On Friday, May 17, in Bogotá, Colombia, OAS Secretary General presented the outcomes of the drug policy review conducted in the Americas.

The mayor of Bogota has recently proposed a pilot scheme for people dependent on crack cocaine to be treated with marijuana.

The key question we should ask is whether these Guiding Principles will help break the failed logic applied until now, which has prioritised forced eradica­tion and added development as an after­thought.

This briefing presents some recommendations and policy proposals on alternative development.

This study ensued from clinical observations based on spontaneous accounts by crack abusers undergoing their first psychiatric assessment, where they reported using cannabis in an attempt to ease their own withdrawal symptoms.

Bolivia reintegrated the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs without being bound by its unjust and unrealistic ban on coca leaf chewing.

The United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Canada notified their objections to Bolivia's re-accession to the 1961 UN Single Convention with a reservation on coca chewing.

This research focuses on the role of the drugs trade in criminal violence and policy responses (militarization and private security) in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, known as "The Northern Triangle".

The President of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), Raymond Yans, has voiced concern about the outcome of recent referenda in the USA that would allow the non-medical use of cannabis by adults in Colorado and Washington.

The new coalition government of conservative liberals and social-democrats agreed to abolish the cannabis pass, but access to coffee shops remains limited to residents of the Netherlands.

Mexico has agreed to host a liaison office of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime that will provide training and share resources with the authorities. The Liaison and Partnership Office (LPO) would offer specialized training, trend analysis, and research related to drugs and citizen security.

The number of Afghan families growing cannabis as a cash crop leapt by more than a third last year, the UN has said.

From the beginning of next year, the government will launch a new initiative in the struggle against drug-related deaths. In collaboration with far-left support party Enhedslisten (EL), the government has decided to set aside six million kroner for so-called 'overdose kits' that are intended to...

On Monday 17th September, the Ministry of Justice, alongside the Transnational Institute and the International Drug Policy Consortium, held a high-level meeting to review the country’s legal response to drug use.

Under pressure to form a stable government able to tackle the financial crisis and European integration issues, winning political parties will need to find a common ground on the coffee shop issue.

The discussions around treaty reform at the seminar aimed to facilitate a wide spectrum of approaches to drugs.

Four themes were discussed during the dialogue: the European Union drug policy agenda, cannabis policy reform, the future of the UN drug control conventions and the upcoming 55th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

​The last few years have witnessed a boom in new cannabis user associations in Spain. Although there are no reliable figures for them, most are known to have been created for the collective cultivation of marihuana crops, and are now several hundred-strong

In Uruguay, the consumption of drugs, including marijuana, is not punishable with prison time. Paradoxically, the cultivation of marijuana for personal consumption is a crime, as is the purchase of marijuana.