5 things we learned at the UN drugs meeting this year

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5 things we learned at the UN drugs meeting this year

26 March 2019

Drugreporter’s team attended the UN Commission on Narcotics Drugs (CND), please read some take home messages and watch some videos we produced there!

1. The CND is still dreaming about a drug-free world

Drug-free World: Reloaded. This was the title we gave to our video report about the 2009 Commission on Narcotic Drug meeting, when governments, despite of the evidence that their policies clearly don’t work, basically copy-pasted and repeated the 1998 political declaration. That is, they adopted another action plan to “eliminate or significantly reduce” drug use and trafficking in 10 years. I still remember the disappointment I felt: what is wrong with these people? This year I was not disappointed at all – everything went according to my expectations (I got older and more skeptical). The ministerial statement failed to draw conclusions from the evidence that they could not achieve any reduction in demand and supply and they reconfirmed their commitment to achieve a drug-free world. There were some strong, critical speeches at the opening, for example, the president of Bolivia defended coca legalisation again. But what we see is polarisation of opinions rather than linear progress.

If you want to learn more about why the ministerial declaration is a disappointment, read this excellent statement from the International Drug Policy Consortium!