The UN drug control conventions clearly illustrate the ‘drugs as a threat’ discourse and more recently Russia has attempted to identify Afghan opium production as a threat to international security.
The lasting legacy of the sixth presidential summit held in Cartagena, Colombia on 14th and 15th April will likely be the beginning of a serious regional debate on international drug control policies.
Most of us predicted a dull Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) this year, but it turned out to be surprisingly eventful – a pleasant surprise for veterans, if still frustratingly opaque for those looking for open and vibrant debate.
For many years under the Berlusconi government, Italian drug policy has been directed by ideology. The government passed a legislative amendment to increase penalties for all categories of drug possession and use, treating cannabis with the same severity as heroin and cocaine.
Last week in Bangkok (6th to 8th February 2012), delegates from governments, UN agencies and civil society organisations (CSOs) based in the Asia-Pacific region gathered in the UN Conference Centre to discuss the progress they have made in taking action on problems related to HIV/AIDS.
Drug policy is too often abstract. Government policy makers and Vienna-based diplomats spend much of their time debating drug law ideology, while forgetting the realities of people badly hurt by the laws and policies they create.
By Ross BellExecutive Director, New Zealand Drug Foundation
Over the past decades, there has been much discussion about the effectiveness of several aspects of the drug control system. The police play a decisive role in enforcing drug laws, and directly experience the effects caused by the implementation of several provisions that aim to reduce drug use in…
By Thanasis ApostolouDiogenis, Drug Policy Dialogue in South East Europe
The primary producers and consumers of illicit drugs – drug users and farmers of opium, coca and cannabis – are often some of the most marginalised groups in our societies.
