This toolkit was created to educate the public about evidence-based drug policy, increase media interest in drug policy reform and build political support by getting local and national governments to endorse the Vienna Declaration and join the call for evidence-based drug policy.
Fifty years on, it is time for a critical reflection on the validity of the Single Convention today: a reinterpretation of its historical significance and an assessment of its aims, its strengths and its weaknesses. This policy briefing analyses the origins and negotiations of the Single Convention, examines the way it broke with the previous drug control system by introducing a more prohibitive ethos, penal obligations, controls on plants and abolition of traditional uses of plants like coca, and concludes that a revision of its outdated provisions is required.
This briefing paper analyses the reasons behind the proposed amendment and the opposing arguments that have been brought forward, and outlines the various options to be considered as the fate of Bolivia’s proposal is determined. Simply rejecting the amendment will not make the issue disappear.
The report highlights blatant disregard by the Government of Russia for health, human rights and scientific evidence related to the use of harm reduction measures for those who use illicit drugs.
Some anniversaries provide an occasion for celebration, others a time for reflection, still others a time for action. This June will mark forty years since President Nixon declared a "war on drugs," identifying drug abuse as "public enemy No. 1." Ethan Nadelmann reflects on the consequences of the war on drugs and the actions that should be undertaken to "break the tradition of denial".
This paper describes how the foundations of the global drug control system were established, the radicalisation of the system toward more reprressive implementation, consequently leading to soft defections and de-escalation efforts becoming more widespread. The last section projects a future for the ongoing reform process toward a modernisation and humanisation of the system's international level framework as laid down in the UN drug control conventions.
This paper, written in collaboration with the Correlation Network, describes the law enforcement and community involvement elements of the strategy, and provides available data on the results achieved so far.
The aim of the seminar was to engage high level officials in considering alternative options to the current mandatory treatment and rehabilitation system for managing drug using offenders in the country.
This guide focuses on HIV prevention, substance use, and sexual health, and aims to empower and educate young people, reduce stigma and ultimately save lives.
This article outlines the nature and functioning of Spanish cannabis social clubs. It also proposes a better route for legalisation of drugs: rejecting the creation of an open trade system, similar to that of alcohol or tobacco and opting instead for a consumer-focused, non-profit model that avoids many of the risks inherent in a market dominated by the pursuit of economic profit.
A comparative study on the impact of drug policies on the prison systems of eight Latin American countries reveals that drug laws have contributed to the prison crises these countries are experiencing.
