The position paper “Drug Policy in Colombia – The Road to a Just Regulation" presents the dynamics which have maintained Colombia hostage as the longest running, and most evident examples, of failed prohibitionist drug policies. The position paper explores the context leading to the 2016 Peace Agreement, as well as the shifts in political power that resulted in uneven and unsuccessful implementation efforts of the Agreement. It puts forward recommendations to support effective and humane drug policy reforms that enhance peace, health, security and development in Colombia.

Drug policy in Colombia: The road to a just regulation

Germany’s current interpretative approach puts the fate of the entire project for cannabis regulation on very thin ice. But there is still time to change course, and legally sound and politically viable alternative options are available.

The German government has released its ‘

’, a concept note laying out the key points to shape the regulation of the recreational cannabis market. Presenting the key points at a press conference this week, 

 that it had not been easy to reach agreement within the ‘Ampel’ coalition and between the involved ministries. Clearly one of the trickiest issues has been how to deal with the legal hurdles of the UN drug treaties and EU law. The Minister presented what he called the ‘

’ as the government’s Plan A, which will be submitted to the European Commission in hopes of a green light that would allow the legislation to proceed. But if the EC rejects Germany’s ‘interpretative solution’, there will be no legal regulation unless another legal accommodation can be negotiated. Regarding a Plan B, the 

 vaguely mention the possibility that the proposed legislation 

“can be accompanied by Germany's advocacy for certain amendments/updates at EU and international law level”

Unfortunately, Germany’s Plan A approach risks bringing the whole regulation project onto legally very thin ice, for several reasons. Let’s make clear from the outset that TNI fully supports the intention to legally regulate the cannabis market, as we have done in the case of Uruguay, Canada, Mexico, Malta and now also Colombia. TNI has been working for several years now with a group of international lawyers, treaty experts and government officials to explore the most viable options to accommodate the legal regulation of cannabis markets under international law. With due respect for basic principles of international law, and staying within the realm of faithful treaty interpretation, we have laid out in detail 

the legal tensions and the available compliance options

’ now proposed by Germany, does not appear on the menu of viable solutions elaborated by the group of treaty experts we convened, as it can be easily contested and dismissed on legal grounds.

German cannabis regulation on thin ice - The government’s risky approach to international legal obstacles puts the entire project in jeopardy

By B Pauly, J McCall, F Cameron, H Stuart, H Hobbs, G Sullivan, C Ranger, K Urbanoski / International Journal of Drug Policy

 Within North America and worldwide, drug-related overdoses have increased dramatically over the past decade. COVID-19 escalated the need for a safer supply of illicit substances to reduce overdoses with hopes of replacing substances obtained from the illicit drug market. Drug users 1 should be at the centre of program and policy decisions related to the development and implementation of safer supply. Yet, there is little empirical research that conceptualizes effective safer supply from their perspectives.

 Within a community based participatory approach to research, we conducted a concept mapping study to foreground the perspectives of drug users and develop a conceptual model of effective safer supply. Our team was composed of researchers from a local drug user organization, a local harm reduction organization, and academic researchers. The focused prompt developed by the team was: "Safe supply would work well if…" Sixty-three drug users participated in three rounds of focus groups as part of the concept mapping process, involving brainstorming, sorting, rating and naming of themes.

 The concept mapping process resulted in six clusters of statements: 1) Right dose and right drugs for me; 2) Safe, positive and welcoming spaces; 4) I am treated with respect; 5) I can easily get my safer supply; and 6) Helps me function and improves my quality of life (as defined by me). The statements within each cluster describe key components central to an effective model of safer supply as defined by drug users.

 The results of this study provide insights into key components of effective safer supply to inform planning and evaluation of future safer supply programs informed by drug user perspectives.

A concept mapping study of service user design of safer supply as an alternative to the illicit drug market

The Czech Republic is the first country in Central-Eastern Europe that announced to make the non-medical use of cannabis legal. In this episode of Drugreporter Café, we present an interview with Jindrich Voboril, the National Drug Coordinator, who explained us how they will regulate the legal market.

Watch this episode – or if you don’t have time, you can listen to it as a podcast on Spotify, you can find the link below! Share this with your friends, peers!

How will Czechia legalise cannabis?

Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s push for a major overhaul of the “war on drugs” is likely to cause tensions with Washington, but both sides appear to be proceeding with caution. Like its predecessors, the Biden Administration is reluctant to acknowledge the failure of the old tactics, but the burden will be on Petro to make the case that new approaches will work better.

Colombia has agreed with the United States on drug policies since the 1970s, with a focus on the Colombian Police and, later, the National Army. In 1996, the U.S. State Department said that the 

Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia

 (FARC) were directly engaged in narco-trafficking, which opened the door for deeper cooperation. With “Plan Colombia” in the 2000s, Bogotá made the war on drugs a central element of its counterinsurgency – and Washington became deeply involved despite the implications for human rights in affected regions.

The two countries put aerial eradication of coca crops and extradition of traffickers at the center of the relationship, even though the initiatives did not significantly reduce the production or flows of the narcotic into the United States. The cartels fragmented and grew more violent as they fought for control of the trade.

President Petro’s proposed reform is not the first challenge to the decades-old approach. A peace agreement between President Juan Manuel Santos and the FARC in 2016 challenged the nature and depth of cooperation. The accord included commitments in four areas: incentivizing coca growers to change crops (through agrarian reform and secure access to markets); stopping the traffic (through interdiction); eliminating money-laundering; and getting transit and consumer countries to do more to reduce demand. The goal was to reduce the trade and demand more than to criminalize the production of raw material.

Colombia: Will new drug policies damage U.S. ties?

It makes no sense,” said Joe Biden on October 6th, as he 

 the 6,000 or so Americans convicted of possessing a small amount of marijuana. Although cannabis is fully legal in 19 American states, at the federal level it is still deemed to be as dangerous as heroin and more so than fentanyl, two drugs that contributed to more than 100,000 Americans dying of 

 last year. But the president’s admission applies to drug policy more broadly. Prohibition is not working—and that can be seen most strikingly with cocaine, not cannabis.

cocaine into the United States has surged

. Global production hit a record of 1,982 tonnes in 2020, according to the latest data, though that is likely to be an underestimate. That record high is despite decades of strenuous and costly efforts to cut off the supply. Between 2000 and 2020 the United States ploughed $10bn into Colombia to suppress production, paying the local armed forces to spray coca plantations with herbicide from the air or to yank up bushes by hand. To no avail: when coca is eradicated on one hillside, it shifts to another.

The worst harm falls on producing and trafficking countries, where drug profits fuel violence. Murder in Colombia is three times more common than in the United States; in Mexico, four times. In some areas, drug gangs are so wealthy and well-armed that they rival the state, giving cops and officials the choice of 

 (silver or lead): be corrupted or be killed. Prohibition also sucks children out of school, as drug gangs favour recruits who are 

Joe Biden is too timid. It is time to legalise cocaine

By Andrea Figueras Ariso / Medical Express

Uruguay was a pioneer in the legalization of recreational cannabis use, a move that helped to push many drug traffickers out of the domestic market.

But a bland and insufficient state supply has meant most consumers still prefer the diversity of the black market.

In 2013, Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalize recreational marijuana use—which came into effect four years later—even permitting its sale in pharmacies.

There are three legal ways for registered users to get hold of marijuana: purchasing it at pharmacies, through home growing for personal use, and by belonging to an official cannabis-producing club.

The most sought after legal method is membership of one of the 249 consumer clubs, which offer a greater variety to their 7,166 members than pharmacies do.

But many clubs have long waiting lists to join as they are limited by law to between 15 and 45 members.

Legal marijuana, but Uruguayans still prefer black market

Voters in five states — Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota, and South Dakota — will decide this Election Day on statewide ballot measures to legalize the use of marijuana by adults.

Currently, 19 states — comprising 44 percent of the US population — have legalized and regulated adult-use marijuana markets. If voters approve these measures, approximately half of all US residents will reside in a jurisdiction where the possession and use of cannabis are legal for adults.

According to recent polling, most of these measures enjoy majority support from the public. “Voters’ support for repealing cannabis criminalization crosses party lines,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “That is why, historically, these ballot initiative efforts have been equally successful at the ballot box in both ‘red’ states and in ‘blue’ states. We anticipate similar outcomes this November.”

United States: Voters in five states, dozens of cities to decide on cannabis legalisation measures this November

By Tom McEnchroe / Radio Prague International


Czechia’s National Anti-Drug Coordinator Jindřich Vobořil is preparing a law on the sale and purchasing of marijuana. The legislation should be prepared by the end of this year, he told the Czech News Agency, adding that he hopes it will be passed by January 2024.

The new measures should establish the level of narcotic substances that legal marijuana products can contain. Marijuana growers would need a licence and the law would clearly specify who they could deliver their product to. Some shop owners could also receive a license, Mr Vobořil said. The amount of marijuana that people could purchase would be limited and buyers could be required to register with the state, he said.

Prague is currently hosting a meeting of EU anti-drug coordinators who are discussing how to regulate the union’s cannabis market.

Czechia could soon legalise sale and growing of marijuana

Bermuda is on the brink of a constitutional crisis after Britain blocked the Government’s flagship legislation to legalise the use and consumption of cannabis.

In a landmark move, Rena Lalgie, the Governor, said she had been “instructed” by the UK’s foreign secretary to refuse to give royal assent to the Progressive Labour Party’s Cannabis Licensing Bill.

Ms Lalgie previously reserved assent on the legislation in May and called for dialogue between Hamilton and London on the matter.

David Burt, the Premier, said last year that if royal assent was not given to the Bill it would “destroy” relations between Bermuda and Britain.

Following months of tension over the legislation, Ms Lalgie announced the decision on the day Liz Truss was elevated from foreign secretary to prime minister.

The Government insisted it would push on with its initiative as voters had given the PLP a mandate to do so.

Kathy Lynn Simmons, the Attorney General, appeared to put the Government on a collision course with London over the issue.

She said: “Disappointing, but not surprising, given the confines of our constitutional relationship with the UK government and their archaic interpretation of the narcotic conventions.

“The people of Bermuda have democratically expressed their desire for a regulated cannabis licensing regime, following the strong endorsement at the ballot box and an extensive public consultation process.

Bermuda: Crisis looms as Britain blocks cannabis legalisation

For campaigners advocating drug liberalisation, it is an image that is almost too good to be true: a store down a cobbled street in Utrecht legally selling ecstasy, or MDMA, for recreational use, apparently as easily as the jeweller is selling watches next door.

The XTC shop in the centre of the Netherlands’ fourth-largest city has even been visited in recent days by a government minister, who was pictured examining its bubblegum-style vending machines and in-house educational videos.

Unfortunately for drug reformers, however, the “shop” is not – yet – the result of the extension of the famous Dutch gedoogbeleid (tolerance policy) on cannabis use and sale.

The health minister, Ernst Kuipers, was instead visiting a mock-up of how an ecstasy retailer might look from the outside – with three models inside of how the drug might be sold in practice depending on the level of state regulation.

In response to the deepening environmental and societal damage being reaped by the illicit trade and use of drugs in the Netherlands, Kuipers’ D66 party, one of four in the governing coalition, is in favour of examining the regulation of currently prohibited drugs such as cocaine, MDMA, psilocybin mushrooms and LSD.

High street? Dutch ecstasy ‘shop’ shows possible way for drug reform

Switzerland is to become the first European country to launch a cannabis sales pilot program to study the effects of cannabis legalization.

The so-called "Weed Care" pilot program will be officially launched on September 15 and is scheduled to last for two and a half years, ending in March 2025.

The program involves 370 participants based in Basel, Switzerland's third-most populous city.

Participants involved in the pilot program are over 18, reside in Basel-Stadt Canton, and are already adult-use cannabis consumers.

Throughout the entire study, the participants will be regularly asked about their cannabis consumption behavior and physical and mental health, among other things.

"The first research question is whether consumption changes - whether more is consumed, less or the same amount," said Regine Steinauer, head of the addiction department at Basel University, as reported by Euronews.

Regulated drug markets