Activities 2012 Drugs & Democracy

In 2012, years of painstaking work saw real breakthroughs in the Americas, which may herald a wider shift in policy. the government of Uruguay sought to regulate the cannabis market, two US states voted to legalise cannabis, and the inter-governmental summit of the Americas called for alternatives to current drugs policy.

A breakthrough in the making in Latin America

This year saw remarkable developments in drug policy in Latin America, decisively breaking open the debate. This was expressed at the Organization of American States (OAS) Summit of the Americas in Colombia, where recognition of the failure of the global ‘war on drugs’ reached critical mass, resulting in a call for alternatives to current models of drug control. This was the first time this has been recognised at such a high political level. It forms part of an overall more assertive and independent attitude from Latin American states towards the US.

TNI produced a briefing, A Breakthrough in the Making?, exploring the regional trend of moving away from the US-led ‘war on drugs’ strategy and making a set of proposals for the further widening of the discussion. The briefing recognised the importance of the developments while cautioning that there are still many barriers ahead. Although the situation is not simple, it is clear that Latin America is taking a global lead on reforming drug policy, and TNI has committed more resources to the region accordingly.

While this dramatic policy shift cannot be attributed to any one factor, TNI has been one of the leading international institutions in challenging the war on drugs and proposing a nuanced set of viable options for policy reform. The Summit of the Americas mandated the OAS to commission an analysis of the current situation, drug policies and a study into alternative scenarios. The results are to be discussed at the highest political levels across the hemi- sphere. TNI’s Martin Jelsma is participating as an expert within this process. For more see the TNI-run website www.druglawreform.info.

Helping Uruguay pioneer cannabis regulation

One of the most encouraging developments in Latin America in 2012 was the government of Uruguay announcing plans to regulate the cannabis market. This is the first time a government has attempted to take control of the whole national cannabis market, although the proposal still awaits parliamentary approval. Consumption has long been decriminalised, but cultivation – even for personal use – has remained a crime. The proposal would extend across the whole chain of production and distribution, most likely in the form of a state-licenced production and distribution system, for both medicinal and recreational use.

The move would be a real leap forward in terms of existing models of drugs regulation, and success in Uruguay – a relatively small country – could spread further. As Uruguay’s president José Mujica has said, “Someone has to be first.” The government argues that regulation is the best option for the health and welfare of the population, yet is fully aware that cannabis is not harmless and that a regulated market will not solve all the problems.

TNI has been closely involved in assisting the government. Our experts have commented on drafts of the legislative proposal, in particular in advising Uruguay on how to deal with its existing obligations under international treaties (see below). TNI facilitated contacts with people who had been involved in implementing alternative models elsewhere, such as cannabis social clubs (non-commercial cultivation) in Spain. The annual international informal drug policy dialogue meeting of government officials, parliamentarians and experts also provided the Uruguayan government with an important sounding board for its proposals.

TNI also worked with policymakers on drug legislation, law enforcement and the criminal justice system in several other countries during 2012 – both in Latin America and in Southeast Asia. The latter included a unique meeting with 25 top Burmese government officials, which marked the beginning of a process of more intense dialogue there. (For more on Burma see page 36.)

Exploring tensions in the treaties and proposing reform

A major obstacle to reform is the existing system of treaties that make up international drugs law. TNI has taken a twin-track approach to the problem: first, studying what reforms may and may not be allowed under the existing treaties and where the possible tensions lie, and second, identifying where the tensions become breaches, and what concrete reforms therefore need to be proposed.

This was the approach taken in drug policy briefings co-published with the International Drug Policy Consortium, The Limits of Latitude and Towards revision of the UN drug control conventions. These were presented at a side-event during the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs session in Vienna in March 2012 in the presence of around 50 government delegates.

The Limits of Latitude analyses the room for manoeuvre within the three existing UN drug control treaties – the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. It attempts to offer a new standard for their legal interpretation.

The report includes a ‘traffic light’ system for policy proposals, with red for ‘stop or challenge the conventions’, orange for ‘proceed with caution’ and green for ‘proceed’. In doing so, it exposes the existing contradictions of the system and makes an argument for reform.

Towards revision of the UN drug control conventions takes this work further by looking at the possibilities for treaty reform. It proposes that a promising way forward could be for like-minded nations to form a group or groups to advance treaty revision.