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Drug Policy Briefings

USAID's Alternative Development policy in Colombia
October 2011
Ricardo Vargas

Alternative Development as practised by USAID and the Colombia government was always guided more by security rather than development considerations. This report examines the key aspects of USAID's alternative development policy and its implementation in Colombia during the last decade. A...

Drug Policy Briefing Nr. 38
Amphetamine Type Stimulants and Harm Reduction
October 2011
Tom Blickman

Little is known about the methamphetamine market in the region, but there are strong indications that the situation is deteriorating with substances becoming stronger, methods of use more harmful and the number of users steadily increasing. There is an urgent need for donors and governments to...

Drug Policy Briefing Nr. 37
Alternative Development from the perspective of Colombian farmers
July 2011
Susana Ojeda

There is considerable debate on whether Alternative Development is successful from the point of view of experts and politicians, but what do Colombian farmers targeted by these programmes think and what are the implications for their daily lives?

Drug Policy Briefing No. 36
On the Frontline of Northeast India
March 2011
Drugs and Democracy

Conflict and underdevelopment in Northeast India have contributed to drug consumption and production, and are hampering access to treatment, care and support for drug users.

Drug Policy Briefing No. 35
The ‘miracle of San Martín’ and symptoms of ‘alternative development’ in Peru
December 2010
Hugo Cabieses

The Peruvian government has presented the “Miracle of San Martin Model” as the path to follow to achieve drug supply reduction. However a closer look reveals that the model is not replicable, not ecologically sustainable, and won't remedy the ‘symptoms of alternative development’.

Drug Policy Briefing No. 34
Alternative Development or Business as Usual?
November 2010
Drugs and Democracy

The Chinese Government's opium substitution programmes in northern Burma and Laos have prompted a booming rubber industry, but the beneficiaries have been a small few with many others losing their lands as a result.

Drug Policy Briefing, 33
The security approach to the drugs problem
December 2009
Ricardo Vargas

The drugs problem in Colombia is intertwined with structural factors at the social, economic, institutional and cultural levels. Moreover, its relationship to the armed conflict has had serious consequences for the socio-economic conditions of peasant and indigenous communities affected by the...

Drug Policy Briefing Nr. 31
Redefining Targets
December 2009
Martin Jelsma
Tom Kramer

Afghanistan remains the world’s largest producer of opium and has an under-reported but growing heroin-use problem. Current drug control policies in Afghanistan are unrealistic, reflecting a need for immediate signs of hope rather than a serious analysis of the underlying causes and an effort to...

Drug Policy Briefing No. 30
From Golden Triangle to Rubber Belt?
July 2009
Tom Kramer

In the Kokang and Wa regions in northern Burma opium bans have ended poppy cultivation, but have caused chronic poverty and food insecurity as a result.

Drug Policy Briefing 29
Crops for illicit use and ecocide
December 2008
Germán Andrés Quimbayo Ruiz

A comparative reflection on the impact of illicit crops, drug control policy and other sectors of the economy on ecosystems and the environment in Colombia

Drug Policy Briefing 28
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