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Drugs and Democracy

TNI’s Drugs & Democracy programme has gained a reputation worldwide as one of the leading international drug policy research institutes and is widely recognised as a critical watchdog on UN drug control institutions and policies. See also our Drug Law Reform website and the United Nations Drug Control website.

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  • Cannabis Social Clubs en Espagne

    Les Clubs Sociaux du Cannabis (CSC) sont des associations d’usagers qui s’organisent pour s’auto-approvisionner sans avoir recours au marché noir. Profitant de une zone grise juridique, il existe depuis plusieurs années, des clubs privés qui produisent du cannabis pour le distribuer, sans but lucratif et en circuit fermé, à des consommateurs adultes.

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  • How to determine personal use in drug legislation

    Distinguishing between drug possession for personal use and supply and trafficking is widely acknowledged as one of the most difficult and controversial issues facing drug legislators and policy makers.

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  • Conviction by Numbers

    The use of "threshold quantities" for determining charges for drugs offences has become a popular quick-fix by policy makers keen to save time and money, but they should be used with caution as they also carry the risk of wrongful conviction and disproportionate responses.

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  • Treaty guardians in distress

    The guardian of the UN drug control treaties has proved unable to respond in a rational manner to the need for radical reform of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. 

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  • Drug Club: Spain's alternative cannabis economy

    While public opinion seems to be shifting towards support for legalisation;there is surprisingly little discussion in the drugs counter-culture of what a socially just model of cannabis consumption might look like.

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Cannabis social club activists in Spain liberated
Tom Blickman
 November 2011

Cultivation and consumption of cannabis is decriminalised to an extent but lack of guidelines causes rogue social clubs to undermine the success of self-regulated social clubs. The result; an unwarranted arrest of three Pannagh activists. 

Immediate release for Martin Barriuso and his two fellow activists
Tom Blickman
 November 2011

The arrest of Barriuso and two fellow activists of Pannagh is uncalled for. They should be released immediately.

The urgent next steps in ATS and Harm reduction
Tom Blickman
 November 2011

Now is the time to implement low cost and simple harm reduction measures for amphetamine-type stimulant users.

In memoriam: Adrian Cowell
Martin Jelsma
Tom Blickman
 October 2011

Adrian Cowell, a groundbreaking documentary film maker and good friend, died early October in London.

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

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 critical analysis by Ricardo Vargas.

 

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

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 introduce effective harm reduction measures.

Drug Policy Briefing Nr. 37
Conflict, poverty and marginalisation
Amira Armenta
 July 2011

Since the 1990s, the Curvaradó and Jiguamiandó communities have specifically been the target of violence and subsequent displacement.

Alternative Development from the perspective of Colombian farmers
Susana Ojeda July 2011

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
Bolivia Withdraws from the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
Drugs and Democracy
 June 2011

The Bolivian government formally notified the UN Secretary General of its withdrawal from the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

Rome Declaration of 2011
June 2011

Italian, Brazilian and Argentinian judges in a joint statement say that the war on drugs has overwhelmed the judicial and penitentiary system and benefited organised crime.

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