Drugs and Democracy Media

Colombian President Santos, OAS Chief Insulza to Present New Study on Drug Policy Alternatives

14 May 2013
Washington, D.C.—This Friday, May 17, in Bogotá, Colombia, Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General José Miguel Insulza will present Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos with the outcomes of the hemispheric drug policy review that was mandated by the heads of state at the 2012 Summit of the Americas in Cartagena.

What Is the Future of British Heroin Addiction?

6 May 2013
However, Martin Jelsma – a political scientist who specialises in international drug trade at the Transnational Institute – is not so sure there's such a cut-and-dry, supply-and-demand explanation.

Obstacles Ahead in Burma’s Opium War

20 March 2013
“There is no silver bullet,” Tom Kramer, a political scientist for the think tank Transnational Institute (TNI) told TIME. “The root cause is poverty. Access to health, education — if this is not addressed, you will not solve the problem.”

Towards a ceasefire

7 March 2013
Experiments in legalisation are showing what a post-war approach to drug control could look like

Bolivia wins a rightful victory on the coca leaf

15 January 2013
Today the Plurinational State of Bolivia can celebrate a rightful victory, as the country can become formally a party again to the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, without being bound by its unjust and unrealistic requirement that “coca leaf chewing must be abolished.”

UN accepts “coca leaf chewing” in Bolivia

14 January 2013
Bolivia will again belong to the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs after its bid to rejoin with a reservation that it does not accept the treaty’s requirement that “coca leaf chewing must be banned” was successful Friday. Opponents needed one-third of the 184 signatory countries to object, but fell far, far short despite objections by the US and the International Narcotics Control Board.

Uruguay postpones vote on 'state as dealer' approach to drug regulation - but not for long?

2 January 2013
Uruguay has been on the vanguard of drug policy reform in the Americas, proposing a state regulatory market for the cultivation and consumption of marijuana. President Mujica always said he wouldn't push the proposal if a majority of Uruguayans didn't accept it. But few think this postponement means the project is forever shelved.

The New War on Drugs: ASEAN Style

30 November 2012
ASEAN nations are stepping up their fight against illegal drugs as other parts of the world are taking a much different approach

U.S. votes to legalize pot

7 November 2012
Voters in Colorado and Washington state who approved the recreational use of marijuana Tuesday sent a salvo from the ballot box that will ricochet around Latin America.

Biggest blow to Mexico drug cartels

5 November 2012
A Mexican study says legalizing marijuana for recreational use in the US - an issue on the ballot in three US states - could cut the proceeds of Mexican drug gangs by 30 percent.