Publications by Drugs and Democracy

  • First Southeast Asian informal drug policy dialogue
    February 2009
    Martin Jelsma

    The Transnational Institute (TNI) and the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) co-hosted the First Southeast Asian Informal Drug Policy Dialogue, 12-14 February 2009 in Bangkok. The dialogue –similar to TNI efforts in Europe and Latin America- brought together government officials, experts, NGOs and representatives of international agencies, to discuss dilemmas and possible improvements in drug policy making in the region.

  • Harvesting trees to make ecstasy drug
    February 2009
    Tom Blickman

    In June 2008, the Cambodian government set up a media show, burning 1,278 drums of safrole-rich oil—a key ingredient in the manufacture of the illicit recreational drug ecstasy—with the help of the Australian Federal Police (AFP). The amount of oil could have been used to make an estimated 245 million ecstasy tablets with a street value of $7.6 billion in Australia, the AFP claimed. While thick black plumes of smoke went into the air, Australian police officers, who had traveled to Cambodia to assist in the public burning, looked on wearing chemical suits and breathing apparatus.

  • Drug report in Southeast Asia
    January 2009
    Martin Jelsma
    Tom Kramer

    The assumption that reducing opium production would lead to less drug use has been proven wrong. It has instead contributed to a pattern of an increased use of stronger drugs and more harmful patterns of use.

  • 'Successful' opium control a disaster for farmers and drug users, finds new study
    August 2008
    TNI
    A significant decline in opium production in Burma and Laos, which has been heralded as a major success for international drug control policy, is having a devastating effect on farmers and is triggering worrying consequences for drug users according to a new report released today by the Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute (TNI).
  • Withdrawal symptoms for Golden Triangle drug trade
    August 2008
    Martin Jelsma
    Tom Kramer
    Opium production in the Golden Triangle has decreased significantly over the past decade. But the rapid decline has caused major suffering among former poppy-growing communities in Burma and Laos, making it difficult to characterise developments as a "success story".
  • Eradications and conflict in Colombia
    May 2008
    Amira Armenta
    While the coca farmer is treated as a criminal the road to peace in the Colombian countryside will remain closed.

    Although more and more coca is being eradicated, production levels remain steady. According to the latest Annual Report of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), published in March 2008, more and more coca is being eradicated in South America. Despite this, the total area sown has remained stable in the region, as has the total production in metric tons of cocaine. In the case of Colombia, 23 per cent more was eradicated in 2006 than in 2005.

  • Latin America needs a new drug policy approach
    May 2008
    Tom Blickman
    TNI's Martin Jelsma participated in the inaugural meeting of the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy which revealed growing political support for alternative global drug policies on the continent.

    TNI’s Martin Jelsma participated in the inaugural meeting in Rio de Janeiro of the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy on April 30, 2008.

  • Los indígenas del Cauca defienden la soberanía de sus territorios y la revalorización de la hoja de coca
    March 2008
    TNI
     Dora Lucila Troyano Sanchez

    En Colombia, las organizaciones indígenas han sido perseguidas por el Estado de una manera brutal. El atropello más reciente se produjo durante el Consejo Comunitario del presidente Uribe. Durante el evento, no sólo se les negó la palabra de manera descortés, sino que el mismo presidente Uribe se dirigió a ellos como a quienes “…se les ha dado mucha tierra que no ha sido aprovechada…”.

  • Report criticizes governments over consumption of coca leaf
    March 2008
    TNI

    In a culturally insensitive and irrational move, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has called for the governments of Bolivia and Peru to abolish all uses of the coca leaf, including coca leaf chewing.

    In its 2007 annual report, the INCB asks Bolivia and Peru to make possessing and using coca leaf criminal offenses--a move that would affect millions of people in the Andes and Amazon, according to the Transnational Institute (TNI), a group that studies drugs and conflict in the region.

    Coca leaf is widely consumed in both countries, both as a part of daily life and in indi

  • Abolishing Coca Leaf Consumption?
    March 2008
    TNI
    The Transnational Institute condemns the decision by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) in their 2007 annual report released today, which calls on countries to ‘abolish or prohibit coca leaf chewing and the manufacture of coca tea’.