10 years review
This report summarises the lessons of TNI's 10 years of work in the field of international drug policy, emphasising drug controls that respect human rights: the rights of farmers caught in the illicit economy to a life in dignity; decriminalisation of drug use; and the promotion of harm reduction approaches where they are proven to save lives.
TNI has been involved in international drugs policy work since the 1998 UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS). This new report summarises the lessons of 10 years of work in this field, emphasising drug controls that respect human rights: the rights of farmers caught in the illicit economy to a life in dignity; decriminalisation of drug use; and the promotion of harm reduction approaches where they are proven to save lives.
- Introduction
Fiona Dove - Our mission, our vision
Transnational dialogue: Local dynamics, global context
Martin Jelsma - The ethics of drugs policy
Morality versus a rights-based approach
Pien Metaal - TNI and the UNGASS: From zero tolerance to harm reduction
Tom Blickman - Drugs & conflict : Ten years of war and drugs in Colombia, Burma and Afghanistan
Tom Blickman, Tom Kramer & Amira Armenta - Looking forward: Drugs & Democracy: Challenges for the future
Martin Jelsma
Recent publications from Drugs and Democracy
De wankelende ‘Weense consensus’ over drugsbeleidNederland is met zijn drugsbeleid in de achterhoede terecht gekomen. Zo zijn Uruguay en de Amerikaanse staten Washington en Colorado, met hun besluit de cannabismarkt van teelt tot gebruik te legaliseren, Nederland voorbijgestreefd. |
Between Reality and AbstractionAt the International Conference on Alternative Development (ICAD), held 15-16 November 2012 in Lima, the Peruvian Government continued to insist on the relevance of “Alternative Development (AD),” with particular emphasis on the so-called San Martín “miracle” or “model.” |
The illicit drugs market in the Colombian agrarian contextThe distribution of land and its unjust use are the major causes of violence in Colombia. For this reason land issues are the starting point of current peace talks between the Santos government and the FARC guerrillas |
Bogotá’s medical care centres for drug addictsThe opening in September 2012 of the first centre for drug addicts in Bogota is a welcome first step towards more humane and effective drug policies in Colombia’s capital city, but to be effective needs to be integrated into proper overall drugs strategy. |




