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Drug Law reform

TNI is deeply concerned that drug laws currently have not only failed to curve expanding drug markets, but have instead led to human rights violations, a crisis in the judicial and penitentiary systems, the consolidation of organized crime, and the marginalization of drug users who are pushed out of reach of the health care systems. TNI and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) launched a joint Drug Law Reform Project to help stimulate the debate on appropriate legislative reforms by pointing out good practices and lessons learned in areas such as proportionality of sentences, prison reform, and the status of the coca leaf in the international conventions.
    Latin America debates alternatives to current drug policy
    April 2012
    Drugs and Democracy

    Debate on alternatives to the war on drugs, which TNI has promoted for years, is finally received unprecedented attention as several Latin America presidents put it on the agenda of the highest level intergovernmental meeting in the hemisphere.

    Drugs on Latin America summit's agenda
    April 2012
    Martin Jelsma

    A critical rethink of the war on drugs features prominently on the agenda of the Cartagena summit. This provides opportunities to move forward but also faces several risks that could suffocate the remarkable yet incipient political opening of the drugs debate in Latin America.

    Tackle Burma's Drugs Problem
    April 2012
    Martin Jelsma
    Tom Kramer

    Policy priorities should focus on how best to manage and reduce the many health and social harms associated with the reality of a persistent and ever changing drugs market. 

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

    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.

    Kratom in Thailand: Decriminalisation and Community Control?
    May 2011
    Pascal Tanguay

    Kratom is an integral part of Thai culture and has neglible harmful effects. Community level control and education are recommended for the best path to harm reduction.

    Series on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 13
    The Development of International Drug Control
    February 2011
    Martin Jelsma

    TNI's paper for the Global Commission on Drug Policy describes the foundations of the global drug control system, its degeneration into the 'war on drugs', and how international drug policy...

    Systems Overload: Drug Laws and Prisons in Latin America
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    December 2010

    Study reveals alarming pattern in imprisonment for drug crimes in Latin America

    Drug Law Reform: Lessons from the New Zealand Experience
    August 2010
    Sanji Gunasekara

    In 2007, the Government of New Zealand entrusted an independent agency, the National Law Commission, to review the country’s drug law. New Zealand’s approach to drug law reform may provide lessons for other countries.

    Series on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 8
    The Human Toll of the Drug War: A Pending Issue
    August 2010
    Kristel Mucino

    Driven by poverty to make ends meet many small drug sellers' are targeted by harsh drug policies, yet their persecution does nothing to tackle the root cause of drug-related crime or addiction.

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