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Proportionality of sentences

Studies reveal the ineffectiveness of long prison sentences for nonviolent drug law offenders. The capacity of the judicial system is stretched far beyond its limits, resulting in slow procedures, lengthy pretrial custody and overcrowded prisons. Referral schemes or specialized drug courts are introduced offering offenders a choice between prison and treatment. The main objective is crime reduction by providing nonviolent offenders the chance to escape the vicious drugs-crime-prison cycle.
    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. 

    Cannabis social club activists in Spain liberated
    November 2011
    Tom Blickman

    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. 

    How to determine personal use in drug legislation
    September 2011
    Grazia Zuffa

    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.

    Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr 15
    Conviction by Numbers
    September 2011
    Genevieve Harris

    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.

    Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 14
    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

    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.

    Sentencing for Drug Offences in England and Wales
    June 2010
    Genevieve Harris

    Sentencing for drug offences in England and Wales has recently undergone a wide-sweeping review and public consultation. The purpose of this report is to examine and evaluate this mechanism for law reform, without the need for legislative reform, and to consider the specific discussion around...

    Series on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 5
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