About Drugs & Democracy

Since 1996, the TNI Drugs & Democracy programme has been analysing the trends in the illegal drugs market and in drug policies globally. The programme has gained a reputation worldwide as one of the leading international drug policy research institutes and as a serious critical watchdog of UN drug control institutions, in particular the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).

TNI promotes evidence-based policies guided by the principles of harm reduction, human rights for users and producers, as well as the cultural and traditional uses of substances. The project seeks the reform of the current out-dated UN conventions on drugs, which were inconsistent from the start and have been surpassed by new scientific insights and new pragmatic policies that have proven to be successful.

For the past decade, the programme has maintained its main focus on developments in drug policy and its implication for countries in the South. The strategic objective is to contribute to a more integrated and coherent policy where illicit drugs are regarded as a cross-cutting issue within the broader development goals of poverty reduction, public health promotion, human rights protection, peace building and good governance. 

In 2004 the Transnational Institute (TNI) and the Andreas G. Papandreou Foundation (APF) started an Informal Drug Policy Dialogue. Purpose of the dialogues is to have an open-minded exchange of views on current dilemmas in international drug policy making and discuss strategies on how contradictions might be resolved. In 2007, TNI and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) started a Latin American Informal Drug Policy Dialogue.

Drugs & Democracy is a programme of the Transnational Institute. For an overview of our work and our views, see: Ten Years - TNI Drugs & Democracy Programme 1998-2008.

For other issues the programme is involved with, see the section at the TNI website 

More information about the TNI Drugs & Democracy Team and Associated Researchers.

New Approaches in Drug Policy & Interventions (NADPI) is a project led by the Transnational Institute, in collaboration with IDPC, Forum Droghe and Diogenis that aims to strengthen the evidence base of European drug policy making by expanding the knowledge base and exchanging best practices on a number of key policy dilemmas related to demand reduction, prevention and harm reduction strategies. This project is a continuation of an initiative by IDPC and TNI 'Evaluation and prospects of international drug control'.

This project has been made possible thanks to finacial support of the Drug Prevention and Information Programme of the European Union (JUST/2010/DPIP/AG/0984) and the Open Society Institute.

TNI Drug Law Reform Project

The TNI Drug Law Reform Project promotes more effective and humane drug policies through dialogue and up-to-date analysis of developments in the region.

The project was created amidst growing evidence that the decades long “War on Drugs” has failed. Current international drug control policies have not decreased drug consumption, curbed the planting of crops destined for the illicit market, or curtailed the expanding drug trade. Instead, they have marginalized drug users who are pushed out of reach of treatment programs, repressed farmers who may have no other means of survival, and overwhelmed criminal justice systems. Such policies have targeted users and small-scale traffickers, while large-scale criminal organizations have remained unrestrained.

It is time for an honest discussion based on research and analysis into the effectiveness of current and alternative drug policies. The TNI Drug Law Reform Project aims to inform national and international debates, incorporating the principles of effective law enforcement practices, harm reduction, proportionality of sentences, prison reform, and human rights.

Our analysts – scholars, policy-makers, and legal experts – provide up-to-date information on drug policy developments in Latin America. The TNI Drug Law Reform Project is coordinating a series of informal drug policy dialogues and workshops in the region. Our in-country researchers are conducting investigations of drug control laws, their applications, and prison conditions in eight key countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay.

Global Partnership on Drug Policies and Development (GPDPD)

The Global Partnership on Drug Policies and Development (GPDPD) is a global and multi-sectoral programme implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fu?r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). GPDPD further partners with the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Drug Commissioner, the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The partnership implements its projects jointly with selected international organizations and NGOs – including TNI and the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC).

New Approaches in Drug Policy & Interventions (NADPI)

NADPI aims to strengthen the evidence base of European drug policy making by expanding the knowledge base and exchanging best practices on a number of key policy dilemmas related to demand reduction, prevention and harm reduction strategies.

Evaluation and prospects of international drug control

The Transnational Institute (TNI) and the International Drug Policy Consortium collaborated through a European Commission grant under the Drug Prevention and Information Programme (JUST/2010/DPIP/AG/0984). The project under the name Evaluation and Prospects of International Drug Control ran from January 2011 to August 2012.

Ten Years TNI Drugs Programme

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.

Download Ten Years - TNI Drugs & Democracy Programme 1998-2008 (PDF)