• "Let Me Chew My Coca Leaves"

    Sunday, March 15, 2009

    The first day at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs was marked by the announcement of President Evo Morales of Bolivia that he would start the process to remove the coca leaf from the 1961 Single Convention as well as the suspension of the paragraphs of that convention that prohibit the traditional chewing of coca leaf. Holding up a coca leaf in front of delegates at the UN summit on drugs he underlined his demand.

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  • Political Declaration already ridiculed

    Transnational Institute
    Monday, March 9, 2009

    News about the disappointing content of the Political Declaration to be adopted at the High Level Segment of the 52nd Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) next week in Vienna is filtering to the outside media. Meanwhile, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is gearing up to claim success for the failing international drug control system.

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  • Que la JIFE se ponga a tono con los años que corren

    Viernes, 27 de febrero, 2009

    El debate sobre las drogas ha tomado recientemente un giro muy interesante. La Comisión Latinoamericana sobre Drogas y Democracia –de la cual hacen parte expresidentes latinoamericanos y expertos internacionales- ha abogado recientemente por un cambio de paradigma. La repercusión mediática internacional de este pronunciamiento ha sido impresionante. Véase al final de esta entrada una lista de artículos de importantes medios de prensa que destacan esta noticia. Este hecho es particularmente relevante porque se produce a pocas semanas de la próxima sesión de la Comisión de Estupefacientes de la ONU en Viena, en donde se definirán las políticas de drogas para la próxima década.

    Leer noticia completa en el blog Drogas y conflicto en Colombia.

  • Italy breaks ranks

    Tom Blickman
    Thursday, February 19, 2009

    Marco PerducaMarco Perduca and Donatella Poretti, senators of the Radical Party have asked the Italian under-secretary on drug issues, Carlo Giovanardi, if it is true that Italy has  abandoned the common position of the European Union on harm reduction in the negotiations for the Political Declaration for the High-level Segment of the 52nd Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna. They requested an explanation from the under-secretary why and on what grounds this happened.

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  • Bangkok Dialogue

    Martin Jelsma
    Wednesday, February 18, 2009

    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. Participants in the Bangkok meeting were from Burma, Thailand, Laos, Yunnan (China) and Northeast India.

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  • Pardon for Mules in Ecuador

    Tuesday, February 17, 2009

    At the end of 2008, about 1,500 persons were released who were in Ecuadorian prisons sentenced for drug trafficking. The measure, known as “pardon for mules,” singled out a specific group of prisoners who were victims of indiscriminate and disproportionate legislation that was in effect for many years. Although with this measure, the Government of Rafael Correa took an important step in the process of reforming draconian legislation regarding controlled substances in his country, it is still to be completed with new legislation.

    Read the new briefing: Pardon for Mules in Ecuador, a Sound Proposal, Series on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 1, Transnational Institute/Washington Office on Latin America, February 2009

  • UN System-Wide Coherence

    Tom Blickman
    Monday, February 16, 2009

    The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, wrote a letter to the delegates negotiating the Political Declaration for the 52nd session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna on March 11-12, 2009, dedicated to review of the progress achieved and the difficulties encountered by in meeting the goals and targets set out in the 1998 UNGASS.

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  • Toward a Paradigm Shift

    Tom Blickman
    Wednesday, February 11, 2009


       The Commission Gathered at its Second Meeting, in Bogota

    The Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy presented its conclusions at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, on 11 February. Founded by former Presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazil), César Gaviria (Colombia) and Ernesto Zedillo (Mexico), integrated by 17 independent members, the Commission assessed the limits and unwanted effects of the repressive policies of  the "war on drugs" in Latin America.

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  • Global Fund supports Harm Reduction

    Tom Blickman
    Monday, February 9, 2009

    The Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Michel Kazatchkine, urged the president of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) to send a strong message to the world with clear and specific language that calls for comprehensive harm reduction services.

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  • Human Rights Council and drug policy

    Tom Blickman
    Friday, February 6, 2009

    The United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture, Professor Manfred Nowak, has called on UN member states to adopt a rights based approach to drug policies in his forthcoming report to the Human Rights Council, IHRA’s HR2 (harm reduction and human rights) team reported. The report submitted for the 10th session of the Council draws the attention of members states to the issues of 'drug users in the context of the criminal justice system and situations resulting from restricted access to drugs for palliative care.'

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