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Fatal attraction: Brownfield's flexibility doctrine and global drug policy reform
Martin Jelsma Dave Bewley-Taylor Damon BarrettTuesday, November 18, 2014
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State-level cannabis reforms, which gathered steam this month, have exposed the inability of the United States to abide by the terms of the legal bedrock of the global drug control system; the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. This is something that should force a much-needed conversation about reform to long- standing international agreements. But while ostensibly 'welcoming' the international drug policy reform debate, it is a conversation the US federal government actually wishes to avoid. -
Pushing treaty limits?
Encourage policy makers to rule treaty reform in as an option, rather than presumptively ruling it out
Wells C. BennettMonday, October 20, 2014
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Suppose the United States government helps to negotiate, and subsequently champions, certain framework treaties – ones justly viewed as imposing significant constraints on all signatories. Down the road, the United States occasionally even calls out counterparties for their looser policy innovations, when the latter push the outer boundaries of what’s permitted under the treaties; a treaty-created monitoring body does likewise in its annual reporting. This pattern essentially holds year in and year out and from one presidential administration to the next. -
Colombia, more than three decades of toxic sprayings. Enough!
Amira ArmentaFriday, 26 September 2014
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It is unfortunate that 35 years after the first chemical spraying in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, we are still writing about aerial sprayings in Colombia, demanding the current government – how many governments have not happened since! – to definitely defer an ecocide and incompetent policy. Throughout these years we have seen increasing national and international voices opposing the spraying of coca with the herbicide Roundup (glyphosate). -
Preparing for the 2016 UNGASS on drugs
An opportunity we can’t afford to miss
Nazlee Maghsoudi (IDPC)Thursday, July 31, 2014
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The United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs in 2016 is intended to provide states with the opportunity to openly debate the future of international drug policies. An event at UN headquarters in New York discussed precisely what preparations are necessary to make sure the UNGASS accomplishes this objective. -
Brazil discusses medical cannabis at international symposium
Vera da Ros (Rede Brasileira de Redução de Danos e Direitos Humanos - REDUC)Wednesday, July 16, 2014
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The IV Symposium on Medicinal Cannabis in Brazil focused on patients who need treatment via medicinal cannabis and its components. Today, these patients struggle with access to such treatment, mainly due to bureaucracy. The event undoubtedly generated attitudes in favor of medical marijuana in the country. However, and unfortunately, less than 10 days after the event ended, National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) postponed a vote for the reclassification of cannabis. -
Mexico legislators consider regulating marijuana to protect human rights
Zara SnappMonday, July 14, 2014
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In Mexico, since 2006 a public security strategy has been implemented based on militarization, which has prioritized the use of force – including lethal force – based on the presumption of national security above principles of the safety of citizens. Involvement of armed forces as the central axis for Mexico’s security strategy has sparked serious concerns, particularly pertaining to obligations regarding human rights. -
Reforming the global drug-control system: The stakes for Washington
Washington's new narrative defends the integrity of the UN drug control conventions, while allowing more flexible interpretations
Martin JelsmaFriday, June 27, 2014
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The extent to which the ongoing drug-control reforms across the Americas are pushing the boundaries of the global legal framework laid down in three UN drug-control conventions has become a delicate issue. The decriminalization of possession for personal use in several Latin American countries and the establishment of a supervised injection room in Vancouver, Canada have already triggered protracted legal disputes with the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the quasi-judicial organ for the conventions’ implementation. -
Prisoners sentenced with unconstitutional norms have the right to be resentenced
Italian NGOs advocate for law by decree that would immediatly reduce illegitimate penalties
Grazia ZuffaThursday, June 5, 2014
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In February, the Italian Constitutional Court ruled that most of the 2006 drug law norms were unconstitutional. Following this pronouncement, at the end of May, the Court of Cassation decided that people sentenced and incarcerated under the illegitimate norms have the right to be resentenced. The decision may affect about 10.000 prisoners detained for cannabis crimes. -
"Just say no" is not an "alternative approach" to the drug problem
It's been tried – and it doesn't work
George Murkin (Transform Blog)Friday, May 30, 2014
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Dr Hans-Christian Raabe, who was removed from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs after one month, this week wrote two rather provocative articles on the Conservative Woman website. Raabe’s main argument is that a better, “alternative approach to the drug problem” would be to create a “drug-free society”. Punitive, zero-tolerance, abstinence-based approaches have been the dominant drug policy model in most parts of the world for over half a century now – and they haven’t worked. They've caused a great deal of harm and haven’t really stopped people taking drugs. -
Internationaal recht en cannabis
Rondetafelgesprek coffeeshopbeleid Commissie Veiligheid en Justitie
Martin Jelsma Tom BlickmanDonderdag, 15 mei 2014
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Voor het rondetafelgesprek over het rapport: ‘Internationaal recht en cannabis’ op 15 mei 2014 voor de Vaste Commissie voor Veiligheid en Justitie in de Tweede Kamer is het Transnational Institute gevraagd voor een reactie op het rapport Internationaal recht en cannabis van de Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen. Hieronder is de schriftelijke inbreng van TNI te lezen aangevuld met enkele opmerkingen die tijdens het debat werden gemaakt.
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