Pocas políticas públicas han sido aplicadas de forma tan consistentemente uniforme en prácticamente todo el globo como la prohibición de la producción y comercialización de estupefacientes para usos no médicos. Pero también pocas han tenido un resultado tan pobre. Resulta inminente profundizar un debate, ya inexorablemente abierto, sobre alternativas de política pública en drogas a partir de una valoración crítica e inteligente de los aciertos y, sobre todo, de los errores cometidos. Pero para ello será necesario despojarnos de los viejos ropajes dogmáticos donde todo aquello que no es la prohibición absoluta implica un sacrificio de la salud de la gente.

A "watershed" change to drug laws last year has seen a significant drop in police prosecutions for drug use and an increase in warnings and alternative resolutions. But new police data shows little change to police bias against Māori, which appears to be strongest when it comes to policing cannabis use. The revelations will embolden supporters of legalising cannabis, who say it would even the legal playing field and quash the biased application of the law against Māori. The Misuse of Drugs Amendment bill came into force in mid-August last year amid hopes that it would lead to better health outcomes for people with drug-use problems. The change set into the law that police shouldn't prosecute drug users if a therapeutic approach would be "more beneficial to the public interest".

Tunisia's tough law on cannabis use, laying down jail terms of at least one year, is "destroying lives" and overcrowding prisons, according to a group of activists urging reform. Since the law was passed more than 20 years ago, "tens of thousands of Tunisians have been convicted", the group said in an open letter to the government. "But the number of people sentenced and the number of users continue to grow, proving that this law is not a deterrent. It has failed," said the group, named Al Sajin 52 (Prisoner 52) as the law is called. Smoking "zatla", or cannabis resin, is punishable by between one and five years in jail, with the same law prohibiting judges from passing lighter sentences for extenuating circumstances.

The number of police killings in Rio de Janeiro reached a record high last year, officials say, amid controversial hardline measures to tackle violence. Police killed 1,810 people, an average of five per day, the highest number since official records began in 1998. Critics blame the rise on policies that include the use of heavily armed agents and helicopter-borne snipers to fight criminals in densely populated areas. But officials say the approach has worked, citing a drop in violent crime. Rio de Janeiro is one of Brazil's most violent states and vast areas are under the control of criminals, many of them linked to powerful drug-trafficking gangs. But paramilitary groups formed by active and retired policemen, known as milícias, have also expanded their influence in recent years.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency in the Tenderloin, allowing city officials to bypass some bureaucratic hurdles as they try to stem a tide of fatal overdoses and street crime. The declaration would allow city officials to suspend rules around zoning, planning codes and contracts, enabling them to quickly set up a “linkage” facility that offers shelter, mental health and hygiene to people suffering from addiction. Her announcement comes after Breed unveiled a plan for the downtown neighborhood, ramping up funding for police overtime and infrastructure, such as public toilets, while adding social workers and outreach staff to lure more people into treatment — or jail those who refuse. (Opinion: Breed’s plan to shut down Tenderloin drug markets is progressive)

Sadiq Khan’s proposed plan to end the prosecution of young people caught with cannabis in three London boroughs “does not go far enough”, according to experts. It was reported this week that the Mayor of London is considering a new pilot scheme in the boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich and Bexley that would see any under-25s caught with small amounts of cannabis redirected to education or counselling services instead of facing arrest. Experts in the fields of criminal justice and public health have welcomed the move. But Professor Alex Stevens, professor of criminal justice at the University of Kent, has called for the Mayor of London to be more ambitious with his proposals. (See also: A drugs-related criminal record is often more harmful than the drug itself)

London Mayor Sadiq Khan called for a rethink on cannabis laws and policing amid concern about the links between drugs and violent crime. The Mayor softened his stance on the class B drug by calling for an “evidence-based conversation” about legislation and enforcement. He said the Evening Standard’s investigation into reforming the laws on cannabis had shown how attitudes were changing. It found that 63 per cent of Londoners back its legalisation for adult recreational use. Mr Khan, who last year said he was opposed to relaxing the rules on recreational use, told the Standard: “The time is right for our society to have an evidence-based conversation about cannabis — about the law, how it is enforced, and how we support those struggling with addiction."

Dating back to the latter part of 1800s, precisely in 1894-95, the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission consisting of medical experts of Indian and British origin concluded that moderate use of cannabis was the rule in India, and produced practically no ill-effects. “What countries like Uruguay and Canada are doing now, India had already proposed 120 years ago,” says Tom Blickman from the Transnational Institute (TNI), an international policy think tank based in the Netherlands. “Had the wisdom of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission’s recommendations prevailed, we would have prevented a lot of misery by erroneous drug control policies,” he points out. (See also: A legal hallucination)

Singapore executed a man accused of coordinating a cannabis delivery, despite pleas for clemency from his family and protests from activists. The United Nations Human Rights Office had asked Singapore to "urgently reconsider" his scheduled execution over one kilogram of cannabis. Activist Kirsten Han from the Transformative Justice Collective confirmed that the execution had been carried out, and that his family had been given the death certificate. Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was convicted in 2017 of "abetting by engaging in a conspiracy to traffic" 1,017.9 grams of cannabis, twice the minimum volume that merits the death sentence. He was sentenced to death in 2018 and the Court of Appeal upheld the decision. (See also: Singapore hangs 2nd citizen for cannabis trafficking this year amid protests over death penalty)

“For some years, there was the possibility to regulate [cannabis in Spain] and keep it in the hands of those who aren’t crime-related,” said Óscar Parés, deputy director of the Barcelona-based ICEERS, speaking of past efforts to regulate cannabis clubs in regions of Spain like Catalonia. “We missed the train somehow.” Catalonia is home to some of the world’s oldest cannabis consumption spaces, with the first club opening in Barcelona in 2001. As of 2023, Catalonian law enforcement estimates there are 450 cannabis clubs in the region. Catalonia’s clubs have become a model for other European countries looking to legalize cannabis consumption without running afoul of EU and international law.

Pusher Street is no ordinary thoroughfare. For decades, it has housed numerous stalls selling cannabis to the public in open view. During that time, the state has been reasonably tolerant, but about a decade ago it ramped up its policing of the area. Since then, arrests of drug dealers have increased and cannabis buyers are often targeted as they leave the freetown. In the meantime, the local municipality has been waging its own war. Decriminalising the sale of cannabis, argues mayor Sophie Hæstop Andersen, would put many drug dealers out of business and lead to a fall in crime. It is a matter that the state and capital city rarely agree on … until yesterday. 

Police stops of black people are still at an “eye-watering” level compared with white people, the official police watchdog said and promised a fresh inquiry into every force’s use of the controversial powers. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, which oversees the police in England and Wales, said that stop and search was still of concern as it published a report into 13 police forces found previously to have been the worst offenders in breaking rules designed to prevent abuse of their powers. (See also: Mass stop and search by police doesn't reduce crime, says study)

As tourists return in full force to the Amsterdam red light district, Amsterdam city council has met them with police action and a campaign warning visitors against street dealers. Over the Easter weekend, the city announced, 69 people were apprehended for breaking various drug and public order laws, and 54 were banned from the area. Meanwhile, city hosts, big screens and a social media campaign are warning visitors about the risks of bad drugs, robbery and deception by street dealers, while the city has increased camera surveillance of former ‘blind spots.’ (See also: Amsterdam mayor plans to press ahead with tourist cannabis cafe ban)

After Colorado legalized marijuana for recreational use this year, violent and property crime rates in the city are actually falling. According to data from the Denver Police Department, violent crime (including homicide, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault) fell by 6.9% in the first quarter of 2014. Property crime (including burglary, larceny, auto theft, theft from motor vehicle and arson) dropped by 11.1%. A study looking at the legalization of medical marijuana nationwide, published in the journal PLOS ONE, found that the trend holds.

A new crime-data analysis has found that 241,000 people in Washington were arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession over the last quarter-century, adding fuel to a campaign seeking to make this state the first to legalize recreational marijuana sales. The analysis estimates those arrests translated to nearly $306 million in police and court costs — $194 million of it the past decade. African Americans were arrested twice as often as whites for possession in Washington in the past 25 years, even though whites use marijuana more.

The number of fines related to cannabis dropped from 18,000 in 2017 to barely more than 7,000 last year. French-speaking cantons and Zurich especially took a more lenient approach towards cannabis smokers with 70% fewer fines imposed. The reason for this massive decline is a 2017 Federal Court decision that ruled that "the mere possession of small quantities of drugs for consumption purposes" should not be punished. Even though consumption is still a punishable offence, the court’s decision has led to a change in police practice. The Association of Swiss Police Officers called for a greater say in cannabis policy.

The European Commission has published its new EU drug strategy (now called the Drugs Agenda), which is part of a wider Security Union strategy entitled “Delivering on a Security Union: initiatives to fight child sexual abuse, drugs and illegal firearms.” While I celebrated the previous Action Plan as the most progressive ever, I think this document has come as a disappointment for civil society organisations that have been advocating for a sensible, balanced approach in drug policies. Here are 4 reasons why.

Trekt Uw Plant (TUP), Belgium’s first cannabis social club was founded in 2006 in Antwerp. Since then, the legal status of these nonprofit, members-only clubs remains unclear. However, with the recent acquittal of a club in Namur, some 50 miles southwest of Brussels, and a possible third acquittal for the oldest club in Antwerp, this could all soon change. The Belgian authorities and police still go after the clubs in most cities, with varying results. Belgian’s cannabis social clubs are based on guidelines dating back to 2005. This guideline uses a lot of words to state that the lowest priority in the prosecution policy is given to the possession of cannabis for personal use by adults.

With an estimated $7 billion in sales in 2016 and potentially exponential growth due to recent ballot initiatives on recreational use, the legal marijuana industry has a lot of businesses seeing green. But as is so often the case in this country, there’s a darker side to this story and it splinters on the lines of race. For decades, the war on drugs has disproportionately targeted black and brown users for arrest and incarceration, and legalization efforts have until recently not addressed what happens to people who have been put in prison for possessing a substance that voters have since opted to make legal.

A NSW Coronial Inquest investigating a series of drug-related deaths at Australian music festivals has heard evidence of festival goers taking multiple concurrent doses of MDMA to avoid police detection and not receiving adequate medical attention. But a lack of knowledge about the drug use patterns and demographic profile of festival goers has stymied capacity to develop evidence-informed policy responses. Two data reports may help to inform the inquest and shed light on these patterns. Both reports are based on data from more than 5,000 Australian festival goers who completed the Global Drug Survey from late 2018. (See also: 'Please someone': inquest hears of tragic teen's cries for help)