Resource Library
War on drugs hitting poor women hard: study
A news article summarising the findings of a report on the war on drugs in Thailand. The report finds that women are being disproportionately affected by the country's punitive drug laws.
Blueprint for a Public Health and Safety Approach to Drug Policy
A report by the New York Academy of Medicine and the Drug policy Alliance which urges a shift away from a criminal justice-based approach to drugs and towards an approach centred around public health.
High Tax States: Options for Gleaning Revenue from Legal Cannabis
A detailed academic paper exploring the various options for taxing the legal cannabis trade.
Transnational Organized Crime in West Africa: A Threat Assessment
A consideration of the growing issue of organized crime in West Africa, focuses largely on the flow of cocaine into the region and the resulting growth of organized crime.
Informal drug policy dialogue in South East Asia discusses opium cultivation and expanding ATS markets
Describes the problems faced by opium farmers, people who use drugs and policymakers, and how to improve existing responses in the rapidly changing political, economic and security contexts of Southeast Asia.
http://www.talkingdrugs.org/idpc/informal-drug-policy-dialogue-in-south-east-asia-discusses-opium-cultivation-and
Towards a Safer Drug Policy: Challenges and Opportunities arising from ‘legal highs’
An all-party parliamentary report discussing the emergence and use of new psychoactive drugs 'legal highs'. Considers the approaches used by other nations and benefits from the input of over thirty organisations.
Effect of Drug Law Enforcement on Drug-Related Violence: Evidence from a Scientific Review
Article arguing that increases in law enforcement in relation to drugs causes an increase in violence.
Portugal: Ten Years After Decriminalisation
A video looking at how Portugal's policy of decriminalisation works in practice, and whether it has been effective.
"Impossible" to end drug trade, says Calderón
Here the former Mexican president (outgoing at the time of article), Felipe Calderon, argues that the drug trade is impossible to end. He claims that the U.S. has a responsibility to the moral issue of the power and money that their drug consumption gives criminals in Mexico and focuses on this as the biggest part of the Mexican War on Drugs.
Dealing with the stigma of drugs: a guide for journalists
UKDPC provide a guide for journalists on how to discuss drug use without increasing stigma.