scholarly journals Decolonizing drug policy

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen Daniels ◽  
Aggrey Aluso ◽  
Naomi Burke-Shyne ◽  
Kojo Koram ◽  
Suchitra Rajagopalan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Policy ◽  
Current System ◽  
Control Policy ◽  
Mass Incarceration ◽  
Drug Control ◽  
People Who Use Drugs ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Drug Law ◽  
Drug Law Enforcement ◽  
Drug Policies

AbstractThis paper reviews evidence of how drug control has been used to uphold colonial power structures in select countries. It demonstrates the racist and xenophobic impact of drug control policy and proposes a path to move beyond oppressive systems and structures. The ‘colonization of drug control’ refers to the use of drug control by states in Europe and America to advance and sustain the systematic exploitation of people, land and resources and the racialized hierarchies, which were established under colonial control and continue to dominate today. Globally, Black, Brown and Indigenous peoples are disproportionately targeted for drug law enforcement and face discrimination across the criminal system. These communities face higher arrest, prosecution and incarceration rates for drug offenses than other communities, such as majority populations, despite similar rates of drug use and selling among (and between) different races. Current drug policies have contributed to an increase in drug-related deaths, overdoses and sustained transnational criminal enterprises at the expense of the lives of people who use drugs, their families and greater society. This review provides further evidence of the need to reform the current system. It outlines a three-pillared approach to rebuilding drug policy in a way that supports health, dignity and human rights, consisting of: (1) the decriminalization of drugs and their use; (2) an end to the mass incarceration of people who use drugs; (3) the redirection of funding away from ineffective and punitive drug control and toward health and social programs.

scholarly journals ‘We Realised We Needed a New Approach’: Government and Law enforcement Perspectives on the Implementation and Future of the Drug Decriminalisation Policy in Vietnam

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hai Thanh Luong ◽  
Luc Trong Hoang ◽  
Toan Quang Le ◽  
Tuan Anh Hoang ◽  
Mai Thanh Vu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Harm Reduction ◽  
Drug Policy ◽  
Drug Control ◽  
People Who Use Drugs ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Drug Law ◽  
Drug Law Enforcement ◽  
Law Enforcement Officials

Abstract Background In 2009, Vietnam officially decriminalized drug use through amendments to the criminal law. The amendments specifically outlined that drug use would be seen as an administrative sanction, but not a criminal offence. This legal transition has not been without its implementation challenges and police particularly are have struggled to balance their role between drug law enforcement and decriminalisation. Despite being a health-orientated drug policy amendment, in practice it has meant that police can send suspected drug users to compulsory treatment centres without judicial oversight and people who use drugs continue to face challenges in their interface with law enforcement which can negatively impact access to harm reduction and community-based treatment programs. This paper explores the perspectives of policy makers and law enforcement officials in Vietnam and provides some insights and considerations into how the amended law was implemented and how it could be made more effective in improving both health and safety for all people in Vietnam. Methods To understand government and policing perspective on amended changes to the Criminal Code in 2009 and its subsequent implementation, this mixed methods research combined content analysis of a number of core legislations in terms of drug control policies in Vietnam with perspectives and insights from 14 key informant interviews from people representing a range of relevant Vietnamese Government (n=10) and non-government agencies (n=4). Results While most interviewees recognised that decriminalizing drug use in Vietnam was designed as a a progressive and health-oriented drug policy, many participants acknowledged the ongoing disconnect between the health intent of the policy and the police-led oversight of its implementation in the community. Part of this disconnect was explained by the lack of training and clear protocol that would enhance the police in their ability to contribute to the health intent of the policy rather than continue to view drug use through a drug law enforcement only lens. A current pilot initiative by Hanoi’s People Committee to implement a model of assisted referral for people who use drugs to community-based health, social and legal support may provide an example of how to situate decriminalisation policy within a broader context of harm reduction interventions through the design and trial of clear protocols for how law enforcement agencies can actively engage and support the process of diversion into harm reduction and community-based treatment. Conclusions Since the inception of the amended law there has been very little review and analyses of its implementation progress and its challenges. This is the first study to review and assess the progress of decriminalizing drug use since the policy intervention in 2009 with a specific focus on the perceptions of the policy for Vietnam’s drug control in policing. It discusses insights and considerations from government, law enforcement officials and civil society organisations to develop a deeper understanding of how harm reduction interventions – including decriminalisation – can co-exist within a broader and entrenched drug control strategy in Vietnam.

scholarly journals Drug Law Enforcement Revisited: The “War” Against the War on Drugs

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 396-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Alexandris Polomarkakis
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
War On Drugs ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Policy Choice ◽  
Drug Control ◽  
Drug Markets ◽  
Drug Law ◽  
Drug Law Enforcement

From the closure of London’s nightclub Fabric to Duterte’s drug war, law enforcement has become the policy choice par excellence for drug control by stakeholders around the globe, creating a rift between theory and practice, the former vehemently dismissing most of its alleged benefits. This article provides a fresh look on the said regime, through examining its implications in the key areas of illicit drug markets, public health, and broader society. Instead of adopting a critical stance from the start, as much of the literature does, the issue is evaluated from the perspective of a focus on the logic and rationality of drug law enforcement approaches, to showcase from within how problematic the latter are. The article concludes by suggesting at least a reconceptualization of the concept, to give way to more sophisticated policies for finally tackling the issue of illegal drugs effectively.

scholarly journals Narrative reinventions as cognitive mechanisms for public policy stability: the case of anti-drug policy in Colombia

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 1613-1631
Author(s):  
Jairo Santander
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Drug Trafficking ◽  
Drug Policy ◽  
Control Policy ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Drug Control ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
International Pressure ◽  
Institutional Order

Abstract Public policies face major challenges to their consolidation and stability that force rulers to make significant political efforts to keep them alive. Some of these challenges occur by the adjustment of the policy’s idea as an attempt to reduce the possible difficulties caused by public confrontation, thus better adapting them to the reference frame of the actors. Such is the case of Colombia’s drug control policy which did not have sufficient legitimacy to be carried out, despite international pressure, but it was later coupled to the international agenda as a national need. By using the critical discourse analysis, this study verifies how the discursive transformation of this policy took place and the cognitive mechanisms used to reinterpret it as a matter of national security and not international co-responsibility, which allowed consolidation of the current prohibitionist strategy. The results of the study reveal an interpretation of the drug trafficking problem as a threat to the institutional order, which reduces the confrontation capacity of the critics of the proposed policy.

scholarly journals Refocusing metrics: can the sustainable development goals help break the “metrics trap” and modernise international drug control policy?

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Bewley-Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
International Development ◽  
Drug Policy ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Control Policy ◽  
Drug Control ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
High Level

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which the dominant metrics currently used to measure the success of the UN based global drug prohibition regime are in many ways inadequate and consequently contribute to systemic inertia. Within this context, it seeks to explore the potential of explicitly linking drug policy to the recently launched sustainable development agenda (SDA) and the associated sustainable development goals (SDGs) to initiate a change in approach. Design/methodology/approach Framing the topic in terms of international relations (IR) and regime analysis, prominent examples of where current metrics are imprecise (the relationship between production and seizures), misconceived (drug use) and missing (a range of drug and drug policy related harms) are explored. Attention is then given to an examination of international development as a model for measuring drug control outcomes, including a discussion of the SDGs in general and the intersection between drug policy interventions and several goals in particular. Findings While aware of the complexity of the issue area, the paper finds that there are considerable shortcomings in the way international drug policy outcomes are currently assessed. Although methodological problems are likely to persist, linking drug policy with the SDGs and their associated metrics offers the potential to help to shift the focus of international policy in a manner that would benefit not only UN system-wide coherence on the issue, but also assist in the achievement of the regime’s own overarching goal; to safeguard the “health and welfare” of humankind. Practical implications With the next high-level review of international drug policy due to take place in 2019, the paper offers policy makers with a way to begin to refocus drug policy metrics, and subsequently review outcomes, in line with the UN system-wide SDA. Originality/value As an emerging domain of inquiry, the paper not only explores a hitherto largely unexplored – yet increasingly important – facet of UN level policy evaluation, formulation and implementation, but also helps to fill a gap in the IR literature on regime dynamics.

The Dutch Cannabis Debate, 1968–1976

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel de Kort
Keyword(s):  
Drug Policy ◽  
Drug Control ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Policy Alternatives ◽  
Drug Policies ◽  
Soft Drugs

Today's Dutch drug policy has acquired the reputation of standing outside the international mainstream of drug control. One of the most eye-catching aspects of the revision of the Dutch Opium Act in 1976 has been the de facto decriminalization of cannabis in small amounts. Nowadays the use of and small-scale dealing in cannabis has become normalized. This process of normalization is widely seen as a “model” for a revision of European drug policies. However, in this article the conclusion is reached that this process should not be considered as a “model.” When we examine the arguments, points of contention, and policy alternatives discussed within the Dutch ministries between 1968 and 1976, it becomes clear that the de facto decriminalization of soft drugs was more the result of the absence of policy, and of a belated adaptation to already existing circumstances, than of any rational, well-considered action.

Possessing Drugs, Possessing Rights: Harm Reduction and Drug Policy Reform in Argentina

2021 ◽  
pp. 009145092110340
Author(s):  
Shana Harris
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Drug Policy ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
People Who Use Drugs ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Drug Law ◽  
National Drug ◽  
Drug Traffickers ◽  
Drug Policy Reform

Argentina’s national drug law, Law 23.737, has been in effect since 1989. Based on prohibitionist drug policy, this law was intended to severely punish drug traffickers and protect the public from drug use-related health concerns. However, it has failed to achieve these goals, and instead targets people who use drugs (PWUD) and brands them “criminals.” In response, the Argentine government announced its intent to reform Law 23.737 in 2008, sparking widespread debate among health, legal, and social service professionals. This article discusses this debate from the perspective of harm reductionists, those who work to reduce the negative effects of drug use rather than eliminate drug use or ensure abstinence. Drawing on archival research and 16 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Argentina, this article examines the positionality of harm reductionists in this drug policy reform, particularly the controversial proposal to decriminalize drug possession for personal use. Demonstrating their contention that Argentina’s legal apparatus is a major contributor to PWUD’s discrimination, stigmatization, and isolation from health and social services, I argue that challenging these problems through policy engagement allows Argentine harm reductionists to draw attention to the broader question of PWUD’s rights and to ultimately recast PWUD as rights-bearing citizens.

scholarly journals Global commission on drug policies misses the mark

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 205032451881211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Willem Scholten
Keyword(s):  
Drug Policy ◽  
People Who Use Drugs ◽  
The World ◽  
Drug Policies

The Global Commission on Drug Policy launched a report on The world drug ( perception) problem, countering prejudices about people who use drugs, which includes remarks on the avoidance of stigmatizing terminology. Although many aspects of the report are helpful in moving the field forward, the report itself is full of stigmatizing terminology and ill-defined terms.

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