| THE BECKLEY FOUNDATION :: Briefing Papers |

To accompany the reports on key policy questions, the Drug Policy Programme also produces briefing papers (factsheets) that explain and assess recent policy initiatives in particular countries. The overall aim is to produce credible materials that can be used to inform a debate that is, all too often, guided by ideology rather than evidence. International agencies, such as the United Nations and the European Union, and most individual countries are torn between the growing scale of the problem, and the need to claim that current programmes are successful. In our view, the time has come to begin an objective search for solutions that are more effective in reducing the vast scale of human misery associated with this global phenomenon. A system of evaluation that can verify the usefulness of the policies currently in place should be introduced, in order to ensure that future policy does not just repeat the mistakes of the past.

Sixteen briefing papers have been produced to date:
Translations: Where available, click on the language to get a full version of the translated paper.

XXI - Drug Use: Knowledge, Culture and Context
The topic of data and its strength, range and validity has acquired considerable prominence in recent debates taking place around the conduct of international drug policy. There has been a growing movement for "evidence-based policy" in health policy more broadly, and this has permeated drug policy as part of a gradual, but general, shift in the balance between health and law-enforcement in terms of avowed policy objectives. A focus on the quality of data was demonstrated at the 52nd CND in March 2009, with a group of countries tabling a resolution dedicated to improving the tools for the collection, reporting and analysis of data relating to drug use.

XX - What Can We Learn From Sweden's Drug Policy Experience?
Sweden is well-known for its commitment to a vision of "the drug-free society". In recent years, Sweden's drug policies have been the focus of considerable attention and debate, which may be seen in the context of both the ten year United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS) review of international drug control and a much broader discourse of drug policy reform that has achieved growing political salience in many parts of the world.

XIX - Comparing The Drug Situation Across Countries: Problems, Pitfalls and Possibilities
This briefing paper seeks to compare the drugs situation in a number of developed countries. Data from six European countries, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are included. The European element comprises six countries selected to represent both the social and geographical heterogeneity of the continent and the diverse drug strategies employed across it: Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

XVIII - The Swiss Four Pillars Policy: An Evolution From Local Experimentation to Federal Law
A distinctive feature of the Swiss political system is its extensive use of the referendum process. November 30, 2008, saw the Swiss electorate vote in favour, with a figure of 68%, of ratifying a historic federal law on narcotics. This ratification finally established in legislation the principle of 'Four Pillars', a policy that has been practiced in many Swiss cities since the end of the 1980s. The November vote thus represented the definitive adoption of health-oriented measures undertaken fifteen years earlier at local levels to counter many of the issues associated with problematic drug use; measures that included the prescription of opiates (notably heroin) in the treatment of addiction and state-supervised injection centres.

XVII - An Overview of Cannabis Policy: Moving Beyond Stalemate (The Report of the Beckley Foundation Global Cannabis Commission)
The objective of the Beckley Foundation's Global Cannabis Commission was to provide a comprehensive overview of the evidence relating to cannabis in a way that is useful and accessible for policy makers. The resultant Report discusses the drug's production, supply and consumption, the harms arising from both the use of the drug and its prohibition, and the role of the present system of regulation in managing these elements. It concludes that current control regimes are either ineffective or inconsistent, and challenges policy makers to confront these realities, and agree a more rational way forward for international cannabis control. It further provides an analysis of how individual countries or a group of countries can best pursue reform at the international level.

XVI - Ten years of Plan Colombia: An Analytic Assessment.
Over the last decade Plan Colombia has been the principal strategy addressing the complex dynamics of illicit drugs production within that country. It is based on the assumption that a reduction in the illicit drugs market worldwide can be tackled by focusing on supply control measures. Plan Colombia was originally proposed as a peace programme, but soon became a military strategy aimed at weakening the link between illicit drugs and insurgency.

XV - Drug Control in Georgia: Drug Testing and the Reduction of Drug Use?
briefing paper examines some current issues surrounding drug policy in the Republic of Georgia. The authors argue that, despite endorsing a balanced approach to dealing with the consequences of an expanding illicit drug market, Georgian authorities remain overly reliant on enforcement oriented policies.

XIV - The Effects of Decriminalisation of Drug Use in Portugal.
In 2004, the Beckley Foundation reported on the legal changes that took place in Portugal in 2001, which effectively decriminalised the possession and use of all drugs, and diverted those arrested into education or treatment programmes (Allen, Trace, & Klein, 2004). This report aims to provide an updated overview of the effects of these changes, using data from the evaluations that have been carried out and from new interviews with key stakeholders in Portugal.

XIII - At a Crossroads: Drug Trafficking, Violence and the Mexican State.
In this joint WOLA-BFDPP policy brief, the authors provide an overview of current and past drug policies implemented by the Mexican government, with a focus on its law enforcement efforts. It analyzes the trends in the increased reliance on the Mexican armed forces in counter-drug activities and the role that the United States government has played in shaping Mexico's counter-drug efforts.

XII - The Australian "heroin shortage" six years on.
What, if any, are the implications for drug policy? This briefing paper summarizes the results of research into the consequences of the so-called Australian "heroin shortage" in 2001 and reviews the continuing debate about its causes and policy significance.

XI - Report of the Third Beckley International Drug Policy Seminar
The Beckley Foundation organised its third annual international seminar on drug policy in the House of Lords, Palace of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, on 4 December 2006. The objective of the seminar was to examine the preparations for the forthcoming global review of the international drug control system.

X - Drug Policy in India: Compounding Harm?
This briefing paper looks at the history of the use of psychoactive drugs in India, and particularly the use of Cannabis and Opium derivatives in religious and social rituals. The authors argue that, for centuries, such use was closely constrained by social and cultural norms, and few problems of addiction, crime or public health related to these patterns of use have been recorded. [Spanish]

IX - UNAIDS & the Prevention of HIV infection through injecting Drug Use
This paper describes the problems caused by injecting drug use as a mode of transmission of HIV, and the need for the global community to find effective methods of minimising that risk. Although there are proven harm reduction measures for reducing the incidence of HIV there has been continuing controversy about the morality of such an approach and the fear that providing such support might encourage the continuance of injecting behaviour.

VIII - The Rise of Harm Reduction in the Islamic Republic of Iran
This paper looks at changing approaches to the drug problem in Iran where there is growing recognition of the limits of an enforcement driven approach, and the importance of the medical and social dimensions of drug misuse. This has resulted in improvements in drug treatment and expansion of harm reduction services including: HIV prevention, substitution treatment, outreach, and the development of treatment and infection prevention services for drug users in prison.[Spanish]

VII - Incarceration of Drug Offenders: Costs and Impacts
This paper looks at the pros and cons of pursuing a policy of large-scale arrest and incarceration of drug users. Taking the USA as the main example of this approach, the authors examine the costs of incarceration in terms of public expenditure, and consequential impacts on health and social cohesion, and the impact on drug use prevalence and markets through incapacitation of users, access to treatment, and deterrence. [Spanish]

VI - Decriminalization of Drugs in Portugal: a Current Overview
In July 2001, Portugal's government implemented a notable change in drug policy. From that date, users of any illegal drug apprehended by police were brought not before the courts, but before special commissions composed of health, legal, and social work professionals, whose aim was to give drug users the opportunity to access treatment for addiction and other problems related to drug use. This paper presents an overview of the current Portuguese experience since the 2001 reforms. [Spanish]

V - Thailand's War on Drugs
The Thai 'war on drugs', which commenced in February 2003 in response to an explosion in methamphetamine use in this region of East Asia, has resulted in thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of arrests. This paper provides insights into the strengths and limits of enforcement as an instrument of drug policy, by examining what is perhaps the toughest and most uncompromising recent manifestation of this approach. [Spanish]

IV - Upheavals in the Australian drug market: heroin drought, stimulant flood
Australia experienced extraordinary and unprecedented changes to its illicit drug market from the end of 2000. A 'heroin drought' made the media headlines and grabbed the attention of drug policy specialists across the world. Less widely publicised was the flood of cocaine and methamphetamine into the country the same time. [Spanish]

III - Drug Consumption Rooms
The defining characteristic of Drug Consumption Rooms is that they are legally sanctioned environments where people can take illegal drugs. Their purpose is to reduce drug-related harms. The underlying assumption is that if problem drug users are provided with safe private environments within which to administer drugs there will be a reduction in unsafe public drug use. [Spanish]

II- Drug Policy and the HIV Pandemic in Russia and the Ukraine
Over the past three years Russia and Ukraine have experienced one of the fastest growing HIV pandemics in Europe. In contrast to other parts of the world, the main driver behind the rate of infection is injecting drug use. Recent government policies have placed a heavy emphasis on reducing availability and on harsh punishments for drug users. This approach has not succeeded in significantly reducing the level of drug use. [Spanish]

I - Reclassification of Cannabis in the UK
On 29 January 2004, an amendment to the drug laws came into effect in the UK that moved cannabis and its derivatives from Class B to Class C under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, the primary drug control legislation in the UK. The paper discusses the motivations for this policy change and the complex manner of its implementation. [Spanish]