By Alana Griffith Squawk, squawk, squawk … sound the seagulls in Swansea. Oh, I do love to be beside the seaside! After years of reading and citing the work of Axel Klein, a former Global Drug Policy Observatory (GDPO) senior research associate, I have been afforded the privilege of calling on Swansea University as a…Continue Reading I brought the sunshine!
My Harm Reduction Journey from the University to an NGO
By Temitope Salami I arrived in Swansea University from Nigeria in October 2020, a week after my Masters programme in Applied Criminal Justice and Criminology had commenced. This was a difficult time considering the pandemic had morphed into phase two and there was talk in the media about a possible second nationwide lockdown amid a…Continue Reading My Harm Reduction Journey from the University to an NGO
Harry and the Reds: A Revisionist Examination of Washington’s Cooperation with Moscow on International Drug Control Policy, (1945 – 1962).
Tom Crouch In my final year as an undergraduate at Swansea University (I graduated in July this year), I chose to write my dissertation on the relationship between the US and the Soviet Union at the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) between the years 1945 and 1962. In so doing, and by utilising…Continue Reading Harry and the Reds: A Revisionist Examination of Washington’s Cooperation with Moscow on International Drug Control Policy, (1945 – 1962).
‘Drug Smuggler Nation: Narcotics and the Netherlands, 1920-1995.’ By Stephen Snelders
A review by Christopher Hallam Despite its reputation as a centre of illicit drug trafficking and the oft-times bane of the international drug control regime, relatively little has been written by academics on the historical background of that ‘Drug Smuggler Nation’, the Netherlands. Stephen Snelders sets out to address this lacuna, exploring trafficking in the…Continue Reading ‘Drug Smuggler Nation: Narcotics and the Netherlands, 1920-1995.’ By Stephen Snelders
Aerial Fumigation in Colombia: A Success for Someone
Ross Eventon* In 2011, when the multi-billion-dollar Plan Colombia had officially come to an end, the UNDP described the “rural development model” in Colombia as “highly inequitable and exclusionary.” The model “causes innumerable rural conflicts, does not recognize the differences between social actors, and leads to the inappropriate use and destruction of natural resources.” Any…Continue Reading Aerial Fumigation in Colombia: A Success for Someone
Notes on Criminal Economics
Ross Eventon* In a recent report for GDPO, I discussed the links between national economic models and illicit cultivation, and the way this important context has been largely ignored by the drug policy community; localised projects – amounting to rural development aid – have instead been the focus of attention. In this blog I would…Continue Reading Notes on Criminal Economics
Trump v Biden. Their stances on Drug Policy: ‘How it started. How it’s going.’
Branwen Lloyd* The 2020 United States presidential election—with early voting underway and Election Day on November 3—is already like no other in history. In a pivotal year the presidential campaign has been repeatedly shaken by seismic events: a devastating pandemic, George Floyd’s killing by police officers, and subsequent protests, President Donald Trump contracting COVID-19, and…Continue Reading Trump v Biden. Their stances on Drug Policy: ‘How it started. How it’s going.’
Cultivating Change: The Contemporary Challenges of Studying Cannabis Regulation in Jamaica
Branwen Lloyd* At the end of summer 2019 the GDPO was successful in an application to Swansea University’s Higher Education Funding Council for Wales – Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) scheme. The GCRF is a £1.5 billion fund announced by the UK Government in 2015 to support cutting-edge research that addresses the challenges faced by…Continue Reading Cultivating Change: The Contemporary Challenges of Studying Cannabis Regulation in Jamaica
Nowhere to hide: It’s high time we measured countries’ performance in drug policy
By Marie Nougier IDPC Head of Research and Communications & Dave Bewley-Taylor, GDPO Director First published here by IPDC, October 2019 Traditionally, the UN and governments have measured progress in drug policy in terms of flows and scale; principally the numbers of people arrested, hectares of drug crops eradicated and the amounts of drugs seized. For years now, IDPC and…Continue Reading Nowhere to hide: It’s high time we measured countries’ performance in drug policy
Yes, legalizing marijuana breaks treaties. We can deal with that.
By John Walsh, Tom Blickman, Martin Jelsma and Dave Bewley-Taylor This Op-Ed was originally published in iPolitics on December 11th, 2017 Buzzing in the background of Canada’s debate on cannabis legalization is the issue of the three UN drug control treaties, and what to do with them. The issue arose during the House of Commons’…Continue Reading Yes, legalizing marijuana breaks treaties. We can deal with that.