The International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP) seeks to encourage and support outstanding research in drug policy. One of the ways we do this is by recognising, each year, the best published drug policy research paper, and the best paper presented by an early career scholar at the annual ISSDP scientific conference.
The UN drug control conventions clearly illustrate the ‘drugs as a threat’ discourse and more recently Russia has attempted to identify Afghan opium production as a threat to international security.
The lasting legacy of the sixth presidential summit held in Cartagena, Colombia on 14th and 15th April will likely be the beginning of a serious regional debate on international drug control policies.
Most of us predicted a dull Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) this year, but it turned out to be surprisingly eventful – a pleasant surprise for veterans, if still frustratingly opaque for those looking for open and vibrant debate.
For many years under the Berlusconi government, Italian drug policy has been directed by ideology. The government passed a legislative amendment to increase penalties for all categories of drug possession and use, treating cannabis with the same severity as heroin and cocaine.