Environment

Publications29 March 2025

The legal regulation of drugs: the potential to deliver global justice

Health Poverty Action proposes restructuring illegal trades to prioritise public health, equity, and sustainability rather than reproducing harmful market practices.

Publications10 April 2024

The political economy of illicit drug crops: forum introduction

Thomson et al. examine coca, opium poppy and cannabis cultivation through the lens of agrarian political economy, drawing attention to key challenges for cultivators posed by synthetics and policy.

Publications23 January 2024

Analysis of the World Drug Report 2023: The promise and peril of going green

IDPC, Viso Mutop and GDPO explore the report's discussion of buoyant drug markets and UNODC's stance on key issues like decriminalisation, human rights and environmental impact, noting the growing influence of green criminology and its potential to reshape perspectives.

Publications19 December 2023

Caring for coca, living with chemicals: Towards ecological harm reduction

Rhodes. et al. shine a light on the criminalised coca trade through the lens of ‘ecological harm reduction’, inviting reflection on practices of care for humans, other living things, and environments, in contexts of structural violence.

Publications5 October 2023

Revealing the missing links to climate justice: Drug policy

The International Coalition on Drug Policy Reform and Environmental Justice shines a light on how global drug prohibition fuels organised crime, corruption and environmental devastation, and calls for closer collaboration between environmental and drug policy movements.

Events

Beyond prohibition: Unpacking the connection between drug policies and sustainable development priorities

New York / Online

19 September 2023

This side event at the 2023 SDG summit underscores that without a major reframing of the 'world drug problem' and a focus on sustainable development priorities, there is a risk of falling short of achieving the 2030 Agenda.

News22 August 2023

Drug policy and pathways to peace in Colombia

As momentum for drug policy reform grows in Colombia, the growers of northern Cauca insist on a clear demand: that profits from legal regulation do not go to armed groups or big business, but to the growers themselves.

Publications22 August 2023

Youth response to the 2023 World Drug Report

The Paradigma Youth Coalition present their response to the 2023 World Drug Report, emphasising the importance of involving young people in shaping progressive drug policies with evidence-based approaches, inclusivity and harm reduction at their core.

News21 August 2023

If you care about the climate crisis, fight to legalise drugs

Huge profits from the drug trade are financing illegal industries responsible for destroying much of the Amazon, highlighting the often overlooked and complex relationship between drug prohibition and environmental degradation.

News11 July 2023

Joint statement to the UN's World Drug Report - International Coalition on Drug Policy Reform & Environmental Justice

While the report explores the links between drug policy and the environment, it fails to grapple with the role of prohibition in environmental destruction.

Publications5 July 2023

World Drug Report 2023

UNODC provides an overview of drug markets and related challenges related to health, environmental degradation and conflict.

News5 July 2023

Colombia’s forests, silent victims of the war on drugs

The environmental impacts of informal cocaine production and the policies implemented to stamp it out highlight the climate cost of prohibition.

Explore more content