News briefing – week beginning 20 October

UNODC is expected to collaborate with Fiji in its efforts against drug trafficking, corruption and terrorism as the Pacific region is considered vulnerable to transnational organised crime The alleged leader of Portsmouth drug trafficking organisation, Antwan Black, has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison; disrupting drug supply in the region Detectives from the…

News briefing – week beginning 13 October

Dominican Republican authorities arrested seven people including an intelligence officer and seized RD$3 million in connection with a drug trafficking case. Bolivia is allegedly becoming the new drug trafficking hub in South America. Several Paraguayan politicians are reportedly linked to drug-trafficking cases, mafias and assassinations. Portuguese authorities arrested two Ukrainians and seized 600 kilograms of cocaine…

Could Medicinal Cannabis Provide the Solution to South America’s ‘Pasta Base’ Problem?

On April 3 2014, Uruguay’s undersecretary for public health used a UN-hosted conference on women, drug policy, and incarceration on the Americas to propose a novel method of tackling drug addiction. ‘Jail is not a very suitable place for someone to safely overcome drug addiction’, said Leonel Briozzo, before suggesting that marijuana (legalised in Uruguay…

‘Drugs Uncovered’ – the Guardian

As the drugs policy debate gains momentum ahead of UNGASS 2016, many different perspectives are being put forward. This weekend the Guardian newspaper examined British attitudes to drugs in their ‘Drugs Uncovered’ series. The cornerstone of the series was the British Drugs Survey 2014. The survey revealed that the proportion of the population that have…