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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
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Results for illicit drugs
103 results foundAuthor: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Regional Office for East Asia and the Pacific. ASEAN Title: Drug-free ASEAN 2015: Status and Recommendations Summary: At the Thirty-third ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok in 2000, Ministers "took note of the threat from drug abuse and drug trafficking on the security and stability of the ASEAN region, particularly its relations with transnational crime" and called for a drug-free ASEAN by 2015.1 Recent documented shifts in illicit drug manufacturing and production, trafficking patterns and abuse trends make it clear that countries in the region must increase their collaborative efforts if this goal is to be realized. "Drug-Free ASEAN 2015: Status and Recommendations" serves as a timely mid-term progress report for the region and is loosely structured under three questions: 'Is the commitment achievable?' 'Is the region on track towards achieving it?' 'What can be done to accelerate progress?' In the report, national/regional overviews of the illicit drug situation since 2000 include the latest information available via data collection mechanisms established by various UNODC Regional Centre projects, official Government reports and interviews with national counterpart agencies and other drug control stakeholders from throughout the region and beyond. Based upon clearly identified response gaps, the report then proposes a series of benchmarks and recommendations for Governments to better monitor the overall progress of their drug prevention and control efforts. A final section of the report deals with emerging challenges posed by the accelerated development of trade and transportation networks in the region. To adequately address the anticipated surge of goods and persons through new and more heavily trafficked border crossings, an effective regional response will require a common strategy and coordinated actions. In October 2007, ASEAN Senior Officials on Drug Matters (ASOD) met to review "Drug-Free ASEAN 2015: Status and Recommendations". Selected recommendations from the report were then endorsed at the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC) in November 2007 in Brunei Darussalam. It is expected that "Drug-Free ASEAN 2015: Status and Recommendations" will serve as a key reference document in the development of an ASEAN-wide work plan by ASOD in the near future. As a collaborative undertaking, this report also highlights the growing cooperation between the ASEAN Secretariat and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Centre for East Asia and the Pacific. This not only fosters linkages between various, ongoing drug control frameworks in the region but also ensures closer collaboration between ASEAN and UNODC in the delivery of technical assistance, capacity building initiatives and expert advice. The Regional Centre looks forward to further close collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat in the future while progressing towards a Drug-Free ASEAN 2015. Details: Bangkok, Thailand: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2008. 121p. Source: https://www.unodc.org/documents/southeastasiaandpacific/Publications/ASEAN_2015.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Asia URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/southeastasiaandpacific/Publications/ASEAN_2015.pdf Shelf Number: 116655 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Control PolicyDrug Trafficking ControlIllicit Drugs |
Author: Kilmer, Beau Title: Understanding Illicit Drug Markets, Supply-Reduction Efforts, and Drug-Related Crime in the European Union Summary: Efforts to provide insight into the different aspects of Europe's illicit drug problems have largely focused on indicators development to assess demand-side strategies. The development of measures capturing dimensions of the supply of different illicit substances is an emerging field in the European Union. To advance these effects, the European Commission commissioned a study to recommend indicators for improving the understanding of illicit drug markets, supply reduction efforts, and drug-related crime in the European Union. This study presents a review of the literature and RAND's previous work in this area, as well as insights from European experts and policymakers. Details: Cambridge, UK: RAND, 2010. 210p. Source: Internet Resource; RAND Corporation Technical Report Series; TR755 Year: 2010 Country: Europe URL: https://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR755.html Shelf Number: 117144 Keywords: Drug Control (Europe)Drug Markets (Europe)Drug Trafficking (Europe)Drug-Related CrimeIllegal DrugsIllicit Drugs |
Author: Fenoff, Roy S. Title: Africa's Counterfeit Pharmaceutical Epidemic: The Road Ahead Summary: The production, distribution, and consumption of counterfeit pharmaceuticals represent a particularly dangerous public health risk; estimates of the numbers of counterfeit pharmaceuticals range from 10 to 15 percent of the world drug supply. This report examines the problem of Africa's counterfeit pharmaceutical epidemic. Details: East Lansing, MI: Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection Program (A-CAPPP), School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University, 2009. 20p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2009 Country: Africa URL: Shelf Number: 118797 Keywords: Counterfeit MedicinesCounterfeitingIllicit DrugsPharmacy Crimes |
Author: Weber, Lloyd E. Title: The Illicit Methamphetamine Landscape of Franklin County, Missouri: Application and Analysis of a GIS-based Risk Assessment Model Summary: Illicit methamphetamine, a synthetic, highly addictive drug, has gained national attention because of its destructive properties. Between 2002 and 2004 close to 400 clandestine methamphetamine labs were seized in Franklin County, Missouri. This study reviews documented methamphetamine production risk factors and examines a spatial model based on the reviewed risk factors. The risk factors include populations that are rural, white, impoverished, undereducated, unmarried and aged 25 - 29. The model is advanced by adding a component representing a clandestine landscape. Model output is validated using illicit meth lab seizure data supplied by Franklin County law enforcement. The model components are tested using both ordinary least squares and geographically weighted regression. This study found that the model is successful in indicating areas that have the potential to develop methamphetamine production problems. The model also was successful in indicating areas that would not likely develop a meth production problem. Ordinary least squares regression analysis indicates that every model component, with the exception of percent white and percent unmarried, are positively correlated with meth production in this case study. The results from the geographically weighted regression analysis show percent rural, percent poverty and percent clandestine landscape vary significantly across the county and indicate which areas these components have the most effect in developing and sustaining an illicit meth landscape. Details: Columbia, MO: University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. 79p. Source: Internet Resource; Thesis Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 118229 Keywords: Geographic Information SystemsIllicit DrugsMethamphetamine (Missouri)Risk Assessment |
Author: Reuter, Peter H. Title: Assessing the Operation of the Global Drug Market Summary: Illicit drugs, predominantly cocaine and heroin, now generate a substantial international and domestic trade. For these two drugs, production is concentrated in poor nations and the bulk of revenues, though not of consumption, is generated by users in wealthy countries. Earnings have an odd shape; most of the money goes to a very large number of low level retailers in wealthy countries while the fortunes are made by a small number of entrepreneurs, many of whom come from the producing countries. Actual producers and refiners receive one or two percent of the total; almost all the rest is payment for distribution labour. The industry is in general competitive, though some sectors in some countries have small numbers of competing organizations. While it is not difficult to explain why cocaine and heroin production occurs primarily in poor countries and only a little harder to understand why the accounting profits are downstream, almost everything else about the trade presents a challenge, both descriptively and analytically. This report is an attempt to address these challenges and reviews what is known about the operation of these various markets. It offers a theoretical account for a number of the features. Details: Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2009. 31p. Source: Internet Resource; Report 1 Year: 2009 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 117654 Keywords: CocaineDrug ControlDrugs and Narcotics ControlHeroinIllicit Drugs |
Author: Kego, Walter Title: Internationally Organized Crime: The Escalation of Crime within the Global Economy Summary: International organized crime is growing in significance, not just in some countries, but on a worldwide scale with an increasing number of people affected. The trade in narcotics is the principal source of revenue for international criminal organizations. The countries for production, transit, and consumption are all integrated in complex networks, which are characterized by economic gain, violence, and corruption. Nation-states and boundaries are not much of an obstacle in thwarting these criminal networks. Moreover, the criminal organizations are apt at altering their structure to make themselves more flexible and consequently more difficult to penetrate by law enforcement agencies. Details: Stockholm: Institute for Security and Development Policy, 2009. 17p. Source: Internet Resource; Policy Paper Year: 2009 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 118775 Keywords: Criminal OrganizationsDrug TraffickingIllicit DrugsOrganized Crime |
Author: O'Reilly, Bridie Title: Benzodiazepine and Pharmaceutical Opioid Misuse and Their Relationship to Crime: An Examination of Illicit Prescription Drug Markets in Melbourne, Hobart and Darwin. Northern Territory Report Summary: The National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund commissioned research to enhance law enforcement understanding of the impact of benzodiazepine and pharmaceutical opiate use on crime in three select Australian jurisdictions where there was evidence of emergent or consolidated illicit markets: Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. The aims were to gain understanding of illicit benzodiazepine and pharmaceutical opiate market characteristics, investigate the hypothesized relationship between benzodiazepine and pharmaceutical opiate use and crime, explore the implications for emergency services staff and consider appropriate interventions to address the impact on law enforcement and health. The current research replicated core methods in the three target jurisdictions in four stages over a 14-month period commencing April 2003: interviews with law enforcement personnel, two surveys of benzodiazepine and pharmaceutical opiate users, analysis of secondary indicator data and in-depth interviews with key informants. This report focuses only on the Northern Territory findings. Details: Hobart, Tasmania: National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, 2007. 241p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 28, 2010 at: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/pub/Monograph_24.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/pub/Monograph_24.pdf Shelf Number: 119696 Keywords: Drugs Abuse and CrimeIllicit DrugsOpiatesPrescription Drug Abuse |
Author: Bruno, Raimondo Title: Benzodiazepine and Pharmaceutical Opioid Misuse and Their Relationship to Crime Summary: The purpose of the current study was to contribute to the understanding of the law enforcement sector in regard to the impact of benzodiazepine and pharmaceutical opiate misuse on crime. In particular, the study aimed: to examine the nature of the illicit market in benzodiazepines and pharmaceutical opiates; to investigate any links between misuse of such drugs and criminal activity; to examine the implications of use for health and law enforcement staff; and to consider opportunities, and the potential impacts of, interventions into this issue. The study was conducted in three Australian jurisdictions where there was evidence of existing or emerging patterns of use of diverted pharmaceutical products amongst individuals who inject illicit drugs. This report details only the Tasmanian-specific primary data collected as part of this larger study. Details: Hobart, Tasmania: National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, 2007. 186p. Source: Internet Resource: Monograph Series No. 22: Accessed August 28, 2010 at: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/pub/Monograph_22.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/pub/Monograph_22.pdf Shelf Number: 119697 Keywords: Drug Abuse and CrimeIllicit DrugsOpiatesPrescription Drug Abuse |
Author: Fry, Craig Title: Benzodiazepine and Pharmaceutical Opioid Misuse and their Relationship to Crime: An Examination of Illicit Prescription Drug Markets in Melbourne, Hobart and Darwin. National Overview Report Summary: This National Overview Report presents a review of the literature, an overview of study methodology, key findings and jurisdiction-specific discussion points. It should be read in conjunction with each of the companion Jurisdiction Reports for Melbourne (Smith et al. 2004), Hobart (Bruno, 2004) and Darwin (O’Reilly et al. 2004), which contain detailed data content, and discussion of the findings and issues of local relevance to those study sites. This report avoids duplication of the data content of each Jurisdiction Report, in preference for summary and discussion of the main important findings and themes that have emerged from this comprehensive study. Specifically, the report focuses upon: • Salient issues that have emerged from the review of relevant national and international literature (current knowledge and gaps in the literature); • Comparison of key findings across study sites (descriptive and explanatory/statistical comparisons concerning market characteristics, diversion and links to crime); and • Discussion of the implications of these findings for law enforcement and health services (including implications for front line workers, options for intervention within the market, and future directions). Details: Hobart, Tasmania: National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, 2007. 214p. Source: Internet Resource: Monograph Series No. 21: Accessed October 6, 2010 at: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/pub/Monograph_21.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/pub/Monograph_21.pdf Shelf Number: 119864 Keywords: Drug Abuse and CrimeDrug MarketsIllicit DrugsOpiatesPrescription Drug Abuse |
Author: Holmes, Jessie Title: Trends in Possession and Use of Narcotics and Cocaine Summary: This brief describes trends in possession and use of narcotics and cocaine, characteristics of these offences and offenders, and court outcomes for those charged with possession and/or use of narcotics or cocaine. Descriptive analyses were conducted on data sourced from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research’s police recorded criminal incident and person of interest databases as well as from the NSW Reoffending Database and NSW Local Criminal Courts. Data from NSW Health on recorded opioid and cocaine overdoses was also analysed. Recorded incidents of narcotics possession and opioid overdoses fell sharply between 1999 and 2006. Since 2006 both narcotics possession and opioid overdoses doubled, however their levels are still much lower than those recorded prior to the heroin shortage. Recorded incidents of cocaine possession and overdoses have been increasing since 2003 and in 2009, both reached their highest levels in 15 years. Narcotics possession incidents were generally detected on streets and footpaths and at residential premises within Sydney’s CBD and in the Fairfield and Liverpool Local Government Areas. Cocaine possession incidents were detected on streets and footpaths, and at licensed and residential premises, located in Sydney’s CBD and the Eastern Suburbs. Narcotics and cocaine possession offenders tended to be males aged 20 to 39 years. Almost all offenders convicted of narcotics possession had prior convictions (93%) compared with less than half of those convicted of cocaine possession (49%). Most offenders convicted of these offences in 2008 were issued with fines averaging $355 for narcotics possession and $406 for cocaine possession. Taking into account data from other sources, these results suggest that actual levels of narcotics and cocaine use are increasing in NSW. Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2010. 7p. Source: Internet Resource: Bureau Brief, Issue Paper No. 52: Accessed October 19, 2010 at: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/bb52.pdf/$file/bb52.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/bb52.pdf/$file/bb52.pdf Shelf Number: 120009 Keywords: CocaineDrug OffendersDrug OffensesHeroinIllicit DrugsNarcotics |
Author: Kent, Stephen G. Title: Combat Drug Zone 2010: The United States Southwest Border Summary: Globalization and associated domestic variables such as the economy, energy, weapons proliferation, environmental issues and terrorism, dominate today’s discussions, and resulting priorities. While a majority of Americans can readily identify with the everyday realities and stressors of life, few are cognizant of the looming crisis of narco trafficking. Given the proximity of the major friction points, spill over effects and regional security implications are increasingly amplified which potentially affect every citizen and the security of the nation. This analysis illustrates the precipitating factors contributing to the rise in drug trafficking, discussion on the multiple second and third order effects and an examination on policy alternatives for the U.S. Government. Statistics and experience illustrates that previous and current U.S. policies have not created the desired effect on narco trafficking. Considering the security environment post 9-11, increased counter drug budgets, the illicit drug trade is flourishing requiring radically new strategies. The Mexican Border drug epidemic arguably requires urgent and careful action by the U.S. Government. Details: Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army War College, 2010. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Strategy Research Project: Accessed December 14, 2010 at: http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA518085&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA518085&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf Shelf Number: 120497 Keywords: Drug ControlDrug TraffickingIllicit Drugs |
Author: Virginia Department of Health Professions and Virginia State Police Title: Prescription Monitoring Program Summary: Chapter 481 of the 2002 Acts of Assembly amended the Code of Virginia to create a prescription monitoring program as a pilot program limited to State Health Planning Region III in Southwest Virginia. The program began operations in September 2003 with prescriptions dispensed for Schedule II controlled substances being submitted by approximately 300 pharmacies and other dispensers twice a month. Currently, the database contains over 460,000 prescription records and over 1000 requests for information from the program have been processed. Review of data collected thus far appears to show that the implementation of the program has not had a “chilling” effect on the legitimate prescribing of Schedule II controlled substances. The amount of oxycodone and hydrocodone being distributed in wholesale distribution channels continued to increase throughout Virginia at a rate of 9% and 8% respectively in 2002 and 2003. Information maintained by the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) shows that after a substantial drop in claims for oxycodone containing prescriptions in the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2002, the number of claims submitted in the 1st quarter of 2004 for these products are 21% higher than they were in the 1st quarter of 2001. A survey was conducted in mid-2004 and compiled by the Survey and Evaluation Research Laboratory, Virginia Commonwealth University and sponsored by the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the South Atlantic chapter of the ACS, in collaboration with the Virginia Cancer Pain Initiative. Physicians were asked if in the past three years, they have been prescribing fewer Schedule II controlled substances. 36% of respondents reported prescribing fewer Schedule II drugs; of these, 48% cited intense media coverage and 41% cited increased law enforcement activity as the reason for prescribing fewer Schedule II prescriptions. 31% of these practitioners reported that prescribing fewer Schedule II drugs had a negative impact of helping patients manage their pain while 61% reported no impact. A concern of having a pilot program in only the southwest portion of the Commonwealth was that the illegal activity of prescription drug diversion would move to outside the program area. Data from the Drug Diversion Unit of the State Police appears to confirm that concern. Data comparing 2003 to 2004 shows complaints received by the unit increased by 26% statewide while decreasing in the program area by 47%. Arrests increased by 35% statewide versus 31% in the program area. It also appears that using the program may save substantial man-hours in performing investigations with data from the program area showing a 53% decrease in manhours spent doing pharmacy profiles between 2003 and 2004. Accidental deaths due to prescription drug abuse or misuse continues to be a significant public health concern in Virginia, especially the southwest region of the Commonwealth. Since 2000, there has been a 100% increase in drug deaths in the Western District of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Statewide in 2003, there were 223 drug deaths reported in the Western District, 101 in the Tidewater District, 106 in the Central District and 108 in the Northern District. In the Western District, 44.6% of the cases identified methadone as the cause of death followed by hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl and propoxyphene. The issue of prescription drug abuse is not limited to Virginia. The President’s 2004 National Drug Control Strategy highlighted the problem, reporting that the non-medical use of addictive prescription drugs has been increasing throughout the United States at alarming rates. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2002, an estimated 6.2 million Americans reported past-month use of prescription drugs for non-medical purposes. Nearly 14 percent of youth between the ages of 12 and 17 have used such drugs, which include pain relievers, sedatives/tranquilizers, or stimulants, for non-medical purposes at some point in their lives. To combat this problem several approaches are being developed, including education and training on appropriate pain management and opioid treatment procedures for practitioners, increasing the number of state prescription monitoring programs, and using technology to identify, investigate, and prosecute “pill mills” including internet pharmacies that provide controlled substances illegally. In May 2004, Department staff developed a list of policy issues that became evident as a result of the evaluation workplan. These policy issues were reviewed at the June and September 2004 meetings of the Advisory Committee and recommendations were made based on those issues. Details: Richmond, VA: Virginia Department of Health Professions and the Virginia State Police, 2004. 79p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 14, 2011 at: http://www.dhp.virginia.gov/dhp_programs/pmp/docs/REPORT%20OF%20THE%20PMP.pdf Year: 2004 Country: United States URL: http://www.dhp.virginia.gov/dhp_programs/pmp/docs/REPORT%20OF%20THE%20PMP.pdf Shelf Number: 122060 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionIllicit DrugsPrescription Drug Abuse (Virginia)Prescription Fraud |
Author: Ojeda, Susana Title: Alternative Development from the Perspective of Colombia Farmers Summary: Alternative Development programmes have been widely discussed from the point of view of experts, technocrats, politicians and academics, with advocates and detractors debating whether such programmes contribute to decreasing the cultivation of llegal crops. However, little is known about the opinions of the people targeted by these programmes and the implications that they have for their daily lives. This analysis hopes to play a role in correcting this imbalance by analysing alternative development programmes carried out in Colombia during the government of Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010) from the perspective of Colombian farmers. Highlighting concerns of the farmers and making several reccommendations which include: •The farmers need to have permanent access to the state institutions that would allow them to fully develop their rights as citizens in areas of rural and environmental development, road infrastructure, education, and health. The state must be consistent in its implementation of rural development programmes that cover the whole country, and must stop giving paternalistic handouts. •There must be an end to the imposition of projects drawn up in the offices of those in power and by the international aid community, that do not take into account local knowledge and needs. The call for effective and real participation by farming communities must be taken into account in the drawing up of rural development projects. •Work with the communities must be based on their skills and traditions, and must be supported by their social networks. In this way the communities will be empowered and will be able to carry out projects that have a positive impact. Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2011. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Drug Policy Briefing No. 36: Accessed August 1, 2011 at: http://www.idpc.net/sites/default/files/library/brief36.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.idpc.net/sites/default/files/library/brief36.pdf Shelf Number: 122243 Keywords: Drug PolicyIllicit DrugsNarcotics (Colombia) |
Author: Larance, Briony Title: The Diversion and Injection of the Pharmaceutical Opioids Used in Opioid Substitution Treatment: Fidings from the Australian Post-Marketing Surveillance Studies of Buprenorphine-Naloxone, 2006-2008 Summary: Opioid substitution treatment (OST) is effective in treating opioid dependence, and results in significant reductions in the negative health consequences and adverse effects on public order. In Australia, OST is highly regulated: it is available only with an individual patient authority, there is licensing of doctors, and a strong focus on supervised administration of medication. Adherence with OST is important for maximising a range of positive treatment outcomes, but is especially important in preventing injection, "leakage" of prescribed medication to the illicit market, overdose and mortality. The introduction of an opioid agonist-antagonist formulation in Australia was a new approach that was hoped to result in lower levels of injection of the medication. By deterring injection, buprenorphine-naloxone (registered as Suboxone) may reduce its attractiveness in illicit markets. Post-marketing surveillance of the diversion and injection of Suboxone was required as a condition of the product's registration in Australia. Reckitt Benckiser approached the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre to conduct the study independently, by way of an untied educational grant. 1.1. Terminology Post-marketing surveillance studies are usually observational in design and monitor the safety of new medications being used in real-life applications. Pre-marketing (clinical) studies usually involve detailed protocol constraints and small sample sizes, and although they may suggest which medications are likely (or not likely) to be misused, they are limited in their ability to detect and quantify actual misuse. Diversion is used in this report to describe the unsanctioned supply of regulated pharmaceuticals from legal sources to the illicit drug market, or to a user for whom the drugs were not intended. Adherence is used to describe the taking of medication in accordance with prescription directions and the meeting of all the specified conditions of treatment (e.g. consumption of the dose under supervision, attendance at designated dosing times, meeting requests for urinalysis, etc). Non-adherence is, therefore, any use of a medication by the individual to whom it was prescribed where the medication was not taken exactly as directed. This includes (but is not limited to) removing all or part of a supervised dose from the dosing site for personal use or diversion to illicit markets, splitting doses, stockpiling doses, taking more or less than the prescribed dose, and injection of prescribed medication(s). This report seeks to answer the following questions: (i) Is there injection of the agonist-antagonist formulation - buprenorphine naloxone - following its large-scale introduction into treatment programs for opioid dependence? (ii) To what extent is buprenorphine-naloxone injected compared to existing OST formulations, and in particular compared to the mono-buprenorphine product, among those receiving treatment and among out-of-treatment injecting drug users (IDU)? (iii) Is diverted buprenorphine-naloxone less attractive in illicit markets? (iv) What influences the diversion and/or injection of buprenorphine-naloxone? Details: Sydney: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, 2009. 143p. Source: Internet Resource: Technical Report No. 302: Accessed August 22, 2011 at: http://www.med.unsw.edu.au/NDARCWeb.nsf/resources/TR+298-302/$file/TR+302.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Australia URL: http://www.med.unsw.edu.au/NDARCWeb.nsf/resources/TR+298-302/$file/TR+302.pdf Shelf Number: 122461 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Abuse TreatmentIllicit DrugsOpioidsPrescription Medicines |
Author: Pedroni, Peter Title: The Relationship Between Illicit Coca Production and Formal Economic Activity in Peru Summary: This paper investigates the relationship between unrecorded economic activity associated with the production of illicit coca and formally recorded economic activity in Peru. It does so by attempting to construct new regional level estimates for coca production and by implementing recently developed panel time series methods that are robust to regional heterogeneity and unobserved regional inter-dependencies. The paper finds that on balance illicit coca production crowds out formal sector production at the regional level, regardless of whether unanticipated changes occur nationally or regionally. However, total output nevertheless increases, since formal sector production is crowded out less than one for one. Details: Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund, 2011. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: IMF Working Paper WP/11/182: Accessed September 24, 2011 at: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2011/wp11182.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Peru URL: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2011/wp11182.pdf Shelf Number: 122891 Keywords: Cocaine (Peru)EconomicsIllicit Drugs |
Author: British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Urban Health Research Initiative Title: Reducing Drug-Related Harm in Thailand. Evidence and Recommendations from the Mitsampan Community Research Project Summary: For decades, Thailand has experienced high rates of illicit drug use and HIV/AIDS among people who inject drugs (PWID). In response to the drug problem, the Royal Thai Government has relied primarily on criminal justice approaches such as policing, incarceration, and mandatory drug detention centers. Despite these efforts, illicit drugs remain easily accessible, drug use is widespread, and the epidemic of HIV/AIDS among PWID continues. The Mitsampan Community Research Project was launched as a collaborative research effort by Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group (TTAG), the Mitsampan Harm Reduction Center, the Urban Health Research Initiative of the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (Vancouver, Canada), and Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok, Thailand). This project sought to investigate patterns of drug use, health services use, criminal justice interactions, and health-related harms among PWID in Bangkok. The Project reached 468 local PWID in Bangkok over two cycles of surveying conducted in 2008 and 2009. The purpose of this report is to summarize the research findings and provide evidence-based recommendations. The majority of research findings presented have been subjected to independent scientific review and published in peer-reviewed journals. These findings are summarized in plain language in order to make this research accessible to a broad stakeholder audience. Details: Vancouver: University of British Columbia, 2011. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 26 at: http://ttag.info/pdf/MSCRP_en.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Thailand URL: http://ttag.info/pdf/MSCRP_en.pdf Shelf Number: 122904 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction (Thailand)Drug Abuse TreatmentDrug OffendersIllicit Drugs |
Author: Queensland. Crime and Misconduct Commission Title: Illicit Drug Use in Queensland A Survey of Households 2002–05 Summary: The procurement, use and misuse of illicit drugs is a serious problem facing society today. In 1998, for example, it was estimated that the social and health costs associated with illicit drug use in Australia totalled $6.1 billion (Collins & Lapsley 2002). Illicit drug use has been linked with several forms of violence and predatory street crime (Makkai & Payne 2003), sexual exploitation (Johnson 2004) and a host of social problems including family dysfunction and poor educational outcomes (Prichard & Payne 2005). For those involved in drug use, there are health risks such as disease transmission through needle sharing and problems associated with anxiety, aggression and depressed mood (Loxley, Toumbourou & Stockwell 2004). Given the relevance of illicit drug use to law enforcement, operational activities, strategic research and policy development, the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) undertakes a range of monitoring activities to assess illicit drug use patterns in Queensland. These monitoring activities include discrete projects such as reviewing and analysing data about detainees in watch-houses (CMC DUMA report, in press), individual research projects about drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines, and the inclusion of questions about illicit drug use in the annual household survey conducted by the Office of Economic and Statistical Research (OESR). The subsection of the household survey conducted for the CMC is referred to as the Queensland Household Illicit Drug Use Survey (QHIDUS). Questions included in the QHIDUS seek population-level information about: the prevalence of illicit drug use (cannabis, amphetamines, heroin, ecstasy, hallucinogens and sleeping pills/tranquillisers used for non-medical purposes) patterns of drug use (age of first use, frequency of use, recent usage) perceptions of the health risks associated with drug use perceptions of the ease of obtaining illicit drugs various socio-demographic factors that may be associated with drug use. Although population-level research usually underestimates the true level of illegal or hidden activities such as drug use, it can provide a valuable source of information which can, in turn, be compared with survey results of other populations and triangulated with qualitative research, to provide a detailed overview of current and changing drug-use patterns. Details: Brisbane: Crime and Misconduct Commission, 2007. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 4, 2011 at: http://www.cmc.qld.gov.au/data/portal/00000005/content/87421001161922260587.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Australia URL: http://www.cmc.qld.gov.au/data/portal/00000005/content/87421001161922260587.pdf Shelf Number: 107701 Keywords: Crime SurveyDrug Abuse and Addiction (Australia)Drug Abuse and CrimeIllicit Drugs |
Author: Transform Drug Policy Foundation Title: The War on Drugs: Creating Crime, Enriching Criminals Summary: The global war on drugs has been fought for over 50 years, to achieve its stated goal of a “drug-free world”. Yet despite the ever increasing resources spent on police and military efforts to suppress the illicit drug trade, supply has more than kept pace with rising global demand. Indeed, most indicators suggest drugs are cheaper and more available than ever before. This briefing summarises the crime-related costs stemming from the war on drugs, which include: • Organised crime arising from the illicit drug trade, and its knock-on effects in terms of money laundering, corruption and violence • Street-level crime committed by drug gangs and by dependent drug users attempting to support their habits • The criminalisation of users, excessive levels of incarceration, and crimes committed by governments under the banner of the drug war • The economic costs of drug war-related crime, and the criminal justice response to it There is overlap with other areas of the Count the Costs initiative – human rights (including a detailed discussion of prison issues), security and development, discrimination and stigma, public health, the environment and economics. Details: London: Transform Drug Policy Founcation, 2011. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 12, 2012 at: Year: 2011 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 123567 Keywords: Drug PolicyDrug TraffickingIllicit DrugsOrganized CrimeWar on Drugs |
Author: Atkinson, Amanda Title: Interpersonal violence and illicit drugs Summary: Interpersonal violence and illicit drug use are major public health challenges that are strongly linked. Involvement in drug use can increase the risks of being both a victim and/or perpetrator of violence, while experiencing violence can increase the risks of initiating illicit drug use. Details: Liverpool: Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University, WHO Collaborating Centre for Violence Prevention, 2009. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 4, 2012 at http://www.who.int/violenceprevention/interpersonal_violence_and_illicit_drug_use.pdf Year: 2009 Country: International URL: http://www.who.int/violenceprevention/interpersonal_violence_and_illicit_drug_use.pdf Shelf Number: 124379 Keywords: Drug Abuse and CrimeIllicit DrugsInterpersonal Violence |
Author: Drug Abuse Warning Network Title: Emergency Department Visits Involving Illicit Drug Use among Males Summary: The use of illicit drugs (e.g., marijuana, heroin, and cocaine) may lead to serious health issues such as unintentional injuries, car accidents, and overdoses that may require acute emergency care. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data show that 1 in 10 males aged 12 or older reported past month illicit drug use in 2009, compared with 1 in 15 females. The same data show that males were also more likely than females to be past month users of marijuana (8.6 vs. 4.8 percent), the use of which has been found to contribute to traffic accidents and other injuries. The higher illicit drug rates for males suggests that negative consequences associated with illicit drug use, such as emergency department (ED) visits, may be disproportionately found among males. The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) is a public health surveillance system that monitors drug-related ED visits in the United States. To be a DAWN case, an ED visit must have involved a drug, either as the direct cause of the visit or as a contributing factor. Data are collected on numerous illicit drugs, including cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and stimulants (i.e., amphetamines and methamphetamines). This issue of The DAWN Report focuses on ED visits involving illicit drug use among males. Data for 2004 to 2009 are presented, both as trends over time and also as annual averages for the 6-year period. Illicit drug use among females is covered in a separate report. Details: Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011. 6p. Source: The DAWN Report, DAWN_017: Internet Resource: Accessed March 4, 2012 at Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 124381 Keywords: Drug AbuseIllicit DrugsMales 00 InjuryMedical Care |
Author: Pompidou Group Title: Policy Paper Providing Guidance to Policy Makers for Developing Coherent Policies for Licit and Illicit Drugs Summary: Drug policies fall within states’ responsibility, leading to a variety of national action plans and strategies reflecting the diversity of situations in the different countries. To make the most of this diversity, other countries’ experiences are widely discussed and taken into account. While there is a wish to learn about different policies and strategies in Europe, language continues to be a barrier since many of the relevant documents are not translated. An ever-increasing amount of documentation on evidence-related research, guidelines, manuals and good practice inventories is now available. At the same time, a significant number of international legal and political instruments need to be taken into account when developing and implementing action plans and strategies. In addition, there are various tools developed by international governmental and non-governmental bodies. However, qualified overviews allowing policy makers quickly to identify instruments and tools relevant to their work are rare, or even non-existent. The sheer quantity of available resources has grown to the point where giving them adequate consideration is becoming impossible. Furthermore, much of the material available is targeted at professionals and rarely at those involved in policy decisions. This policy paper aims to provide decision makers and policy managers with an overview of the basic principles, instruments and tools that will support them in developing, reviewing and implementing drug policies, strategies and action plans. It summarises key elements for coherent drug policies and effective strategies in the form of a series of guiding principles. It also lists a selection of relevant instruments, tools and resources proposed by European and international organisations (Appendix 1) and sets out a number of key observations by policy makers on existing practice (Appendix 2). Details: Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 2012. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 3, 2012 at: http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/pompidou/default_en.asp Year: 2012 Country: Europe URL: http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/pompidou/default_en.asp Shelf Number: 125133 Keywords: Alcohol AbuseDrug Policy (Europe)Drug Use and AbuseIllicit Drugs |
Author: Pritchard, Jeremy Title: Measuring Drug Use Patterns in Queensland Through Wastewater Analysis Summary: Estimating the use of illicit drugs in the general community is an important task with ramifications for law enforcement agencies, as well as health portfolios. Australia has four ongoing drug monitoring systems, including the AIC’s DUMA program, the National Drug Strategy Household Survey, the Illicit Drug Reporting System and the Ecstasy and Related Drug Reporting System. The systems vary in methods, but broadly they are reliant upon self-report data and may be subject to selection biases. The present study employed a completely different method. By chemically analysing sewerage water, the study produced daily estimates of consumption of methamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine. Samples were collected in November 2009 and November 2010 from a municipality in Queensland, with an population of over 150,000 people. Estimates were made of the average daily dose and average daily street value per 1,000 people. On the basis of estimated dose and price, the methamphetamine market appeared considerably stronger than either MDMA or cocaine. This paper explains the strengths and weaknesses of wastewater analysis. It considers the potential value of wastewater analysis in measuring net consumption of illicit drugs and the effectiveness of law enforcement agency strategies. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2012. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Jsutice, No. 442: Accessed July 30, 2012 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tandi/441-460/tandi442.aspx Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tandi/441-460/tandi442.aspx Shelf Number: 125804 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction (Australia)Drug EnforcementIllicit DrugsWastewater Analysis |
Author: Helbling, Cadet Erringer Title: Modeling Honduran Illicit Drug Networks Summary: In 2009, U.S. assistance to Honduras was suspended due to a staged coup d’état by the Honduran military. As a result, drug trafficking activity steadily increased in Honduras, as police and military forces within the country became less effective in combating this cartel-related activity. Several other factors, including physical location and limited resources, contribute to Honduras’ growing problem which poses a threat both to its stability and to the United States’ national interests in Honduras. A West Point senior capstone, sponsored by the Engineering Research and Development Center (ERDC) Construction Engineering Research Lab (CERL) and the Center for Nation Reconstruction and Capacity Development (CNRCD) at West Point, is investigating whole of government approaches in support to Civil-Military Operators (CMO) that address the illicit ground trafficking problem. The capstone team is specifically focused in two distinct areas: network flow modeling and system dynamics modeling. Using these approaches, we present a holistic assessment of the complex illicit trafficking networks operating within and throughout Honduras. We argue that by using network flow modeling and system dynamics we can provide insights into interdiction strategies for illicit ground trafficking in Honduras that operate on a holistic scale. Details: West Point, NY: Center for Nation Reconstruction and Capacity Development Department of Systems Engineering, United States Military Academy, 2012. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 30, 2012 at: http://www.usma.edu/cnrcd/CNRCD_Library/Modeling%20Illicit%20Networks.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Honduras URL: http://www.usma.edu/cnrcd/CNRCD_Library/Modeling%20Illicit%20Networks.pdf Shelf Number: 125806 Keywords: Drug CartelsDrug TraffickingDrugs (Honduras)Illicit Drugs |
Author: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Title: Cost and Financing of Drug Treatment Services in Europe: An Exploratory Study Summary: Recent estimates suggest that, each year, over 1 million Europeans receive treatment for problems related to the use of illicit drugs (EMCDDA, 2010). Of these, more than half receive opioid substitution treatment for problems related to opioid drugs, primarily heroin. The current levels of provision of drug treatment services in the European Union are the result of an expansion of services that has taken place during the last two decades. For much of that time, services expanded against a background of a growing drug problem, and one in which economic conditions were largely favourable. Now, however, in an era of cuts in government expenditure, managing the costs of treatment and ensuring the highest quality and best outcomes for the lowest possible cost are priorities. While measuring and improving drug treatment outcomes have been relatively high on the research agenda in recent years, the cost of treatment has received far less research attention. Addressing this information gap is likely to have a number of benefits for both decision-makers and treatment providers. On the one hand, service providers need accurate information on the costs of service provision in order to plan the allocation of resources. On the other, decision-makers and funders can use such information as a means of cost control, for example, by comparing costs of similar services or those of alternative providers of similar services. Finally, as a part of a fuller economic analysis, information on service costs is needed to determine the cost-effectiveness of interventions and treatment programmes. The cost of drug treatment in Europe is looked at from two main angles in this Selected issue. First, it presents an overview of the main sources of drug treatment funding and the financing mechanisms that are employed in European countries. The available data are presented on who is paying for drug treatment, how funding is organised, and how funding is distributed among different treatment modalities. This is followed by an analysis of the unit costs of different types of drug treatment. Costs related to opioid substitution treatment including the costs of substitution medication for a number of European countries are presented here. This publication keeps a tight focus on the cost of drug treatment and does not attempt to undertake a broader economic analysis of the healthcare and social costs relating to illicit drugs. Exploring the cost and financing of drug treatment services in Europe This Selected issue represents a first attempt to provide a European overview of drug treatment costs, and individual countries are brought into focus to illustrate specific aspects of the analysis. This subject is both topical and methodologically challenging. The varying availability of information as well as the complexity of funding arrangements mean that, at best, only very incomplete estimates can be made of the costs of (or expenditure on) drug treatment in Europe. Details: Luxembourg: Publications Offi ce of the European Union, 2011. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Selected Issue 2011: Accessed September 27, 2012 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_143682_EN_TDSI11001ENC.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_143682_EN_TDSI11001ENC.pdf Shelf Number: 126480 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction (Europe)Drug Abuse TreatmentIllicit Drugs |
Author: Ataiants, Janna Title: Policing People Who Inject Drugs: Evidence from Eurasia Summary: The purpose of this briefing paper is to review up-to-date evidence on the 2 Policy and Advocacy Programme Officer, Eurasian Harm Reduction Network 3 Drug Policy Coordinator, Eurasian Harm Reduction Network 1 Consultant, Eurasian Harm Reduction NetworkConsultant, Eurasian Harm Reduction Network 2 institutionalisation of police violence toward people who use drugs across the region and the implications of these practices for public health and society. The review relies on data collected from several Eurasian countries and depicts instances of police abuse against people who use drugs as systematic practices widespread across the region. The paper concludes that the quantity and quality of interactions with the police profoundly shape the behaviour of people who use drugs and result in poor public health outcomes. Details: London: International Drug Policy Consortium, 2012. 15p. Source: IDPC Briefing Paper: Internet Resource: Accessed October 1, 2012 at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/64663568/library/IDPC-briefing-paper_Policing-people-who-inject-drugs-evidence-from-Eurasia.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/64663568/library/IDPC-briefing-paper_Policing-people-who-inject-drugs-evidence-from-Eurasia.pdf Shelf Number: 126539 Keywords: Drug Use and Abuse, InjectionIllicit DrugsPolice Behavior, ViolencePolicing |
Author: Williams, Jeremy L. Title: Meth: Resurgence in the South: A Regional Resource Summary: Methamphetamine, or meth, is a highly addictive, synthetically produced, central nervous system stimulant that, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), is the most common synthetic drug manufactured in the United States. The recent, rapid growth of methamphetamine users in the United States largely is due to the ability to produce it using conventional, easily accessible chemicals and supplies. While other major illegal drugs, such as cocaine or heroin, are imported from South American or Asian countries, most methamphetamine consumed in the United States is produced locally with a recipe downloaded from the Internet and readily available products like pseudoephedrine and ephedrine (found in decongestants and other cold medications), iodine, rock salt, battery acid, anhydrous ammonia and some basic kitchen items like plastic bags, glass cookware, funnels and soda bottles. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, approximately 10 million people 12 years and older have abused methamphetamine in their lifetimes and, in 2005, about 500,000 people were current users. Other than marijuana, it is perhaps the first major drug to have vast quantities produced in rural regions of the country. This is attributable to the fact that meth production requires discrete locations, such as abandoned farms, fields, vehicles, barns and old hotel rooms. The Southern Legislative Conference (SLC) has been tracking the issue of crystal methamphetamine production, distribution and use for almost a decade. In 2001, the SLC published a report, Methamphetamine Production and Abuse in Southern States, which examined the rise in popularity of the drug from the early to mid 1980s and assessed its impacts on Southern states. It concluded that “methamphetamine has taken hold across the South and Midwest. It has become a particularly pernicious and perplexing problem in states such as Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, but policymakers are confronted with a potential increase in the production and use of methamphetamine across the South.” These concerns were not unfounded. Meth has become one of the most dangerous illegal substances in Southern states, and almost every SLC state is seeing annual increases in meth laboratory seizures. According to the DEA, meth labs are, by far, the most common clandestine laboratories in the United States. Details: Atlanta, GA: Southern OFfice of the Council of State Government, 2010. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 1, 2013 at: http://knowledgecenter.csg.org/drupal/system/files/MethResurgence.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://knowledgecenter.csg.org/drupal/system/files/MethResurgence.pdf Shelf Number: 127751 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionIllicit DrugsMethamphetamines (U.S.) |
Author: U.S. Department of Justice. National Drug Intelligence Center Title: Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program. Drug Market Analysis 2011 Summary: The overall drug threat to the Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands (PR/USVI) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) has remained relatively consistent over the past year. Drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) transport multikilogram quantities of cocaine and South American (SA) heroin through the PR/USVI HIDTA region en route to drug markets in the continental United States (CONUS). While most of the cocaine and heroin arriving in the region is further transported to the CONUS for distribution, a portion remains in the HIDTA region for local distribution and consumption. As a result, cocaine trafficking and heroin abuse are the principal drug threats to the PR/USVI HIDTA region. In addition, cannabis cultivation and the subsequent distribution and abuse of marijuana pose serious threats to the region. Murders and incidents of violence linked to cocaine trafficking have increased in Puerto Rico over the past year, resulting in widespread fear among the general population because of the often indiscriminate nature of the violence. Key issues identified in the PR/USVI HIDTA region include the following: • Colombian and Venezuelan DTOs have shifted some of their cocaine air transportation routes from the Dominican Republic to the eastern Caribbean in the vicinity of the British Virgin Islands and the USVI.1 • Cocaine continues to pose the greatest drug threat to the region because of the continued high level of trafficking in the PR/USVI HIDTA region. • The number of murders and other violent incidents linked to cocaine trafficking increased in Puerto Rico during the past year. • Heroin abuse is prevalent in Puerto Rico, with high rates of bacterial and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections occurring among heroin abusers, who typically inject the drug. • The PR/USVI HIDTA region is a major bulk cash movement center for drug traffickers operating in the region and the CONUS. Details: Johnstown, PA: National Drug Intelligence Center, 2011. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 5, 2013 at: http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/dmas/PR-VI_DMA-2011(U).pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/dmas/PR-VI_DMA-2011(U).pdf Shelf Number: 127827 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug Trafficking (Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands)Drug-Related ViolenceIllicit DrugsOrganized Crime |
Author: Armenta, Amira Title: The Illicit Drugs Market in the Colombian Agrarian Context: Why the issue of illicit cultivation is highly relevant to the peace process Summary: The repeated appearance of coca producing zones is related to the unequal distribution of wealth in Colombia, and to the dynamic of land concentration which continues expelling peasants who migrate to new settlement areas. Colombia must re-examine and fix the existing relationship between policies of force and alternative development programmes, and should decide whether eradication is still a valid prior condition for alternative development. Institutional mechanisms of participation should be created for communities and integrated with local and regional development processes. Colombia needs to establish limits to its agricultural frontier. The cost-benefits of alternative development investment in remote areas are poor, because infrastructure is bad and services are basic. Consequently, it would be advisable to discourage settlement in those areas, which usually have fragile ecosystems suitable for preservation. The Land Restitution Law makes restitution claims difficult for poor displaced families. A genuine and fair restitution policy would constitute one important step in consolidating a future peace. Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2013. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Drug Policy Briefing Nr. 40: Accessed March 8, 2013 at: http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/brief40_0.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/brief40_0.pdf Shelf Number: 127904 Keywords: Drug Law EnforcementDrug MarketsDrug PolicyDrug Use and Abuse (Colombia)Illicit Drugs |
Author: Dun, Mirella van Title: Between Reality and Abstraction: Guiding Principles and Developing Alternatives for Illicit Crop Producing Regions in Peru Summary: At the International Conference on Alternative Development (ICAD), held 15-16 November 2012 in Lima, the Peruvian Government continued to insist on the relevance of “Alternative Development (AD),” with particular emphasis on the socalled San Martín “miracle” or “model.” The model, started with the support of international cooperation, is proposed by Peru as a paradigm to be followed worldwide by regions and countries that also deal with problems associated with crops grown for illicit purposes. The goal of the ICAD conference in Lima was to reach a consensus on 'Guiding Principles', based on a draft prepared at the first ICAD meeting in Thailand in November 2011. The principles should facilitate the implementation of effective Alternative Development programs, assessed in two ways: economic development of regions where illicit crops are grown, and the reduction of these crops. The document will be presented for approval at the fifty-sixth session of the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) to be held in March 2013. It is seen as the culmination of a long process that can be traced back to the debate that began at the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on Drugs in 1998. The supposed world consensus on principles to guide Alternative Development projects appear to be far removed from the reality of the Upper Huallaga Valley, the very zone were Peru's supposedly exemplary model for Alternative Development is being implemented. This briefing exposes the breach between rhetoric and reality by examining the impact of AD projects in Peru, focussing on its impact on peasant families. Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2013. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Drug Policy Briefing Nr . 39: Accessed March 12, 2013 at: http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/brief39_0.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Peru URL: http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/brief39_0.pdf Shelf Number: 127915 Keywords: CocaineDrug Policy ReformIllicit DrugsNarcotics (Peru) |
Author: Organization of American States Title: The Drug Problem in the Americas: Studies. The Economics of Drug Trafficking Summary: Summary and Findings: While estimating the size of global and hemispheric drug markets presents tremendous challenges, evidence suggests that some two thirds of total revenues are earned at the final, retail level in consuming countries. Wholesalers and traffickers through transit countries account for another 20-25 percent of revenues, while just under 1 percent of total retail sales finds its way to drug cultivators in the Andes. In terms of the size of overall drug markets, the most recent UN estimates place total retail sales of illicit drugs at some $320 billion or 0.9 percent of GDP. Other estimates are lower. The UN estimates annual drug revenues in the Americas at $150 billion or just under half the global total, though other estimates are lower. North America currently occupies a dominant share of the hemispheric total, reflecting higher prices as well as higher drug prevalence, though this could change in future years. Cocaine estimates enjoy better consensus, with U.S. sales accounting for some $34 billion out of a global retail cocaine market of about $85 billion. Cocaine estimates for the rest of the hemisphere are a small fraction of this figure, but this could change when revised Brazilian data become available. Estimates of marijuana and methamphetamine revenues suffer particularly high rates of uncertainty. Details: Washington, DC: OAS, 2013. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 25, 2013 at: http://www.cicad.oas.org/main/policy/informeDrogas2013/laEconomicaNarcotrafico_ENG.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.cicad.oas.org/main/policy/informeDrogas2013/laEconomicaNarcotrafico_ENG.pdf Shelf Number: 128797 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug TraffickingEconomics of CrimeIllicit DrugsMoney Laundering |
Author: Fishstein, Paul Title: A Little Bit Poppy-free and a Little Bit Eradicated: Opium poppy cultivation in Balkh and Badakhshan Provinces in 2011-2012 Summary: While Balkh and Badakhshan have very different geographical, social, political, and historical contexts, it is hard to identify any factors which could significantly reduce cultivation of opium poppy in either province in the foreseeable future. In Balkh, some of the coercive approaches which have reduced opium poppy cultivation are not sustainable in the longer-term, especially where they go against the economic conditions prevailing in the rural economy. In Badakhshan, a half-hearted coercion has produced uneven results. In the context of the 2014 security transition, it is an open question as to whether the Afghan government and its international partners, preoccupied with other issues (e.g., security, presidential elections), will have the motivation and the means to maintain unpopular coercive approaches, especially where they require the application of consistent pressure on local officials and communities which may have different agendas. Household-level field research done during May 2012 in farming communities in two districts in Balkh (Chimtal, Char Bolak) and Badakhshan (Jurm, Khash) which had a history of opium poppy cultivation, revealed very different dynamics within the opium economy. In Balkh, analysis confirmed the role of state presence and coercion in suppressing opium poppy cultivation as well as the correlation of cultivation with insecurity, with poppy concentrated in areas inaccessible to the government. Balkh has retained its “poppy-free” status, first obtained in 2007, while also raising questions about metrics, as little independent or verifiable information is available on the insecure areas in which poppy is grown. It is also possible that in Balkh causality runs in both directions, and that at least some of the insecurity in areas in which opium poppy is found is the result of stresses and grievances connected with the suppression of cultivation. Deployment of local police(who have informally come to be called arbaki) was credited with improving security and helping to maintain the suppression of cultivation; the population is not confident that this security effect will endure, however, and they have raised concerns about the role that the “arbaki” may play, including allegations of involvement in poppy cultivation. In Badakhshan, analysis connected the decision of households to cultivate poppy with their efforts to resolve financial stress (including debt and asset sales) brought on by the long and harsh winter of 2011-12, and, based on the previous year’s experience, the lack of a credible threat of eradication. Among surveyed households, the number who reported growing poppy doubled from the previous year and the area devoted to poppy increased from four to ten percent of total area sown. Unlike in Balkh, where there has been one dominant leader who has been both motivated and capable of suppressing cultivation in most areas of the province, in Badakhshan power has been more contested and fragmented among local commanders and power holders, who have shown little interest in reducing cultivation, trafficking, and other illicit activities. During 2012, Badakhshan was estimated to have had a 13 percent increase in cultivated area, which moved the province into being a “moderate” rather than “low” producer of opium poppy. Also, unlike Balkh where cultivation is largely limited to two districts, cultivation is widely dispersed across the province’s 26 districts. Given Badakhshan’s mountainous geography and highly contested space, the reporting (post-fieldwork) of apparently much more extensive eradication raises the question of whether the authorities are attempting to impose their will in a more aggressive way than previously and, if so, what the reaction of communities and local power holders will be. While farming conditions in the spring of 2012 were much more promising than the previous year, analysis confirmed the importance of off-farm income in household livelihoods. Labour opportunities and wages in Balkh, especially Mazar-e Sharif (the provincial centre of Balkh), were much more plentiful than during the previous drought year. Meanwhile, in Badakhshan labourers were struggling to find work due to the delay in the start of the construction season. In both provinces, farming households, labourers, and shopkeepers spoke longingly of the “good old days” when the economy was thriving due to opium production and trade. While Badakhshan continues to be considered a drug transit route, this activity does not generate the same widespread incomes as did the extensive cultivation of the mid-2000s. The vast majority of surveyed households in Badakhshan were calculated to be existing on US$2 per person per day, with only about one-quarter meeting their grain requirements from their own production. With the political and security situation now on an unknown trajectory, reductions in cultivation may be more difficult to achieve or maintain, especially in an unstable or contested environment. The enormous pressure on power holders and aspirants, already understood to be preparing for post-2014 instability, to conclude local deals in order to control an area or resources will reduce incentives to adhere to national policies where such policies run up against local interests. In Balkh, which has served as a successful model not just of elimination of opium poppy but also economic development under a strong provincial administration, the shifting of emphasis from Kabul and from the international community may reduce the sorts of political incentives that have until now made it worth imposing unpopular policies. The anticipated contraction in the national economy due to the withdrawal of international spending and reduction in local investor confidence may reduce both household livelihoods opportunities and sources of patronage for power holders. Finally, given the dependence of so many households on off-farm income, pressure to relax the suppression of cultivation may rise in proportion to the anticipated contraction of the economy and the reduction in opportunities for work-related migration in the region. Details: Kabul: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, 2013. 67p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 6, 2013 at: http://www.areu.org.af/Uploads/EditionPdfs/1305E%20Opium%20in%20Balkh%20and%20Badakhshan%20Case%20Study%20May%202013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Afghanistan URL: http://www.areu.org.af/Uploads/EditionPdfs/1305E%20Opium%20in%20Balkh%20and%20Badakhshan%20Case%20Study%20May%202013.pdf Shelf Number: 128976 Keywords: Drug EradicationIllicit DrugsNarcoticsOpiates (Afghanistan)Opium AbuseOpium Poppy Cultivation |
Author: Bryan, Mark Title: Drug-related Crime Summary: We provide a critical discussion of the concept drug-related crime and review methods for estimating its volume, emphasising the importance of an appropriately defined counterfactual. We then construct new estimates for England and Wales in 2003-6, combining data from the Arrestee Survey and Offending Crime and Justice Survey to ensure adequate coverage of prolific offenders/drug users and non-household residents, who are under-represented in household surveys. We find, first, that the volume of drug-induced acquisitive crime linked to heroin use is high, but there is no significant evidence of violent crime linked directly to heroin use. Second, we find no evidence at all of any drug-induced crime committed by people who use cannabis (but not heroin or cocaine). Third, we find evidence that supplying cannabis leads to a small volume of crime. The mechanisms linking cannabis supply to criminal activity merit further investigation. Details: Colchester, UK: Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex, 2013. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: ISER Working Paper Series, No. 2013-08: Accessed July 11, 2013 at: https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/publications/working-papers/iser/2013-08.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/publications/working-papers/iser/2013-08.pdf Shelf Number: 129367 Keywords: Drug Abuse and CrimeDrug OffendersIllicit Drugs |
Author: Jacobi, Liana Title: Marijuana on Main Street: What if? Summary: Illicit drug use is prevalent. While the nature of the market makes it di¢ - cult to determine sales with certainty, estimates are around $150 billion a year in the US. Marijuana is the most common illicit drug used, where the US spends upwards of $7.7 bil- lion per year in law enforcement (Miron, 2005). For the past 30 years there has been a debate regarding marijuana legalization. There are two important avenues through which legalization could impact use: it would make marijuana easier to get, and it would remove the stigma (and cost) associated with illegal behavior. Studies to date have not considered either of these avenues explicitly. However, both are important for policy. We develop and estimate a model of marijuana use that disentangles the impact of limited accessibility from consumption decisions based solely on preferences (and distaste for illegal behavior). We nd that both play an important role and that individuals who have access to the illicit market are of speci c demographics. We nd that selection into who has access to cannabis is not random, and the results suggest estimates of the demand curve will be biased un- less selection is explicitly considered. Counterfactual results indicate that making marijuana legal and removing accessibility barriers would have a smaller relative impact on younger individuals but still a large impact in magnitude. Use among teenagers would (a little less than) double and use among individuals in their thirties and forties would almost triple. Details: Unpublished paper, 2013. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 17, 2013 at: https://economics.adelaide.edu.au/research/seminars/2013-cannabis.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: https://economics.adelaide.edu.au/research/seminars/2013-cannabis.pdf Shelf Number: 129419 Keywords: Drug LegalizationDrug MarketsDrug PolicyIllicit DrugsMarijuana |
Author: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Title: Drug Squads: Units Specialised in Drug Law Enforcement in Europe Summary: Drug law enforcement is likely to be the intervention that contributes the most to reducing the supply of drugs in Europe. Important statistical datasets on drug seizures and drug law offences are the result of drug law enforcement activity, yet little is known about how drug law enforcement is organised in Europe. Based on a survey of specialised units, or drug squads, in 26 countries, this report provides for the first time essential facts about drug law enforcement 1 000 drug squads operating in Europe and their in Europe. Data on the number of staff, institutional affiliations, mandates and functions of the more than approximately 17 000 officers are presented and put into perspective, and knowledge gaps are identified. This report thus provides an evidence base against which to monitor future changes, while offering insights that will help in the contextualisation of essential datasets. Thus, it will be of interest to policymakers, but also to the scientific community, the public at large and those working in law enforcement in Europe and beyond. Details: Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2013. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: EMCDDA Papers: Accessed March 13, 2014 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_220668_EN_TDAU13005ENN.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_220668_EN_TDAU13005ENN.pdf Shelf Number: 131903 Keywords: Drug Control Drug Enforcement Drug Markets Illicit DrugsLaw Enforcement |
Author: Van Buskirk, J. Title: Drugs and the Internet Summary: To date the availability of illicit drugs in Australia has largely been examined through interviews with people who use drugs (e.g. the Ecstasy and related Drugs Reporting System, EDRS); indicators such as drug seizures and arrests; and analyses of hospital admissions and drug-related deaths. Over the past decade there has been an increasing awareness and interest in online marketplaces as a source for discussion about and purchase of drugs (Walsh, 2011). There are now many internet sites selling substances such as prescription opioids, substances marketed as legal highs (e.g. herbal smoking blends) and substances that have been listed as controlled drugs (e.g. emerging psychoactive substance EPS such as mephedrone and synthetic cannabinoids). EPS is a general term used to refer to substances that have similar subjective effects to existing illicit psychoactive substances, and many of these are now listed as controlled drugs (i.e. they are now illicit) in Australia. The advent of the Silk Road in 2011, as an online marketplace, has broadened out the availability of EPS and other more conventional illicit substances (such as cannabis and MDMA). This bulletin is the first in a new Drug Trends series that provides analysis of trends over time in the availability and type of substances sold via the internet to Australia. The current bulletin reports for the time period September 2012 to February 2013. Key findings The number of retailers on the Silk Road increased (from 282 at time 1 to 374 at the last time point), while the number of retailers on the surface web remained relatively stable (92 at time 1 and 101 at the last time point). The increase on the Silk Road is largely driven by international rather than domestic retailers. On the Silk Road, cannabis and EPS were sold by the largest number of retailers consistently across all time points, followed by MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-Nmethylamphetamine) and pharmaceuticals (primarily benzodiazepines and sildenafil). The type of EPS available from surface web retailers differed substantially from the EPS available from those selling on the Silk Road. EPS sold on the Silk Road more closely mirrored those most commonly used by EDRS participants (i.e. people who regularly use psychostimulants) including drugs from the 2C-x and NBOMe categories, followed by DMT (dimethyltryptamine), Mephedrone and Methylone. Average prices of methamphetamine, cocaine and ecstasy being sold on the Silk Road remained stable across the time period. Average domestic prices for common quantities of these substances were comparable to prices paid for these same quantities by 2012 EDRS participants. Average international prices for these substances were substantially lower. Details: Sydney: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, 2013. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: Issue 1: Accessed March 21, 2014 at: http://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/ndarc/resources/DrugsTheInternet_Newsletter%20FINAL%20with%20ISSN.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Australia URL: http://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/ndarc/resources/DrugsTheInternet_Newsletter%20FINAL%20with%20ISSN.pdf Shelf Number: 104854 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionIllicit DrugsInternetOnline CommunicationsOnline Transactions |
Author: Cussen, Tracy Title: Policing Alcohol and Illicit Drug Use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Matropolitan Environments Summary: Policing affords many opportunities for individual officers and police services to improve outcomes for community members and reduce the burden of substance misuse on the community. Key points highlighted concerning metropolitan areas include: ◾A broad spectrum of services is available (albeit acknowledged to often be under-resourced), providing police with a range of referral points for and information sources about local area issues. ◾Service providers and other agencies may also be variously accountable for public safety. Police may develop partnerships with these agencies, ensuring that tight resources can be appropriately directed to meet community needs. Service providers can help police to better understand the complex life circumstances of individuals affected by alcohol and other drugs. Benefits of information exchanges can be twofold i.e. improved police confidence in handling complex situations; and increased awareness within the service sector of the range of tasks and behaviours police are expected to perform and manage. Details: Canberra: National Drug Enforcement Research Fund (NDLERF), 2014. 120p. Source: Internet Resource: Monograph Series No. 48: Accessed March 28, 2014 at: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/monographs/monograph48.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/monographs/monograph48.pdf Shelf Number: 132015 Keywords: Alcohol Law EnforcementAlcohol Related Crime, DisorderAlcoholismDrunk and DisorderlyIllicit Drugs |
Author: Khalifa, Najat Title: Harm Reduction: Evidence, Impacts and Challenges Summary: Harm reduction is now positioned as part of the mainstream policy response to drug use in Europe. However, this has not always been the case, and in reflecting on this fact we felt that the time was right to take stock of how we had arrived at this position, ask what it means for both policies and action, and begin to consider how harm reduction is likely to develop in the future. This monograph builds on other titles in the EMCDDA's Scientific monographs series, where we have taken an important and topical subject, assembled some of the best experts in the field, and allowed them to develop their ideas constrained only by the need to demonstrate scientific rigour and sound argument. Our Scientific monographs are intended to be both technically challenging and thought provoking. Unlike our other publications we take more of an editorial 'back seat' and we do not seek consensus or necessarily to produce a balanced view. Good science is best done when unconstrained, and best read with a critical eye. This volume includes a variety of perspectives on harm reduction approaches, together with an analysis of the concept's role within drug policies, both in Europe and beyond. Readers may not necessarily agree with all of the arguments made or the conclusion drawn, but we hope it is perceived as a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate on how to respond to contemporary drug problems in Europe. A number of contributors explore what harm reduction means and what policies it can encompass, as well as charting how the concept evolved. They reflect on the point we have now reached in terms of both harm reduction practice and the evidence base for its effectiveness. A major issue that many contributors touch on is the difficulty of assessing how complex interventions occurring in real world settings can be evaluated, and why conclusive evidence in such settings can be so elusive. With an eye to the future, we also asked our contributors to wrestle with the difficult issue of how harm reduction might be extended into new areas that are of particular relevance to the evolving European drug situation. Here the empirical base for grounding discussions is far less developed, and a more exploratory approach is necessary. Details: Lisbon: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 2010. 469p. Source: Internet Resource: EMCDDA Monographs 10: Accessed March 28, 2014 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_101257_EN_EMCDDA-monograph10-harm%20reduction_final.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_101257_EN_EMCDDA-monograph10-harm%20reduction_final.pdf Shelf Number: 132020 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Abuse PolicyDrug Abuse TreatmentDrug PolicyIllicit Drugs |
Author: LSE Expert Group on the Economics of Drug Policy Title: Ending the Drug Wars Summary: A major rethink of international drug policies is under way. The failure of the UN to achieve its goal of 'a drug free world' and the continuation of enormous collateral damage from excessively militarised and enforcement-led drug policies, has led to growing calls for an end to the 'war on drugs'. For decades the UN-centred drug control system has sought to enforce a uniform set of prohibitionist oriented policies often at the expense of other, arguably more effective policies that incorporate broad frameworks of public health and illicit market management. Now the consensus that underpinned this system is breaking apart and there is a new trajectory towards accepting global policy pluralism and that different policies will work for different countries and regions. The question, however, remains, how do states work together to improve global drug policies? This report highlights two approaches. First, drastically reallocating resources away from counterproductive and damaging policies towards proven public health policies. Second, pursuing rigorously monitored policy and regulatory experimentation. Details: London: LSE (London School of Economics) Expert Group on the Economics of Drug Policy, 2014. 84p. Source: Internet Resource: http://www.lse.ac.uk/IDEAS/publications/reports/pdf/EndingDrugWarsFINAL.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.lse.ac.uk/IDEAS/publications/reports/pdf/EndingDrugWarsFINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 132283 Keywords: Drug ControlDrug PolicyIllicit DrugsWar on Drugs |
Author: Meyer, Maureen Title: At a Crossroads: Drug Trafficking, Violence and the Mexican State Summary: 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. It is argued that government responses that are dominated by law enforcement and militarization do little to address the issue in the long term and draw attention away from the fundamental reforms to the police and justice systems that are needed to combat public security problems in the country. The brief also argues that the most effective way to address drug trafficking and its related problem is through increased efforts to curb the demand for illicit drugs in the United States and Mexico. Details: Washington, DC: Washington Office on Latin America/Beckley Foundation, 2007. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Briefing Paper 13: http://www.beckleyfoundation.org/pdf/BriefingPaper13.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.beckleyfoundation.org/pdf/BriefingPaper13.pdf Shelf Number: 147749 Keywords: Drug PolicyDrug TraffickingDrug-Related ViolenceIllicit Drugs |
Author: Subramanian, Ram Title: Drug War Detente? A Review of State-level Drug Law Reform, 2009-2013 Summary: From 2009 through 2013, more than 30 states passed nearly 50 bills changing how their criminal justice systems define and enforce drug offenses. In reviewing this legislative activity, the Vera Institute of Justice's Center on Sentencing and Corrections found that most efforts have focused on making change in one or a combination of the following five areas: mandatory penalties, drug sentencing schemes, early release mechanisms, community-based sanctions, and collateral consequences. By providing concise summaries of representative legislation in each area, this review aims to be a practical guide for policymakers in other states and the federal government looking to enact similar reforms. Details: New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2014. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 12, 2014 at: http://www.vera.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/state-drug-law-reform-review-2009-2013.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.vera.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/state-drug-law-reform-review-2009-2013.pdf Shelf Number: 132328 Keywords: Drug Control Drug OffendersDrug Policy Drug ReformIllicit DrugsSentencing War on Drugs |
Author: Mbete, Bibi Title: HIV, Harm Reduction and Drug Policy in Kenya Summary: Kenya - like most countries - has a long tradition of punitive drug policy responses that seek to eradicate drug use and trade. This is in keeping with the prohibitionist approach that has been dominant across the world for more than 100 years, despite overwhelming evidence that this approach contributes to high levels of HIV transmission among people who inject drugs, as well as many other harms. In recent years, civil society organisations in Kenya have started to adopt programmes and practices that focus more on public health and human rights - supported mainly with funding from international donors and technical assistance from international non-governmental organisations. As part of this effort, the Kenyan Ministry of Health has recently introduced guidelines and strategies for targeted and evidence-based harm reduction interventions for people who use drugs (see Box 1), as part of its HIV response. This briefing paper aims to review the recent developments in the response to HIV and illicit drug use in Kenya, and highlights some key recommendations to address the remaining challenges and issues. Details: London: International Drug Policy Consortium, 2013. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: IDPC Briefing Paper: Accessed May 12, 2014 at: http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64663568/library/IDPC-briefing-paper_drug-policy-harm-reduction-Kenya.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Kenya URL: http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64663568/library/IDPC-briefing-paper_drug-policy-harm-reduction-Kenya.pdf Shelf Number: 132329 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Policy (Kenya)Drug ReformHIV (Viruses)Illicit Drugs |
Author: Feilding, Amanda Title: Illicit Drugs Markets and Dimensions of Violence in Guatemala Summary: At this civil society meeting, Amanda Feilding presented the Beckley Foundation's latest report on the impact of the illegal drug trade in Guatemala. Titled 'Illicit Drug Markets and Dimensions of Violence in Guatemala', the report looks at socio-economic indicators while exploring Guatemala's illicit drugs market. It makes evidence-informed policy recommendations based on the Beckley Foundation Latin American Chapter's original research. The Beckley Foundation Latin American Chapter outlined reform and public engagement tactics that we hope will lead to public-health minded alternative approaches to the War on Drugs. Details: Oxford, UK: Beckley Foundation, 2013. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 14, 2014 at: http://www.beckleyfoundation.org/Illicit-Drug-Markets.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Guatemala URL: http://www.beckleyfoundation.org/Illicit-Drug-Markets.pdf Shelf Number: 132343 Keywords: Drug Markets (Guatemala)Drug OffendersDrug PolicyDrug-Related ViolenceIllegal TradeIllicit DrugsWar on Drugs |
Author: Kramer, Tom Title: Bouncing Back: Relapse in the Golden Triangle Summary: The illicit drug market in the Golden Triangle - Burma, Thailand and Laos - and in neighbouring India and China has undergone profound changes. This report documents those changes in great detail, based on information gathered on the ground in difficult circumstances by a group of dedicated local researchers. After a decade of decline, opium cultivation has doubled again and there has also been a rise in the production and consumption of ATS - especially methamphetamines. Drug control agencies are under constant pressure to apply policies based on the unachievable goal to make the region drug free by 2015. This report argues for drug policy changes towards a focus on health, development, peace building and human rights. Reforms to decriminalise the most vulnerable people involved could make the region's drug policies far more sustainable and cost-effective. Such measures should include abandoning disproportionate criminal sanctions, rescheduling mild substances, prioritising access to essential medicines, shifting resources from law enforcement to social services, alternative development and harm reduction, and providing evidence-based voluntary treatment services for those who need them. The aspiration of a drug free ASEAN in 2015 is not realistic and the policy goals and resources should be redirected towards a harm reduction strategy for managing - instead of eliminating - the illicit drug market in the least harmful way. In view of all the evidence this report presents about the bouncing back of the opium economy and the expanding ATS market, plus all the negative consequences of the repressive drug control approaches applied so far, making any other choice would be irresponsible. Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2014. 116p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 16, 2014: http://www.tni.org/briefing/bouncing-back Year: 2014 Country: Asia URL: http://www.tni.org/briefing/bouncing-back Shelf Number: 132462 Keywords: Drug Control Drug MarketsDrug PolicyIllicit DrugsOpium |
Author: Youngers, Coletta A. Title: In Search of Rights: Drug Users and Government Responses in Latin America Summary: This report presents the results of the most recent study by the Research Consortium on Drugs and the Law (Colectivo de Estudios Drogas y Derecho, CEDD). The study, entitled "In Search of Rights: Drug Users and State Responses in Latin America" analyzes States-- responses to the consumption of illicitly used drugs, focusing on two key areas; Criminal justice responses and health responses; Vin eight Latin American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay. An international consensus appears to be emerging that drug use is not a criminal matter, but a health issue. Nevertheless, as shown by the country investigations that are part of this study, Latin American government responses to the use of illicit substances remain predominantly punitive and handled through the criminal justice system; it is through judicial, rather than healthcare, institutions that states address the illicit use of drugs and drug users. Even in countries in which drug use is not a crime, persistent criminalization of drug users is found. Treating drug use (and users) as a criminal matter is problematic for several reasons. First, as an earlier study by CEDD shows, responses that criminalize drug users are often ultimately more hazardous for the users; health than the drug use itself and do not help decrease levels of use (either problem or non-problem use).2 Second, as this report shows, the criminal justice response contributes to a climate of stigmatization of and discrimination against users, reducing the likelihood that police and the judicial system will take an impartial attitude toward them. Third, the criminalization of drug users is a poor use of public resources in both the public security and health sectors. Finally, this approach to drug use; through criminal justice institutions; violates various fundamental rights of users, including the rights to health, information, personal autonomy and self-determination. All of this violates various national and international human rights norms that States are obligated to uphold. The following is a summary of the studies; key findings: - Most public policies related to drug use in the countries studied take a punitive and prohibitionist approach that does not distinguish among different types of use and/or among substances or users; they are therefore inadequate for addressing the harm caused by problem drug use. - In all of the countries studied, there is strong discrimination against and stigmatization of drug users. Even in countries where use of those substances is not criminalized, we found that consumers are often treated as criminals. This leaves users outside the reach of health systems. - In all the countries studied, we found that drug users are criminally prosecuted. In Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico and Bolivia, drug use is not a crime. Nevertheless, according to the study in Argentina, in a sample from 2011, nearly 75 percent of the cases involving drug law violations that were initiated by security forces in the Federal Criminal Court in the city of Buenos Aires were for possession of drugs for personal use. In Ecuador, 5,103 people are presently incarcerated for possession of narcotic or psychotropic substances, of a total of 6,467 convicted on drug-related charges. In Mexico, 140,860 people nationwide were arrested for drug use between 2009 and May 2013, and investigations were opened in 53,769 cases in the federal system during that period. In Bolivia, 6,316 people were arrested for drug possession (mainly cannabis) between 2005 and 2011, although possession is not classified as a crime. - The criminal justice response puts drug users in a vulnerable position before the authorities, exposing them to corruption, extortion, physical abuse, sexual abuse, arbitrary detention and other violations of their fundamental rights. - Largely because of the stigmatization of drug use, users suffer constant violations of their fundamental rights, including the rights to health, self-determination and free personal development, the right not to suffer discrimination, and the right to information and due process. - The governments studied emphasize controlling the supply of illicitly used drugs over addressing drug use, or demand, which has a negative impact on the ability to provide adequate social and public-health responses to drug use and contributes to the violation of present and future users; rights to health. - There is a marked paucity of information about consumption and a lack of systematization of that information and, in some cases there are methodological and conceptual problems in the gathering of information about drug use. That often leads to an exaggeration of the problem of consumption of illicitly used drugs and hinders the formulation and development of informed policies based on empirical information. - By emphasizing a criminal justice approach over a health-related approach, governments have abdicated their responsibility to users who need treatment, leaving the private sector as the main provider of treatment and rehabilitation services. We found that States often do not regulate and/or oversee private centers, many of which operate informally, using treatments that have no scientific basis. Abstinence-based treatment models predominate in both the public and private sectors and there is little emphasis on harm reduction programs, which have proven more effective in mitigating the negative effects of illicit use of drugs. - Throughout the region, drug users; even when their use is not problematic; can be subjected to treatment involuntarily, forcibly or semi-forcibly. This means that scarce public-health resources that could be used for people who do want and need treatment are used for people who neither need nor want it. Given that situation, the proposal of drug courts offers an alternative to incarceration. One concern, however, is that this proposal is seen as a healthcare response, when its components are still of a criminal justice nature and risk reproducing all of the problems within the criminal justice system with regard to drug use. Details: Mexico: Research Consortium on Drugs and the Law (CEDD), 170p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 10, 2014 at: http://drogasyderecho.org/assets/full-report-english.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Latin America URL: http://drogasyderecho.org/assets/full-report-english.pdf Shelf Number: 132637 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction (Latin America)Drug Abuse PolicyDrug Abuse TreatmentDrug EnforcementDrug ReformIllicit DrugsSubstance Abuse Treatment |
Author: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Title: Drug Use, Impaired Driving and Traffic Accidents, Second Edition Summary: This literature review provides a comprehensive report on the relationship between drug use, impaired driving and traffic accidents. It describes methodological issues (Chapter 1), presents the results of prevalence surveys among drivers and provides an overview of findings from major international epidemiological surveys published since 2007 (Chapter 2) and gathers evidence from experimental and field studies of the relationship between drug use, driving impairment and traffic accidents (Chapter 3). The research methods can be broadly separated into experimental and epidemiological studies. Every approach has its inherent advantages and disadvantages. Experimental studies, in which the drug is administered in measured doses to volunteers, may be conducted in a laboratory or a driving simulator or on the public road. They allow the effects of a single factor to be measured, but can identify only potential risks, and in some cases the results can be of limited value because of the use of non-realistic doses for safety reasons or because of the drug use history of the volunteers or inter-individual differences. Epidemiological studies examine the prevalence of drug use in various populations. They include roadside surveys, studies assessing the prevalence of drugs in a subset of drivers, accident risk studies, responsibility analyses, surveys among the general population and pharmacoepidemiological studies. However, the study design means that it is not possible to completely eliminate all risk factors other than that under examination and which may be highly correlated with the risk factor of interest. The results of different studies may not be comparable if, for example, different populations or different kinds of samples are tested. The results of experimental studies have indicated that several illicit drugs could have an influence on driving performance; the effects of some, but not all, drugs are dose dependent. Cannabis can impair some cognitive and psychomotor skills that are necessary to drive. 3,4-Methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA) exerts both negative and positive effects on performance, and studies investigating the effects of a combination of alcohol and illicit drugs have found that some illicit drugs (e.g. cannabis) can act additively with alcohol to increase impairment, while others (e.g. cocaine) can partially reverse alcohol-induced impairment. MDMA can diminish some, but not all, deleterious effects of alcohol, while other negative effects of alcohol can be reinforced. The chronic use of all illicit drugs is associated with some cognitive and/or psychomotor impairment, and can lead to a decrease in driving performance even when the subject is no longer intoxicated. The results of experimental studies also show that some therapeutic drugs can cause obvious impairment. Benzodiazepines, for example, generally have impairing effects, but some types (whether long-, medium- or short-acting) cause severe impairment, whereas others are unlikely to have residual effects in the morning. First-generation antihistamines are generally more sedating than second-generation ones, though there are exceptions in both groups. Tricyclic antidepressants cause more impairment than the newer types, though the results of experimental tests after consumption of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are not always consistent. In every therapeutic class, however, some substances are associated with little or no impairment. These therapeutic drugs should preferably be prescribed to those wishing to drive. Epidemiological studies have confirmed many of the findings from experimental studies. The Driving under the Influence of Drugs, Alcohol and Medicines (DRUID) project has calculated that, on average, 3.48 % of drivers in the European Union drive with alcohol (> 0.1 g/l) in their blood, 1.9 % with illicit drugs, 1.4 % with (a limited list) of medicinal drugs, 0.37 % with a combination of alcohol and drugs and 0.39 % with different drug classes. Studies assessing the prevalence of drugs, medicines and/or alcohol in drivers who were involved in a traffic accident (fatal or otherwise) have found that alcohol is more prevalent than any other psychoactive substance, but drugs are also frequently found, and in a higher proportion of drivers than in the general driving population. Of the drugs analysed, cannabis is the most prevalent after alcohol, although benzodiazepines, when samples have been analysed for these, are sometimes even more prevalent than cannabis. Statistically, the use of amphetamines, cannabis, benzodiazepines, heroin and cocaine is associated with an increased risk of being involved in and/or responsibility for an accident, and in many cases this risk increases when the drug is combined with another psychoactive substance, such as alcohol. From the perspective of traffic safety - especially looking at prevalence rates and risks - the following conclusions can be made. Alcohol, especially in high concentrations, must remain the principal focus of prevention measures. The combination of alcohol and drugs or medicines seems to be a topic that should be addressed more intensively because it is associated with a very high risk of a traffic accident. The problems resulting from medicine use among drivers should be addressed by providing doctors and patients with appropriate information, not by defining thresholds. Based on experimental studies, D9-tetrahydrocannabinol and amphetamines would appear to represent a minor risk, but in case-control studies amphetamines use is associated with a much increased risk of accident. More research is needed to investigate the probable risks of amphetamines in real traffic and the mediating factors. From the perspective of risk, sleep deprivation should also be addressed as it is associated with a high risk of accidents. Details: Lisbon: EMCDDA, 2014. 156p. Source: Internet Resource: Insights, no. 16: Accessed July 16, 2014 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/insights/2014/drugs-and-driving Year: 2014 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/insights/2014/drugs-and-driving Shelf Number: 132694 Keywords: Driving Under the InfluenceDrug OffendersDrugged Driving (Europe)Illicit DrugsTraffic Accidents |
Author: Financial Action Task Force Title: Financial flows linked to the production and trafficking of Afghan opiates Summary: 1. Drug trafficking is a business, but our understanding of this enterprise and response to it remain limited - less than 0.5% of the total laundered funds are seized. 2. In 2011, the annual volume of the global opiate market was estimated at USD 68 billion (with around USD 60 billion from Afghan opiates). However, no widely agreed method or framework currently exists to map "the business model". Although a number of business modelling methodologies appear to have been created by academics, multilateral bodies and private organisations, the survey responses suggest that it remains unclear if these methodologies have been practically incorporated into law enforcement and FIU's intelligence collection plans and disruption strategies. 3. Terrorists profit from and are engaged in opiate trafficking - over half the Afghan Taliban Senior Leadership listed under United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1988 are involved in drug trafficking. 4. The UN Al Qaida and Taliban Monitoring Team assesses that opiate-financing will imminently be the leading source of income for the Afghan Taliban and thus enable a major threat to the national security of Afghanistan and wider regional stability. 5. International opiate traffickers rely on the services of financial professionals, either unwitting or complicit, to manage their assets but no global system exists to alert countries or the private sector of these individuals and entities, or to freeze the assets of opiate traffickers. 6. At most stages in the enterprise, opiates and associated financial flows do not follow the same routes. 7. The Afghan opiate business is believed to be a mixture of both cartels and multiple markets. There appears to be no single or small group of cartels that control the global opiate trade; but some groups control significant portions of the trade along various routes. However, detailed and reliable information regarding this issue remains limited and this can be considered a key information gap. 8. Between 50-90% of all financial transactions in Afghanistan are conducted via money or value transfer services (MVTS). Illicit use of MVTS appears to be a critical capability for opiate trafficking networks, not only in Afghanistan but also internationally. 9. The majority of illicit funds are likely moved through, and possibly stored in, financial centres. As the region's leading financial centre, the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) financial system appears to be particularly vulnerable to abuse by opiate traffickers, regionally and internationally. 10. Cash, commodity-transfer and MVTS appear to be the leading value transfer instruments at the cultivation and manufacture stages of the enterprise; the formal financial system, MVTS and high-value commodities appear to facilitate international distribution of opiates. 11. Apart from cash, new payment methods (including virtual currencies) are used at consumer and international distribution stages of the Afghan opiate enterprise, albeit less than the above methods but may pose significant challenges to regulators, financial intelligence units (FIUs) and law enforcement agencies. 12. Many similarities exist between financing methodologies of different illicit drugs. Opiate-specific and more generic red flag indicators have been identified and collated. 13. This project was conducted in parallel with the Paris Pact (UNODC) Illicit Financial Flows analysis. The ML/TF threats from illicit groups, vulnerabilities in AML/CFT systems and opportunities identified herein are being used for immediate technical assistance delivery within the framework of the UNODC's current activities. Details: Paris: Financial Action Task Force, 2014. 77p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 25, 2014 at: http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/Financial-flows-linked-to-production-and-trafficking-of-afghan-opiates.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/Financial-flows-linked-to-production-and-trafficking-of-afghan-opiates.pdf Shelf Number: 132781 Keywords: Drug MarketsDrug TraffickingFinancial CrimesHeroinIllicit DrugsMoney Laundering |
Author: Gomis, Benoit Title: Illicit Drugs and International Security: Towards UNGASS 2016 Summary: In spite of a decades-long 'war on drugs', the global drug trade persists as a significant problem for international security given its scale, the number of deaths related to trafficking and consumption it creates, and the organized crime and corruption it fuels. The international drug control system has been ineffective in reducing the size of the market and in preventing the emergence of new drugs and drug routes that cause and shift instability around the world. Current drug policies have been counter-productive, often causing more harm than the drugs themselves through capital punishment for offences, widespread incarceration, discrimination in law enforcement, violation of basic human rights in forced 'treatment' centres, and opportunity costs. In the last three years, the drug policy debate has evolved more than in the previous three decades. There remain a number of political obstacles to making recent developments sustainable ahead of the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs in 2016, but these should not be used as excuses for continuing with a failed status quo. Details: London: Chatham House, 2014. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Briefing Paper: Accessed July 31, 2014 at: http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/home/chatham/public_html/sites/default/files/0214Drugs_BP2.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/home/chatham/public_html/sites/default/files/0214Drugs_BP2.pdf Shelf Number: 132853 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug ControlDrug EnforcementDrug PolicyDrug TraffickingIllicit DrugsOrganized CrimeWar on Drugs |
Author: TNS Political and Social Title: Young People and Drugs Summary: Drug use and drug-related problems continue to be a major concern for EU citizens, as well as being a significant public health and public safety issue. Around one quarter of the adult population is estimated to have used illicit drugs at some point in their lifetime, with cannabis the most commonly used substance. Drug experimentation often starts in the school years, and it is estimated that one in four 15-16 year-olds have used an illicit drug. Although progress has been made in recent years, drug overdose remains one of the major causes of avoidable mortality in young citizens. In recent years, the use of 'legal-highs' - currently legal substances that mimic the effect of illicit drugs - has become increasingly popular, and the European Commission is working to strengthen the EU's ability to reduce their availability, as part of an overall drug control framework . This survey builds on the work of previous reports (Special Eurobarometer 172 in 2002, Flash Eurobarometer 158 in 2004, Flash Eurobarometer 233 in 2008, and Flash EB 330 in 2011) in exploring young people's perceptions of and attitudes towards drugs, including: - Self-reported use of cannabis and new substances that imitate the effects of illicit drugs. - Sources of information about drugs, including their effects and the associated risks. - Perceived ease of availability of drugs. ▪ The perceived health risks associated with occasional or regular use of various drugs, including alcohol and tobacco. - The appropriate legal status of a range of currently illegal drugs, as well as alcohol and tobacco. - Opinions about the best ways for authorities to tackle drug problems. Results are analysed at the overall EU28 level and (where sample sizes permit) at country level, and by a range of socio-demographic groups. Where possible, comparisons are made with the results from 2011. Details: Luxembourg: European Commission, 2014. 162p. Source: Internet Resource: Flash Eurobarometer 401: Accessed September 4, 2014 at: http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_401_en.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Europe URL: http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_401_en.pdf Shelf Number: 133173 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction (Europe)Drug OffendersIllicit DrugsSubstance Abuse |
Author: Farabee, David Title: It Came from the North: Estimating the Flow of Methamphetamine and Other Synthetic Drugs From Quebec, Canada Summary: The focus of this study was to estimate the size of synthetic drug production (methamphetamine in particular) in Quebec, Canada, assess its export potential, and explore implications for counter-narcotics policies. Research on drug trafficking in the U.S. has mostly centered on Latin America-particularly Mexico-in recent years due to widely publicized violence. However, there have been well documented cases of drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) in Canada, such as the Hells Angels and Asian gangs, that produce and transport large quantities of cannabis and amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) into the U.S. Official reports from both countries and the United Nations suggest that Canada is becoming a major global supplier of synthetic drugs. But little empirical research has been conducted to verify these claims or to estimate the size of the drug trade. Estimating the production and trafficking of any illicit drugs is a daunting endeavor because conventional sampling or statistical procedures are inadequate. However, without reliable empirical knowledge, policy making becomes problematic. Innovative methods therefore must be used to acquire the information in a systematic, albeit incremental, manner. In this study, we used capture-recapture sampling and multiple data sources to gauge this "hidden market" and its impact on the U.S. drug market. The scientific as well as policy implications of this empirical effort cannot be overstated at a time when there is a resurgence of high-quality synthetic drugs in the U.S. Policy makers and law enforcement agencies are searching for valid empirical measures to marshal resources to mount counter measures. The specific objectives of this study were as follows: 1. What is the scale of production and consumption of ATS in Quebec Canada, based on capture-recapture sampling and analysis of official data? 2. What is the difference between production and consumption, assuming any surplus is intended for export to other North American markets? 3. How are these drugs manufactured in Quebec (using lab records of chemical composition assays of seized drugs to establish the origin of production)? 4. What are the organizational characteristics of those involved in the production and distribution of methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs in Quebec? 5. What threats do these criminal organizations pose to both the U.S. and Canada, and what policy implications can be drawn from our impact estimates? This study capitalized on existing data sources and field research opportunities already established by our Canadian colleagues. We had access to data sources of multiple years, which are necessary for repeated sampling of the target population. The capture-recapture method specified in this proposal has been around for many years but have rarely been applied to organized crime research, particularly impact assessment. Based on our findings, it appears that the same method can be applied to assess the impact of other illicit commodities or enterprising activities because inference to larger populations is possible under theoretical and empirical assumptions. Findings from this joint effort by U.S.- and Canada-based researchers provide much needed empirical guidance to policy makers of federal and local governments of both countries. Details: Final Report to the U.S. National Institute of Justice, 2014. 110p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 13, 2014 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/248134.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Canada URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/248134.pdf Shelf Number: 134076 Keywords: Drug Enforcement PolicyDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingIllicit DrugsMethamphetamine (U.S.; Canada)Organized Crime |
Author: Buxton, Julia Title: The Rise and Challenge of Dark Net Drug Markets Summary: Key Points - Recent years have seen a dramatic growth in the sale of a variety of illicit substances on Dark Net drug markets, with on line sales projected to increase exponentially due to expanding internet availability, evolving technologies and the profusion of social media. - This new form of retail market poses a major challenge to not only law enforcement agencies but also the UN international drug control system and related legal structures within which these agencies operate. - For vendors and purchasers who use the sophisticated, user friendly and increasingly secure Dark Net sites, hidden markets present a safer environment for drug transactions and they reduce the multiple risks (coercion, violence, arrest, exposure to other drugs) associated with 'street' sales. - Research demonstrates that anonymised user forums and online chat rooms encourage and facilitate information sharing about drug purchases and drug effects, representing a novel form of harm reduction for drug users and an entry point for drug support services. - Experience to date shows that enforcement efforts through surveillance, hacking and other forms of interdiction may be successful in closing down a particular site, but at the cost of proliferating hidden drug markets and incentivising technological innovation. - Given an acknowledged lack of technical capacity, legal constraints and poor international enforcement coordination, Dark Net interdiction efforts should prioritise high-end crimes such as child sexual exploitation, cyber terrorism and weapons trafficking, and work with self-regulating, 'ethical' drug sites to enhance understanding of high-level criminality on the Dark Net. - The 2016 UN General Assembly Session (UNGASS) on the World Drug Problem is a timely opportunity to discuss reform of the UN drug control treaty system to better deal with the challenges of the increasingly complex illicit drug market in the twenty-first century. Details: Swansea, UK: Global Drug Policy Observatory, Swansea University, 2015. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Brief 7: Accessed February 12, 2015 at: http://www.swansea.ac.uk/media/The%20Rise%20and%20Challenge%20of%20Dark%20Net%20Drug%20Markets.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://www.swansea.ac.uk/media/The%20Rise%20and%20Challenge%20of%20Dark%20Net%20Drug%20Markets.pdf Shelf Number: 134609 Keywords: Computer CrimesDark NetDrug MarketsIllicit DrugsInternet Crimes |
Author: Caulkins, Jonathan P. Title: Considering Marijuana Legalization: Insights for Vermont and Other Jurisdictions Summary: Marijuana legalization is a controversial and multifaceted issue that is now the subject of serious debate. Since 2012, four U.S. states have passed ballot initiatives to remove prohibition and legalize a for-profit commercial marijuana industry. Voters in Washington, D.C., took the more limited step of passing an initiative to legalize home production and personal possession. In December 2013, Uruguay became the first country to experiment with legalization nationwide. In May 2014, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed a bill into law that required the Secretary of Administration to provide a report about the consequences of legalizing marijuana. This report was produced for the Secretary of Administration in response to that legislation. The report does not make a recommendation about whether Vermont should change its marijuana laws. The goal is to inform, not sway, discussions about the future of marijuana policy in Vermont and other jurisdictions considering alternatives to traditional marijuana prohibition. The principal message of the report is that marijuana policy should not be viewed as a binary choice between prohibition and the for-profit commercial model we see in Colorado and Washington. Legalization encompasses a wide range of possible regimes, distinguished along at least four dimensions: the kinds of organizations that are allowed to provide the drug, the regulations under which those organizations operate, the nature of the products that can be distributed, and price. These choices could have profound consequences for health and social well-being, as well as job creation and government revenue. Details: Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2015. 218p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 16, 2015 at: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR800/RR864/RAND_RR864.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR800/RR864/RAND_RR864.pdf Shelf Number: 134934 Keywords: Drug Legalization Drug Policy Drug Reform Illicit DrugsMarijuana (U.S.) Marijuana Legalization |
Author: Wish, Eric D. Title: Community Drug Early Warning System: The CDEWS Pilot Summary: This report describes a pilot test of the Community Drug Early Warning System (CDEWS) in three jurisdictions in the Washington, DC and Richmond, VA, Metropolitan Areas. CDEWS was designed to provide rapid information about emerging drug use in local communities by sampling urine specimens already obtained and tested for a limited panel of drugs by local criminal justice agencies and retesting them for a larger panel of drugs. The anonymous specimens were sent to an independent laboratory for testing for a panel of more than 30 licit and illicit drugs including 12 synthetic cannabinoid (SC) metabolites. The results demonstrated that CDEWS could be successfully implemented in diverse criminal justice populations, including arrestees, probationers and parolees, and drug court participants. Most important, CDEWS proved its utility for uncovering emerging drugs. SCs were detected in the specimens from all participating sites in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Furthermore, all of the SC positive specimens contained one or two of the metabolites (UR-144 and XLR-11) recently identified and added to the federal schedule of prohibited SC metabolites after this study began. Additional analyses of the CDEWS results identified areas of Washington, DC, where the SC positive specimens were more concentrated and where future studies of its use and availability could be focused. The report concludes with research implications of the findings and next steps for implementing CDEWS in other sites. Details: Washington, DC: Executive Office of the President, 2013. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 16, 2015 at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/finalreport_with_cover_09172013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/finalreport_with_cover_09172013.pdf Shelf Number: 135655 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Control PolicyDrug EnforcementDrug TestingIllicit DrugsUrine Testing |
Author: Zhang, Sheldon X. Title: A People's War: China's Struggle to Contain its Illicit Drug Problem Summary: Key Findings - China faces a growing problem of illicit drug use. Drug addiction is considered personal failure and addicts are highly stigmatized. Drug addiction does not receive much public sympathy or priority in government funding. - The number of officially registered drug addicts totals about 2.5 million, having increased every year since the government's first annual drug enforcement report in 1998. - In recent years, synthetic drugs such as crystal methamphetamine and ketamine, have become more popular than heroin which was previously dominant. - Illegal opium cultivation no longer exist in China because of strong state control of land use and extensive domestic surveillance. - Myanmar is believed to be the single largest supplier of China's drug market. In 2013, 92.2 percent of the heroin and 95.2 percent of methamphetamine seized in China were traced to Myanmar. - Intravenous drug use significantly contributes to the spread of Hepatitis and HIV. - Drug treatment is mostly administered by the criminal justice system through enrollment in compulsory detoxification centers for first-timers and imprisonment in "education-through-labor" camps for repeat offenders. - More humane approaches are emerging. Methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) clinics have been increasing rapidly across the country and needle exchange programs are being used to prevent the spread of HIV. - The cost of delivering treatment is a key factor in developing effective substance abuse treatment. - Penalties for drug distribution and trafficking remain harsh, and include a frequent use of the death penalty. - Using an extensive network of informants, interdiction efforts focus on major drug trafficking organizations. Policy Recommendations - China should accelerate its experiment with the decriminalization of substance abuse and apply a public health approach to the treatment of addicts. - China needs to promote evidence-based treatment programs based on scientific research and rigorous evaluation. - China needs to establish a reliable drug market forecast system, which combines chemical composition analysis, reports and urine tests of arrested drug abusing offenders, and community informants on illicit drug use trends and pricing information. - China should increase the efficiency of its international collaboration and insulate its counter-narcotic programs from global politics Details: Washington, DC: Brookings Institute, 2015. 15p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 8, 2015 at: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Research/Files/Papers/2015/04/global-drug-policy/A-Peoples-War-final.pdf?la=en Year: 2015 Country: China URL: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Research/Files/Papers/2015/04/global-drug-policy/A-Peoples-War-final.pdf?la=en Shelf Number: 135959 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug OffendersDrug PolicyIllicit DrugsOpium |
Author: Australian Crime Commission Title: 2013-14 Illicit Drug Data Report Summary: The Australian Crime Commission's Illicit Drug Data Report, now in its 12th edition, informs Australia's understanding of the illicit drug threat and focuses our collective efforts by bringing together data from a wide range of sources into the one unique report. Serious and organised criminals are at the centre of the Australian illicit drug market. Motivated by greed and power, many of these groups and individuals use the illicit drug market as their primary income stream, profiting from the misery illicit drugs inflict on the nation. Targeting illicit drug importation, production and distribution is a focus of the Australian Crime Commission and its partners. In 2013-14, law enforcement agencies recorded more than 93 000 illicit drug seizures, with a combined weight of 27 tonnes and more than 110 000 arrests. These figures are all the highest on record. While this is testament to the vigilance and achievements of law enforcement in combating the illicit drug trade, it also demonstrates the continued prevalence of drugs in our society and the need for a collective approach. All illicit drug activity is a concern for law enforcement and the wider community. But in my 38 years in law enforcement, I have never seen a substance as destructive as methylamphetamine, particularly crystal methylamphetamine (ice). Methylamphetamine is wreaking havoc in every state and territory. It is ruining lives, families and communities. We are now seeing demand for methylamphetamine in areas where the drug has not previously been a significant issue. This includes urban and rural areas and disadvantaged communities where it is having a destructive impact. Seizures in 2013-14 include a record 10 tonne seizure of benzaldehyde - a chemical used to make methylamphetamine. If not seized, this chemical could have been used to produce up to 4.5 tonnes of methylamphetamine - this equates to an estimated 45 million individual street deals, with an estimated value of $3.6 billion. More than 740 clandestine laboratories were detected this reporting period. Add that to the previous two reporting periods and that's more than 2 300 labs detected. These are dangerous, with many of the chemicals used hazardous and corrosive in nature, posing significant risk to the community and the environment. While the methylamphetamine market is the primary concern, there was also a number of records reported across other drug markets. These include a record number of national amphetamine-type stimulant seizures and arrests, a record number of national cannabis arrests, a record number of national cocaine seizures and arrests, a record number of national steroid seizures and arrests, a record number of national hallucinogen arrests and a record number of national other opioid seizures. The Illicit Drug Data Report 2013-14 provides governments, law enforcement agencies, policy makers, academia, interested stakeholders and the community with a robust statistical picture of the Australian illicit drug market. Details: Canberra: Australian Crime Commission, 2015. 228p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 29, 2015 at: https://crimecommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/IDDR-201314-Complete_0.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: https://crimecommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/IDDR-201314-Complete_0.pdf Shelf Number: 136228 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Abuse and CrimeDrug EnforcementDrug MarketsIllicit DrugsOrganized Crime |
Author: Wish, Eric D. Title: Community Drug Early Warning System: The CDEWS-2 Replication Study Summary: The Community Drug Early Warning System (CDEWS) provides rapid information about emerging drug use in local communities by sampling anonymous urine specimens already collected and tested, and ready to be discarded by local criminal justice programs. CDEWS re- tests the specimens for an expanded panel of more than 75 drugs. The most dramatic finding from the first study, CDEWS-1, completed in September 2013, was the identification of specific synthetic cannabinoids (SC) used by adult arrestee and parole/probation populations in the Washington, DC and Richmond, VA Metropolitan Areas. SC metabolites were actually equally or more likely to be detected in specimens that had passed the local criminal justice system (CJS) drug tests than in those that failed, suggesting that people were using them to avoid detection by the routine CJS testing screens. This second report on CDEWS (CDEWS-2) replicates the CDEWS results for adult parolees/probationers in Washington, DC, and studies new adult and/or juvenile criminal justice populations from Washington, DC (juveniles), Denver, Colorado (drug court adults), and Tampa, Florida (juveniles). A total of 1,026 specimens from these populations were tested as part of the CDEWS-2 study. The CDEWS-2 urinalyses showed dramatic changes from the SC metabolites detected the prior year in CDEWS-1, and shows substantial differences in SC found from site to site. For the CDEWS-2 study, we interviewed toxicologists and other experts to determine the most important drugs, including new psychoactive substances (NPS), to include on our testing panel. This shows the value of interviewing experts in order to update the CDEWS test panel to include newly discovered SC metabolites. A large number of specimens tested positive for the metabolites added during CDEWS-2. About 50% of the 21-30 year old male probationers from DC who had passed the local more limited CJS screen and about 1 in 5 of all tested juveniles in DC at all ages, from 13-17, tested positive for SC. The SC metabolites detected varied by population and site; for example, all SC positive specimens from Tampa juveniles contained only one metabolite, UR-144, but only 71% of the SC positive specimens from DC juveniles and 53% of SC positives from adults in the Denver drug court contained UR-144. In fact, among DC juveniles, 8 SC metabolites were found and among Denver adults 10 SC metabolites were found. Testing for designer stimulants was suspended after all subsamples for the 4 populations tested negative for these drugs. The CDEWS-2 results attest to the value of expanded testing of specimens already collected by local CJS drug testing programs and the difficulties inherent in keeping up with the constantly evolving nature of NPS. The results suggest that many adults and juveniles in local CJS drug testing programs likely turn to SC to avoid detection. It is also likely that programs using similar protocols to test urine specimens in other contexts, such as schools, hospitals and treatment programs are missing SC use in their populations, leading to lost opportunities for diagnosis and intervention. These risks are especially dangerous for youths being exposed to new and constantly changing NPS at an early age. Future CDEWS studies of these populations might help to address these issues. Details: Washington, DC: Office of National Drug Control Policy Executive Office of the President, 2015. 100p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 8, 2015 at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/policy-and-research/finalreport_4_8_15v3.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/policy-and-research/finalreport_4_8_15v3.pdf Shelf Number: 136354 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction Drug Control Policy Drug Enforcement Drug Testing Illicit DrugsUrine Testing |
Author: Coghlan, Sarah Title: Drug use monitoring in Australia: 2013-14 report on drug use among police detainees Summary: Delivered by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program supports the National Drug Strategy through its timely provision of data on changes in alcohol and other drug consumption habits among Australian police detainees and through its monitoring and reporting of fluctuations in the illicit drug market. Since 1999, 51,748 detainees have been interviewed, of whom 37,398 also provided a urine sample that was analysed to identify licit and illicit drug use. The data gathered through DUMA has informed government policy and research, and contributed to the National Drug Strategy aims of improving health, social and economic outcomes by reducing supply, demand and harm. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2015. 132p. Source: Internet Resource: AIC Monitoring Reports 27: Accessed September 5, 2015 at: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/mr/mr27/mr27.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/mr/mr27/mr27.pdf Shelf Number: 136692 Keywords: Alcohol AbuseDrug Abuse and Addiction Drug Abuse and Crime Drug Offenders Illicit DrugsSubstance Abuse |
Author: Lenton, Simon Title: The social supply of cannabis among young people in Australia Summary: Cannabis is the most prolifically used illicit drug in Australia, however, there is a gap in our understanding concerning the social interactions and friendships formed around its supply and use. The authors recruited cannabis users aged between 18 and 30 years throughout Australia, to explore the impact of supply routes on young users and their perceived notions of drug dealing in order to provide valuable insight into the influence that reciprocal relationships have on young peoples access to cannabis. Findings reveal that the supply of cannabis revolves around pre-existing connections and relationships formed through associates known to be able to readily source cannabis. It was found that motivations for proffering cannabis in a shared environment were related more to developing social capital than to generating financial gain. Given this, often those involved in supply do not perceive that they are breaking the law or that they are 'dealers'. This social supply market appears to be built on trust and social interactions and, as such, presents several challenges to law enforcement. It is suggested that there would be benefit in providing targeted education campaigns to combat social supply dealing among young adults. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, December 2015. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 503: Accessed March 2, 2016 at: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi_pdf/tandi503.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi_pdf/tandi503.pdf Shelf Number: 138010 Keywords: CannabisDrug Abuse and AddictionDrug DealingDrug MarketsIllicit DrugsMarijuana |
Author: International Narcotics Control Board Title: Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 2015 Summary: The International Narcotics Control Board is uniquely placed to contribute to current discussions on international trends and emerging threats in drug control. It will contribute the insight and experience it has accumulated over decades of monitoring the implementation of the drug control conventions and identifying achievements, challenges and weaknesses in drug control. INCB will engage in the special session and its preparation by highlighting and clarifying the approaches and principles underlying the international system of drug control and making recommendations based upon the conventions. In its annual reports, published pursuant to the treaties, INCB has been addressing, particularly in the thematic chapters, most of the relevant aspects of the global drug problem and most of the critical points in the ongoing debate on the "right way in drug policy". Equally, the release of the present annual report of the Board for 2015, the annual report on precursors and the supplementary report on the availability of internationally controlled drugs is part of our contribution to the special session and the forthcoming policy discussions. The present report of the Board for 2015 contains a thematic chapter on the health and welfare of mankind and the international drug control system. It shows that concern for health and welfare is at the core of the international drug control system. INCB emphasizes that the system in place, when fully implemented, contributes to protecting the health and welfare of people worldwide and ensures balanced national approaches that take into account local socioeconomic and sociocultural conditions. Even with the reality of the constantly shifting contours of the drug problem, the 1961, 1971 and 1988 conventions have proved their value as the cornerstone of international cooperation in drug policy. The fact that the conventions have been almost universally ratified by States underscores that the desire to counter the world's drug problem is shared globally. States have regularly reaffirmed their commitment to working within the framework of the three international drug control conventions and the political declarations. Assessing the achievements and challenges of the current drug control system, INCB believes that the control of the international licit trade in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors has been an undeniable success, as today no noteworthy diversion of those substances from licit to illicit channels is taking place. On the other hand, the availability and accessibility of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for medical purposes is not at all satisfactory at the global level. Equally, the goal of a noticeable reduction in the illicit demand for and supply of drugs has not been reached. Finally, there are numerous new challenges emerging, such as new psychoactive substances. Details: Vienna: International Narcotics Control Board, 2016. 128p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 8, 2016 at: https://www.incb.org/documents/Publications/AnnualReports/AR2015/English/AR_2015_E.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: https://www.incb.org/documents/Publications/AnnualReports/AR2015/English/AR_2015_E.pdf Shelf Number: 138127 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug ControlDrug PolicyIllicit DrugsNarcotics |
Author: Buhringer, Gerhard Title: Comparative Analysis of Research into Illicit Drugs in the European Union: Full report Summary: The study was commissioned by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Justice, Freedom and Security (Justice-Liberte-Securite; DG JLS) with the following six objectives: (1) To map the key research areas, research disciplines and recent research trends, covering both drug demand and drug supply reduction, taking into account any important interrelations with related thematic areas (i.e. mental health and addiction, licit substance abuse, etc.). (2) To map and analyse the capacity, infrastructure and model of coordination of drug-related research in the member states (MS). An analysis of the participation of the national research communities in EU programmes should also be conducted. (3) To map and analyse the capacity, infrastructure and coordination of illicit drug-related research at European and international level, taking into account the drug-related research activities of the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe and the World Health Organisation as well as the activities of significant private or semi-private research bodies. (4) To briefly describe - for comparative purposes - the drug-related research trends, capacity, infrastructure and model of coordination in the US, Canada and Australia as well as major research collaborations in the drug field with EU partners. (5) To identify strengths and weaknesses in EU drug-related research as well as gaps in the knowledge infrastructure in this field, always bearing in mind that the focus of this study covers both supply and demand of illicit drugs. (6) To assess options for strengthening - if necessary - the drug-related research infrastructure in EU. Details: Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2009.507p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 3, 2016 at: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/anti-drugs/files/drug-research-study-report_en.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Europe URL: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/anti-drugs/files/drug-research-study-report_en.pdf Shelf Number: 138902 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug EnforcementDrugs and CrimeIllegal DrugsIllicit Drugs |
Author: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Title: European Drug Report 2016: Trends and Developments Summary: The Trends and Developments report presents a top-level overview of the drug phenomenon in Europe, covering drug supply, use and public health problems as well as drug policy and responses. Together with the online Statistical Bulletin, Country Overviews and Perspectives on Drugs, it makes up the 2016 European Drug Report package. The health risks of high-potency products, the continued emergence of new substances, and changing patterns of drug use are among the issues highlighted in the European Drug Report 2016: Trends and Developments. The report also examines concern over rises in overdose deaths in some countries and the threats posed by internet drug markets Details: Lisbon: EMCDDA, 2016. 84p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 31, 2016 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/edr/trends-developments/2016 Year: 2016 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/edr/trends-developments/2016 Shelf Number: 139250 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction (Europe) Drug Abuse and Crime Drug Abuse Policy Drug Control Drug Offenders Illicit Drugs |
Author: Rettberg, Angelika Title: Golden Opportunity, or a New Twist on the Resource-Conflict Relationship: Links between the Drug Trade and Illegal Gold Mining in Colombia Summary: Resource wars face greater difficulties to end conflict, as well as greater probabilities of relapse. In part, this is due to the persistence of resource-fueled criminal networks developed under the auspices of armed conflict. In this paper we focus on the Colombian armed conflict, one of the longest-lasting conflicts in the world. Recent evidence suggests that gold mining in Colombia has been permeated by illegal organizations linked to the drug trade, driving armed conflict and criminality. This reveals that attention to drugs alone as a conflict resource in this particular case has overshadowed the degree to which legal resources and economic activities have been permeated by illegal organizations and interests. This paper provides a framework of the gold-drugs relationship, which reveals the existence of resource portfolios, or the parallel participation and exchangeability of resources in the provision of funding for illegal organizations. We argue that, in addition to the impact of each resource on armed conflict and criminality, illegal organizations develop abilities to extract benefits of different resources at once or interchangeably (a resource portfolio), which should be taken into account when analyzing the consequences of war on countries' social and economic institutions. In addition, political or reputational factors have been insufficiently considered in analyzing groups' decisions to engage in or abandon specific economic activities. We show that, along with expectations of revenue, resource portfolios may also respond to political conditions, as illegal organizations accustomed to deriving income from coercive practices such as kidnappings - until recently a widespread phenomenon in Colombia - have caused increasing international and domestic outrage followed by pressure to stop this brutal violation of Human Rights. Based on field research in gold mining Colombian regions - combining more than seventy semi-structured interviews with first-hand observation during field trips - and a careful review of press, non-governmental organizations' and official reports in local, regional and national media, the paper provides a general framework of this complex relationship, paying specific attention to the evolution of the links and interchangeable nature of gold and drugs as conflict resources throughout the production phases of the gold extraction process. At a time when Colombia's ongoing peace process is likely to put an end to the armed confrontation between guerrilla groups and the Colombian state, our paper raises a warning sign for scholars and policymakers to consider the potential transformations of illicit markets and their role in shaping the prospects of durable peace. Details: World Development, 2016. 57p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 29, 2016 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2719686 Year: 2016 Country: Colombia URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2719686 Shelf Number: 139891 Keywords: ColombiaGold MiningIllicit DrugsNatural Resources |
Author: Moyle, Leah Title: An Exploration of how the Social Supply and User-Dealer Supply of Illicit Drugs Differs to Conventional Notions of Drug Dealing and Consideration of the Consequences of this for Sentencing Policy Summary: The concept of 'social supply' has emerged as a term used both in the UK, and internationally, to describe drug distribution that is non-commercially motivated and almost exclusively found between friends and acquaintances. Social suppliers have increasingly been presented as actors who are qualitatively different to drug dealers (proper), in relation to their motivation and their activity. As a result, they have increasingly become identified as a group who should be distinguished as such legally (Police Foundation, 2000; Release, 2009). While social supply behaviours can be identified in wider research literature relating to recreational drug use, there is a relative gap in regard to in-depth accounts of social supply activity, and in regard to a social supply definition. In a similar way, heroin and crack cocaine user-dealers - a group who are also perhaps not best understood as profit motivated suppliers - have received insufficient academic attention, with the majority of research references failing to go beyond typologies that recognise them simply as suppliers who also use. With research indicating that social supply permeates a meaningful section of adolescent and adult drug markets, along with evidence to suggest that drug supply embodies one of limited options for addicted drug users to fund their habit, this thesis explores how far we can understand these behaviours as drug dealing (proper). Using qualitative in-depth interviews and case studies, this interpretivist research design develops existing ideas, as well as highlighting emergent social supply and user-dealing themes. Findings from this research indicate that social supply behaviours are usefully understood through a theoretical application of 'normalisation' (Parker et al., 1998) and 'drift' (Matza, 1964) and are wider in scope than those currently recognised by the literature base. The research findings also indicate the importance of the notion of 'economies of scale' - an incentive for drug users to obtain a larger quantity of substance for a cheaper price. Notions of reciprocity also feature, with group obligation providing a rationale for involvement in social supply. The findings are also suggestive of the idea that user-dealing - understood through the theoretical gaze of Bourdieu's 'Theory of Practice' (1990) - is characterised by limited distribution, minimal profit and explicated as a less harmful option than other crimes undertaken to fund drug dependence. This thesis concludes with the proposal that a conceptual shift towards 'minimally commercial supply' offers a more realistic and inclusive means of conceptualising both social supply and user-dealing activity. Possible ways forward therefore include the implementation of this term as a distinct offence that focuses on intent, thereby presenting a more proportionate approach than current policy responses for these groups allow. Details: Plymouth, UK: Plymouth University, 2013. 314p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed August 30, 2016 at: https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/handle/10026.1/3007 Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/handle/10026.1/3007 Shelf Number: 140080 Keywords: Drug DealingDrug MarketsIllegal DRugsIllicit Drugs |
Author: Hughes, Caitlin Title: Trafficking in Multiple Commodities: Exposing Australia's poly-drug and poly-criminal networks Summary: International law enforcement agencies have increasingly pointed to an apparent rise in poly-drug traffickers: high level drug traffickers who choose to trade in multiple illicit drugs. This project provided the first detailed examination of poly-drug and poly-crime trafficking in Australia. It used three different types of Australian Federal Police data (border seizures, cases and linked-cases) and court sentencing data to estimate the scale of and trends in poly-drug commercial importation at the Australian border from 1999-2012; generate and compare criminal profiles of 20 poly-drug and 20 mono-drug traffickers; and conduct social network analysis of three Australian poly-drug networks. The analysis showed that over the 14 year period, from 1999 to 2012, between 5% and 35% of commercial importations at the Australian border involved poly-drug trafficking. Poly-drug trafficking occurred in almost every year of analysis: and increased only slightly over time. Finally, poly-drug traffickers were associated with more serious and potentially harmful behaviour. For example, compared to mono-drug traffickers, poly-drug traffickers were associated with larger quantities of drug seized, larger networks, longer periods of operation, and greater involvement in other types of serious crime. The project concluded that some fears about poly-drug traffickers may have been overstated particularly about the inherent escalation of this form of trafficking, but that poly-drug traffickers are likely to pose added risks to governments and law enforcement than mono-drug traffickers. Two key implications are that first, poly-drug traffickers warrant increased attention in Australia; and second, regulatory or law enforcement responses aimed at one drug may increase the problems associated with another drug. This demands a new way of thinking about Australian illicit drug markets that can better respond to drug traffickers operating in an inter-connected marketplace. Details: Canberra: National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, 2016. 133p. Source: Internet Resource: Monograph Series No. 62: Accessed September 2, 2016 at: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/monographs/monograph-62.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/monographs/monograph-62.pdf Shelf Number: 140130 Keywords: Criminal NetworksDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingIllicit DrugsOrganized Crime |
Author: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (U.K.) Title: Reducing Opioid-Related Deaths in the UK Summary: This independent report by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs investigates the increase of drug-related deaths in the UK. It looks at: patterns and trends in opioid-related deaths causes and drivers of trends in opioid-related deaths policy and treatment responses to prevent opioid-related deaths Details: London: A, 2016. 62p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 20, 2016 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/576560/A-Drug-Related-Deaths-Report-161212.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/576560/ACMD-Drug-Related-Deaths-Report-161212.pdf Shelf Number: 140543 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction Drug Abuse Treatment Drug-Related Deaths Illicit Drugs |
Author: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Title: Drug supply reduction: an overview of EU policies and measures Summary: The operation of illicit drug markets is dependent on a chain of events with a global span. At each stage of the process, from the production to the trafficking through to the consumption and the derived profits, the health and security of different countries is compromised by organised crime groups. This paper looks at EU policies and responses to the production and trafficking of illicit drugs, set within the global context. It considers the different strategic areas where these challenges are addressed, the EU structures involved, and some of the key measures currently being implemented by the EU and its international partners. Drug supply reduction issues arise in many policy areas, including illicit drug policy, security, organised crime, and maritime and regional cooperation policy. Issues related to drug production and trafficking arise in the work of several institutions, bodies and EU agencies. The operation of smuggling routes challenges the security of the EU in different ways and measures have been adopted to counteract these problems. These include developing intelligence-led policing and improved border management and surveillance as well as legislative tools to target criminal profits. The EU is involved in a range of projects and initiatives around the world designed to reduce the supply of illicit drugs, including capacity-building initiatives targeting smuggling routes and measures to support economic, legislative and monitoring infrastructural development. Details: Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2017. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: EMCDDA Papers: Accessed February 1, 2017: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/3633/TDAU16002ENN_web_file.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/3633/TDAU16002ENN_web_file.pdf Shelf Number: 145072 Keywords: Drug PolicyDrug Supply ReductionDrug TraffickingIllicit Drug MarketsIllicit DrugsOrganized Crime |
Author: European Parliament. Directorate-General for Internal Policies. Policy Department C Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs Title: A Review and Assessment of EU Drug Policy Summary: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The challenges facing Europe in the field of drugs are still significant and have increased in complexity in recent years. In addition to the key issue of mortality and morbidity as a result of opioid use, new and emerging problems are being experienced across the EU. These include the creation of new psychoactive substances and the increasing dynamism of illicit drug markets. This study aims to provide evidence on international and EU approaches to drug policy, including these challenges and focusing on several case study countries. This evidence has been used to identify and develop policy proposals. Drug policy at the UN and EU levels The main tenets of the UN's approach to drugs are the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the 1988 UN Convention against illicit traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. A key UN policy document is the 2009 'Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem'. This document details a set of goals to be achieved by 2019, including significant and measurable progress in eliminating the illicit cultivation of opium poppy, coca bush and cannabis plant, as well as actions to be implemented by countries across three main pillars. In April 2016, the UNGASS on the World Drug Problem was convened; a UN General Assembly special session seen as an important milestone in achieving the goals set out in the 2009 policy document. The UNGASS resulted in the adoption of the outcome document 'Our joint commitment to effectively addressing and countering the world drug problem. This document provided a range of operational recommendations and broadened the original pillar structure to 7 pillars (see chapter 2). Several new themes were added including drugs and health, drugs and human rights, new drug related challenges such as NPS and use of the internet, and international and development related cooperation. At the EU level, although the primary onus for developing drug policy and legislation remains with the Member States, there are a several legal bases for EU action, as stipulated in the Treaty of Lisbon. These cover the context of adopting minimum rules on the definition of criminal offences and sanctions on serious organised crime (Article 83 TFEU), public health (Article 168 TFEU), the internal market (Article 114 TFEU) and judicial cooperation in criminal matters (Articles 82-86 TFEU). In terms of EU policy, the most prominent current instrument is the EU Drugs Strategy 2013-2020. The Strategy provides the overarching political framework and priorities for EU drug policy. The EU Drugs Strategy has 5 main objectives, namely to reduce demand and harm, disrupt the drugs market, discourse and analysis, cooperation, and research and monitoring. The implementation of the Strategy's long-term objectives have been operationalised in 4- year Action Plans. In November 2015, the Commission adopted a report on the progress of the implementation of the EU Drugs Strategy and Action Plan. The mid-term evaluation of the first Action Plan (2013-2016) is due to be completed by the end of 2016 or, at the latest, early 2017. The findings from the mid-term evaluation and the Public Consultation, which was launched by the European Commission in March 2016, will inform the Commission's decision to propose a new Action Plan for 2017-2020. Recent EU legislative developments relate to a package of two proposals regarding new psychoactive substances. These proposals were put forward by the European Commission is 2013. As Member States expressed doubts in the Council concerning the choice of Article 114 TFEU as the legal basis for the proposed Regulation, inter-institutional negotiations of this legislative package were ongoing for more than two years. As a result, the Commission withdrew its proposal on 29 August 2016 and tabled a proposal amending the founding Regulation of the EMCDDA (Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 on the EMCDDA). Under this proposal, deadlines for decision-making on NPS will be significantly reduced and Europol will take on a more active role in the risk assessment procedure and the Early Warning System (EWS), with a view to quicker identification and assessment of the involvement of criminal groups. The new proposal was welcomed by all Member States and was backed by the European Parliament's LIBE Committee on 17 November 2016. Details: Brussels: European Parliament, 2016. 224p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 8, 2017 at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/571400/IPOL_STU(2016)571400_EN.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Europe URL: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/571400/IPOL_STU(2016)571400_EN.pdf Shelf Number: 144946 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Control PolicyDrug EnforcementDrug marketsDrug PolicyIllicit DrugsOrganized Crime |
Author: Global Commission on Drug Policy Title: Advancing Drug Policy Reform: A New Approach to Decriminalization Summary: Every year, hundreds of millions of people around the world use illicit drugs. Many do so for enjoyment, some to relieve pain, while others use for traditional, cultural or religious reasons. Despite the fact that drug use is both widespread and non-violent, the predominant approach of governments around the world is to criminalize those who use and/or possess drugs. Such policies are enacted with the false hope that, combined with efforts targeting the production and supply of drugs, the drug market and use can be eliminated. The harms created through implementing punitive drug laws cannot be overstated when it comes to both their severity and scope. On a daily basis, human rights abuses - from the death penalty and extrajudicial killings, to inhuman and coerced drug treatment - are committed around the world in the name of drug control, while strict drug laws have escalated public health crises in the form of HIV and hepatitis C epidemics. Furthermore, in a number of countries drug laws have caused severe prison overcrowding. These extensive damages wrought by a punitive approach to drugs and drug use fundamentally undermine the principle of human dignity and the rule of law, fracturing the relationship between States and their populations. In order to begin mitigating these widespread harms, governments must as a matter of urgency decriminalize the possession of drugs for personal use. Decriminalization is typically understood as the removal of a criminal record for drug possession for personal use offenses, with the optional imposition of civil penalties such as fines or administrative sanctions, or no penalty at all. Though some governments have already taken this approach, only a small number have implemented policies that have brought about positive outcomes for people who use drugs and society as a whole. What's more, these governments typically rely on penalizing people with civil sanctions. This approach does not go far enough. The Commission believes that for the principle of human dignity and the rule of law to be firmly upheld, there must be no penalty whatsoever imposed for low-level possession and/or consumption offenses. Beyond decriminalizing the possession of drugs for personal use, governments must implement alternatives to punishment for many low-level actors in the drug trade, including those who engage in social supply, drug couriers, and cultivators of illicit crops. Many of these people engage in the trade non-violently and may do so to alleviate their severe socio-economic marginalization. Punishing these groups is unjust and only serves to heighten their vulnerability. Ultimately, no longer criminalizing people who use drugs and addressing low-level actors with proportionate responses should be considered as a step toward bringing illicit drug markets under control through sensible regulation. Only then can the societal destruction caused by drug prohibition be properly mitigated. Drug use is, and always has been, a reality in all of our societies. For too long governments have waged a misguided war against the drug market and people who use drugs, handing down sanctions that are disproportionate, unjust and wholly unnecessary. The evidence of just how harmful punitive drug laws are is irrefutable. Governments can no longer ignore the need for a new approach. Details: Geneva, SWIT: The Commission, 2016. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 13, 2017 at: http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GCDP-Report-2016-ENGLISH.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GCDP-Report-2016-ENGLISH.pdf Shelf Number: 145125 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug DecriminalizationDrug EnforcementDrug Reform PolicyIllicit Drugs |
Author: Gberie, Lansana Title: Crime, Violence, and Politics: Drug Trafficking and Counternarcotics Policies in Mali and Guinea Summary: Key Findings • There has been a general increase in drug trafficking in West Africa. Regional institutions such as the Economic Community of West African States have made some effort to counter the impact of drug transit and consumption in the region, but this has had a limited effect in Guinea and Mali. • Guinea and Mali, along with the rest of the region, are reportedly experiencing increased local consumption of illicit drugs, which poses challenges related to treatment, harm reduction, security, and human rights. • In both Guinea and Mali, drug traffickers have exploited widespread poverty and corruption to co-opt government officials, military and law enforcement officers, and political and traditional leaders into an opportunistic network that underpins a very profitable criminal enterprise. • Both countries have experienced serious political turmoil that has brought to light the role drug trafficking has played in provoking internal unrest and coups d'état. • Mali, which experienced a major international intervention following a 2012 coup as well as Tuareg and Islamist uprisings in its northern regions, has passed numerous counter-narcotics measures into law. Generally punitive in approach, their implementation and enforcement have been lacking. • Guinea has proven to be highly resistant to changing its domestic counter-narcotics policies, most likely due to the penetration of drug traffickers in state institutions. Policy Recommendations • Both countries should adopt the recommendations made by a 2014 report by the West Africa Commission on Drugs (WACD), Not Just for Transit: Drugs, the State and Society in West Africa, which emphasized decriminalizing some degree of drug use and possession for personal use. • Mali is likely to support the approach proposed by the WACD at the 2016 Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS 2016), while Guinea has thus far taken no position on the UNGASS 2016 treaty review process. Details: Washington, DC: Brookings, 2016. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 16, 2017 at: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Gberie-Mali-and-Guinea-final.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Mali URL: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Gberie-Mali-and-Guinea-final.pdf Shelf Number: 146977 Keywords: CounternarcoticsDrug EnforcementDrug TraffickingIllicit Drugs |
Author: Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) Title: CARICOM Crime and Security Strategy 2013: Securing the Region Summary: I. The ideals of the CARICOM integration movement and the pillars of its foundation can only be realised in a safe and secure Community. The CARICOM Crime and Security Strategy (CCSS) constitutes an historic and defining moment for the Community in clearly articulating its security interests within the wider context of the shifting balance of global geopolitical power, increasing market competitiveness, public debt financing and profound economic uncertainties, threats of climate change and scarcity of key resources.This current situation is further exacerbated by profound influence of new technology and social media, the increasingly asymmetric nature of conflict, and the growing power of non-state actors, including transnational organized crime. II. The multidimensional and multifaceted nature of the risks and threats faced by CARICOM Member States are increasingly interconnected, cross-cutting, network-centric and transnational. The repercussions of emerging threats now propagate rapidly around the world, so that events in any part of the world are now far more likely to have immediate consequences for the Caribbean region. This rapidly - evolving set of security scenarios - and the absence of a common analysis of the risks and threats that affect CARICOM Member States - make this Strategy vitally necessary. III. The Council of Ministers Responsible for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) at its 5th Meeting mandated the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) to develop a "Regional Crime and Security Strategy" (hereafter called the CARICOM Crime and Security Strategy). IV. The Strategy is guided by the principles and values of democratic choice, freedom, justice, prosperity, respect for territorial integrity, respect for and promotion of human rights and good governance all of which reflect the deepest convictions of the Community. V. The goal of the CARICOM Crime and Security Strategy is to significantly improve citizen security by creating a safe, just and free Community, while simultaneously improving the economic viability of the Region. VI. The Strategy identifies and prioritises the common security risks and threats which CARICOM is facing now, and likely to face in the future. It articulates an integrated and cohesive security framework to confront these challenges,and will therefore guide the coordinated internal and external crime and security policies adopted by CARICOM Member States, under their respective legal frameworks to the fullest extent. VII. The risks and threats identified in the CARICOM Crime and Security Strategy are prioritised into four (4) Tiers: • Tier 1 -Immediate Significant Threats. These are high-probability, high-impact events. They are the currentand present dangers. • Tier 2 - Substantial Threats. These are both likely and high-impact, but are not as severe as Tier 1 Threats. • Tier 3 - Significant Potential Risks. These are high-impact, but low-probability. • Tier 4 - Future Risks. These are threats where the probability and impact cannot be assessed at this stage. VIII. Tier 1 Threats consist of the mutually-reinforcing relationship between transnational organised criminal activities involving illicit drugs and illegal guns; gangs and organised crime; cyber-crime; financial crimes and corruption. Tier 1 Threats are the main drivers of current criminality levels, and has the potential to cripple the already fragile socio-economic developmental progress in CARICOM and the advancement of CSME. Tier 1 Threats are the Immediate Significant Threats to the Community and are primarily responsible for the Caribbean having one of the highest homicide rates in the world -30 people killed for every 100,000 inhabitants; (compared to a world average of 5). IX. The criminality perpetuated by the Tier 1 Threats is driven by the desire and pursuit of profit, power and prestige. The criminals are supported by the facilitatorswhich consist of unscrupulous and corrupt professionals within key sectors of the economy such as the financial, legal, justice, law enforcement and security, public officials and even government officialswho help them to secure and conceal their assets. X. Organised crime depends on the facilitators of criminality. It is the facilitators who operate both in the licit and illicit world who shield organised crime and allow it to flourish. There are also a range of social factors that enable and support this criminality, including large economic disparities, poverty, the rising cost of living, social exclusion and marginalisation, unemployment and multiple governance failures. XI. Tier 2 Threats are Substantial Threats to the Region. They include human trafficking and smuggling, natural disasters and public disorder crimes. XII. Tier 3 Risks consist of Significant Potential Risks and include attacks on critical infrastructure and terrorism. XIII. Tier 4 Risks consist of Future Risks, with unknown probabilities and consequences. They include climate change, pandemics and migratory pressure. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. State Department, 2013. 63p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 17, 2017 at: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/210844.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Caribbean URL: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/210844.pdf Shelf Number: 146969 Keywords: Financial CrimesGangsHuman TraffickingIllegal GunsIllicit DrugsOrganized CrimePublic Disorder |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Global SMART Programme Title: Afghanistan Synthetic Drugs Situation Assessment Summary: Afghanistan's opiate market has annually accounted for the largest share of illicit opium produced worldwide. Alongside the continued dominant presence of an illicit opiate market, recent reports indicate an increasing availability of synthetic drugs in Afghanistan and the South-Western and Central Asian region as a whole. Overall, there continue to be some significant analytical gaps in the information and data relating to synthetic drugs in Afghanistan. The main objective of this report is to offer some initial insights into the extent of synthetic drug production, use, and trafficking in Afghanistan and to highlight important areas for further research. The phenomenon of synthetic drugs cannot be understood by focussing on Afghanistan alone. Rather, this report situates the dynamics of synthetic drugs in the country within the wider context of South-Western and Central Asia in order to understand the recent emergence and origins of synthetic drugs in Afghanistan. Based on this approach, presenting the regional perspective helps to provide a full picture of the synthetic drug situation in Afghanistan. The research process of this report incorporated various resources and strands of information. Much of the data and information presented in this report are derived from field research material that was gathered over an eight-month period. The field research included missions to 5 provinces in Afghanistan, where interviews were conducted with over 100 key informants, drug users and law enforcement officials at government offices, health service centres and drug treatment providers (see Annex). These various sources of information have also been supplemented by official reports involving national aggregate information and data. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2017. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 22, 2017 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/Reports/2017_Afghanistan_Synthetic_Drugs_Assessment_report.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Afghanistan URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/Reports/2017_Afghanistan_Synthetic_Drugs_Assessment_report.pdf Shelf Number: 144842 Keywords: Drug TraffickingIllegal DrugsIllicit DrugsOpiumSynthetic Drugs |
Author: Castillo, Juan Camilo Title: The Resilience of Illegal Markets Summary: Why are illegal markets so resilient? Literature on the political economy of enforcement points to weak state capacity, ineffective enforcement technology, or electoral incentives for forbearance-none of which characterize prohibition efforts such as the U.S. war on drugs. We propose instead that governments face a tradeoff between prohibition and low violence. Using a model in which policy affects dynamic interaction among traffickers, we show that reducing the supply of an illegal good can increase profits through higher prices-and higher profits drive violence among traffickers, who invest more in fighting over an increasingly valuable prize. Jailing or killing traffickers makes them short-sighted and splinters their criminal organizations-both of which increase violence. While previous models of illegal markets focus either on supply reduction or on violence, we consider both together, revealing why prohibition is self-limiting: the government achieves one enforcement goal only at the cost of another. Details: Unpublished paper, 2016. 49p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 7, 2017 at: http://dorothykronick.com/wp-content/uploads/DrugWarfare.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://dorothykronick.com/wp-content/uploads/DrugWarfare.pdf Shelf Number: 144743 Keywords: Drug TraffickingIllegal MarketsIllicit DrugsViolence |
Author: Putri, Dania Title: Cannabis in Indonesia: Patterns in consumption, production, and policies Summary: Key Points - Traditional use of cannabis in Indonesia has mainly been found in the northern part of Sumatra, particularly in the Aceh region. Restrictions in production, use and distribution of cannabis were initiated by the Dutch colonial government in the 1920s following international actions on cannabis control. - Cannabis is the most widely used illicit substance in Indonesia, with approximately two million users in 2014. Under the current narcotics law cannabis is included in the mostrestrictive Schedule I list, along with substances such as heroin, and crystal meth or shabu. Penalties for cannabis-related offences are comparable to shabu- or heroin-related offences, in spite of the common perception that cannabis is less harmful. - The ambiguous nature of the narcotics law often triggers the victimisation of cannabis users who are either falsely accused as dealers, or have limited or no access to legal support during legal proceedings. Entrapment and extortion by law enforcement and security officers are widespread. - Government attempts to alleviate prison overcrowding by sending users to rehabilitation centres have triggered many criticisms, mainly due to their problematic methods (such as forced urine tests and breaches of patient confidentiality) and the questionable effectiveness of mandatory rehabilitation programmes, especially as the majority of cannabis users do not develop problematic use. - Decriminalizing use, possession for personal use and small-scale cannabis cultivation for personal use may help resolve various issues ranging from prison overcrowding to extortion of users by law enforcement officers, and may also free up human and financial resources to tackle problematic use. Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2016. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Drug Policy Briefing no. 44: Accessed April 12, 2017 at: https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/dpb_44_13012016_map_web.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Indonesia URL: https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/dpb_44_13012016_map_web.pdf Shelf Number: 144819 Keywords: CannabisDrug Abuse and AddictionDrug OffendersDrug PolicyIllicit DrugsMarijuana |
Author: Beittel, June S. Title: Colombia's Changing Approach to Drug Policy Summary: Colombia is one of the largest producers of cocaine globally, and it also produces heroin bound for the United States. Counter-narcotics policy has long been a key component of the U.S.- Colombian relationship, which some analysts have described as "driven by drugs." Now, Colombia is changing its approach to counter-narcotics policy, which may have implications for the U.S.-Colombian relationship. U.S. concerns about illicit drug production and trafficking in Colombia arose in the 1970s but grew significantly when Colombia became the dominant producer of cocaine in the Andean region in the mid-to-late 1990s. The United States has worked closely with Colombia to eradicate drug crops and combat trafficking. Simultaneously, over the past 17 years, the United States has forged a partnership with Colombia - perhaps its closest bilateral relationship in Latin America - centered on helping Colombia recover its stability following a decades-long internal conflict with insurgencies of left-wing guerrillas and right-wing paramilitaries, whose longevity has been attributed, in part, to their role in the country's illicit drug trade. Between FY2000 and FY2016, the U.S. Congress appropriated more than $10 billion of bilateral foreign assistance to support a Colombian-written strategy known as Plan Colombia and its successor programs. In addition to counter-narcotics, the United States helped support security and development programs designed to stabilize Colombia's security situation and strengthen its democracy. A peace accord between the government of Colombia and the country's main leftist insurgent group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), was signed in late November 2016 after four years of formal peace talks. The Colombian Congress unanimously ratified the peace accord, which had been revised following the narrow rejection of an earlier accord in a national referendum in October 2016. The final peace agreement addresses important issues, such as illicit crop cultivation - a major source of FARC income-and rural development. According to President Juan Manuel Santos, the peace accord will draw former FARC members into efforts to counter illicit drug production and trafficking. In 2017, as Colombia begins to implement the final peace accord and demobilize the FARC, the country is facing a large increase in cocaine production. During the protracted peace negotiations with the FARC, the Colombian government altered its approach to drug policy. A major change was the decision to end aerial spraying to eradicate coca crops, which had been a central - albeit controversial - feature of U.S.-Colombian counter-drug cooperation for more than two decades. In addition, Colombia's counter-narcotics policies shifted in 2015 to a public health approach under President Santos. The shift was influenced by broader hemispheric trends to reform traditional anti-drug practices in ways that proponents claim can reduce human rights violations. On the supply side, Colombia's new drug policy gives significant attention to expanding alternative development and licit crop substitution while intensifying interdiction efforts. The revised drug policy approach promotes drug-use prevention and treatment for drug users. According to Colombian officials, the public health and prevention dimensions of the revised strategy will be led by Colombia's Health Ministry, in coordination with other agencies. This report examines how Colombia's drug policies have evolved in light of Colombia's peace agreement with the FARC and its changing counter-narcotics policy. It explores both policy and oversight concerns, such as - prospects for reducing coca and poppy cultivation under Colombia's new drug policy and the peace accord with the FARC; - the role of Colombian drug trafficking organizations, including powerful criminal groups containing former paramilitaries, in a post-peace accord environment; - U.S.-Colombian cooperation on counter-narcotics and Colombia's future role in regional anti-drug efforts; and - shifts in U.S. government assistance to support Colombia's revised drug policy and how Colombia's new policy converges with traditional U.S. priorities. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2017. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: R44779: Accessed May 8, 2017 at: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R44779.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Colombia URL: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R44779.pdf Shelf Number: 145353 Keywords: CocaineDrug Control PolicyDrug EnforcementDrug TraffickingIllicit Drugs |
Author: Luong, Hai Thanh Title: Transnational Narcotics Trafficking and Law Enforcement: A Vietnam Perspective Summary: Close proximity to the major production zones, porous borderlands, mountainous frontiers and long coastlines offer advantageous conditions for trafficking narcotics. The illicit drug situation has become much more complex in Vietnam with the growth in amphetaminetype stimulants production and trade. Even so, empirical research and analysis of the organization and operation of transnational narcotics trafficking (TransNT) remains limited. The purpose of this thesis is to present the first detailed inquiry into the nature of TransNT across the border between Lao PDR and Vietnam using an exploratory approach which draws upon qualitative and quantitative methods. In particular, the thesis presents findings from case studies of cross-border trafficking between Vietnam and Lao PDR in the period of 2003-2013 combined with interview and survey data from criminal investigation police and drug-related crimes officers (CIPDRC) from six border provinces who are directly and indirectly involved in investigating these cases. The findings of this study indicate that drug markets in Vietnam are not controlled by monopolistic, hierarchical organizations or 'cartels'. The structures of TransNT entities operating across the Lao-Vietnam border are small, based on family ties and fellow-countrymen relations, are fluid and loosely organized. They are very adaptable and sophisticated with diverse modus operandi and multiple divisions of labour. This presents particular challenges to law enforcement agencies (LAEs). This thesis questions to capacity of Vietnam's police to enforce the government's zero-tolerance anti-narcotics policy. The study highlights practical problems and specific barriers in combating TransNT. LEAs in Vietnam and Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) operate without effective mechanisms to cooperate and share information. It is also the case that traffickers often have more sophisticated equipment at their disposal to help them avoid arrest. Police forces work within national structures and yet are faced with the task of combatting transnational crime. This reality affects law enforcement capacity at a national as well as regional level, but Association of the Southeast Asian Nations member states have yet to establish effective structures for dealing with this non-traditional security challenge. Based on these findings, therefore, the thesis proposes recommendations to enhancing the effectiveness of LEAs in dealing with TransNT across Vietnam's border with Lao PDR. Details: Melbourne, AUS: School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, College of Design and Social Context, RMIT University, 2017. 417p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 16, 2017 at: https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/eserv/rmit:162002/Luong.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Vietnam URL: https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/eserv/rmit:162002/Luong.pdf Shelf Number: 145478 Keywords: Border SecurityDrug EnforcementDrug marketsDrug TraffickingIllicit Drugs |
Author: Hughes, Brendan Title: Cannabis Legislation in Europe: An Overview Summary: Cannabis is the drug most often mentioned in reports of drug law offences in Europe. In 2014, the drug accounted for 57% of an overall estimate of 1.6 million offences (EMCDDA, 2016). Cannabis is also Europe's most commonly used illicit drug. It is estimated that at least one in every eight young adults (aged 15-34 years) used cannabis in the last year across the European Union. At the national level, these rates range from less than 1% to over 20% of young adults. The most recent data suggest that 1% of the adult population (aged 15-64 years) of the European Union and Norway, or about 3 million individuals, are smoking cannabis on a daily or near- daily basis. The trends in use also vary between countries. In surveys since around 2005, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom have shown decreasing or stable trends in reported use, while upward trends can be observed in Bulgaria, France and three of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland and Sweden). A renewed debate about the laws prohibiting or permitting cannabis use and supply around the world has been fuelled by the legalisation of supply and use of cannabis for 'recreational' purposes in some US states and Uruguay since 2012. Proposals to legalise the drug have raised concerns they may lead to increases in cannabis use and related harms, and questions about the ways in which cannabis for non-medical purposes could be regulated to mitigate these concerns. In the European Union, a system of unlimited distribution has evolved in the Netherlands since the 1970s, and this has seen further developments in the last few years. The advantages and disadvantages of these regulated systems are being closely observed. The model of 'cannabis social clubs' has been increasingly mentioned in drug policy debates. Its advocates argue that the decision to not prosecute individuals for cannabis use in some countries can also be applied to registered groups of individuals, in order to permit a closed system of cannabis production and distribution. At present, the model is rejected by national authorities in Europe. Throughout Europe there is media and public discourse on the issue of changing cannabis laws. However, national administrations are concerned about the public health impact of cannabis use and generally oppose the decriminalisation or legalisation of cannabis for recreational use. Nonetheless, cannabis laws and the medical and scientific research that informs policy-making can be regarded as entering a period of change, the direction of which is still unclear. It is with this background in mind that the EMCDDA has decided to produce this report. Incorporating and building on earlier EMCDDA work (see Resources, page 30), the present study outlines the legislation relating to cannabis around the European Union (with a focus on 'recreational' use, rather than production and use for medical or industrial purposes). Written for a broad audience, the report aims to give brief answers to some of the more frequently asked questions raised in the discussions about cannabis legislation. These have been grouped into four parts: 1. What is cannabis and what are countries' obligations to control it? 2. What do the laws and associated guidelines say? 3. What happens to cannabis offenders in practice? 4. Where is cannabis legislation going? Details: Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2017. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 25, 2017 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/4135/TD0217210ENN.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/4135/TD0217210ENN.pdf Shelf Number: 145791 Keywords: CannabisDrug LegalizationDrug PolicyIllicit DrugsMarijuana |
Author: Arbid, Jeremy Title: Captured by Captagon? Lebanon's evolving illicit drug economy Summary: Lebanon has a long history of drug cultivation and trafficking, which predated the civil war, and has long been attributed with resourcing conflict protagonists thereby prolonging it. By the end of the war in 1990, Lebanon was home to a multi-billion drug economy which was firmly entrenched both into local and central politics and power. The Bekaa valley, which assumed prominence as a drug producing hotspot during the conflict, has retained its reputation as a source of opium and hashish production. Estimating the exact size of the country's current drug trade is difficult given the paucity of reliable figures, although its assumed to have reduced since the war. There is however a worrying new trend: the growth of the illicit economy around the drug Captagon - a global illicit industry worth an estimated US $ 1 billion a year. Captagon is an amphetamine and popular party pill widely used throughout the Gulf countries. Profit margins of Captagon are astonishingly high: a single pill can be produced for a few cents with easy to access precursor chemicals, but currently retails at up to US$20 in the Gulf. Evidence presented in an earlier Global Initiative report, "The Nexus of Drug Trafficking and Conflict in Syria and the Wider Region" suggests that the trade in Captagon is burgeoning, with much of the production in Syria and its neighbouring countries. and profits from the drug trade once again fuelling conflict actors. This paper explores the evolution of Lebanon's drug trade, and in particular the production and trafficking of Captagon. Major seizures were made in Lebanon in 2014 in particular, but the subsequent steady decline in seizures suggests, that smuggling groups have adapted to law enforcement interventions rather than increased efficacy of enforcement. Given the litany of other challenges faced by the Lebanese government, curbing the illegal trade in drugs is not a priority. Lebanon's military is focussed on more significant cross-border threats and terrorist violence, and the police force is understaffed, underfunded and under equipped. A central directorate for drug control within the Ministry of Interior exists only on paper. Lebanon's own Finance Minister has suggested that weeding out corrupt personnel at Beirut's airport is a more urgent need to combat smuggling than to reinforce capacity or introduce new technologies aimed at curbing these illicit practices. Legal and institutional frameworks are inadequate and international support in the area of organised crime and drug trafficking is small. Tracking the money flow is next to impossible, but various patterns for laundering money in Lebanon are clearly apparent: from Halawa cash transfer networks, to smuggled telephones, to a real estate sector where cash-based transactions are still common. Drug use, addiction prevalence and rehabilitation statistics in Lebanon are nearly non-existent, as is the amount the state dedicates to the war on drugs that officials involved insist they are waging. Lacking reliable data, drawing detailed recommendations is difficult, but what is clear is that Lebanon needs more of everything (funding, manpower, strategy, rehabilitation facilities) if it ever wants to genuinely address its growing drug problem. A lack of resources continues to bedevil attempts at border control and law enforcement. The international community and the Lebanese themselves may rue this lack of attention in future. Details: Geneva, SWIT: Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, 2017. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 16, 2017 at: http://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/lebanon-drug-report_24.05.17_low.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Lebanon URL: http://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/lebanon-drug-report_24.05.17_low.pdf Shelf Number: 147632 Keywords: AmphetaminesDrug CultivationDrug TraffickingIllegal DrugsIllicit DrugsOrganized Crime |
Author: Felbab-Brown, Vanda Title: Afghanistan Affectations: How to Break Political-Criminal Alliances in Contexts of Transition Summary: The case of Afghanistan analyzes how counterinsurgency, stabilization, and reconstruction dynamics have interacted with the generalized predatory criminality in Afghanistan and how the latter became the crux of Afghanistan's dire and fragile predicament. The transition choices by the Afghan government and the international community, particularly the embrace of problematic warlords for the sake of short-term military battlefield advantages and as tools of political cooptation, shaped and reinforced criminality and corruption in post-2001 Afghanistan and thus delegitimized the post-Taliban political dispensation. The analysis identifies four possible inflection points where the international community and the Afghan government could have fundamentally altered the course after the initial choices of the informal distribution of power and its connections to criminality were made in 2001. These four possible inflection points provided opportunities for tackling corruption and criminality in order to limit power abuse and strengthen the rule of law and political inclusiveness-namely: (1) the 2004 disarmament effort; (2) the beginning of the Obama administration and its surge of resources in Afghanistan; (3) the 2014 formation of the NUG whose two protagonists crucially campaigned on an anti-corruption platform; and (4) the 2015 missed opportunity to react resolutely to the Taliban's takeover of Kunduz City. But the international community and the Afghan government failed to take advantage of these possible inflection points. Or to the extent that they tried, such as during the first two years of the Obama administration, other strategic directives, timelines, and imperatives interfered with them and directly contradicted them. Thus, the anti-corruption and anti-criminality efforts were not underpinned by political heft and power, such as cutting off aid to or otherwise sanctioning particular powerbrokers. Hence pernicious individual powerbrokers and the political system quickly learned how to ride the anti-corruption and anti-crime efforts, further delegitimizing the system and enabling a significant intensification of the Taliban's insurgency in Afghanistan. No doubt, the Taliban itself has become deeply involved in all kinds of illicit economies, including drugs, timber, and gems. This involvement has grown over time despite the fact that since its inception in 1994 and as a product of the brutality and chaos of the 1990s civil war, the Taliban defined its purpose as improving governance in Afghanistan and acting against the rampant criminality that swept the country. Indeed, during the administration of President George W. Bush, it was the Taliban's involvement in the drug economy that received most international attention out of all the illicit economies, corruption, and predatory criminality that went on in Afghanistan. Yet the counternarcotics policies which were chosen both failed to accomplish their stated goal of bankrupting the Taliban and turned out to be highly counterproductive. Far from delegitimizing the Taliban in the eyes of local populations as a mere cartel or as narco-guerrillas, efforts to eradicate opium poppy cultivation as well as particular designs of drug interdiction allowed the Taliban to present itself a protector of people's livelihoods and thereby to obtain significant political capital. Thus, the international community mounted the most intense efforts precisely against the wrong type of illicit economy and criminality: the labor-intensive poppy cultivation that underpins much of the country's economic growth and provides elemental livelihoods and human security to vast segments of the rural population. Instead, the anti-crime efforts should have focused on the predatory criminality and non-labor intensive aspects of transactional crimes, such as drug smuggling. The Obama administration at least defunded eradication, but its efforts against predatory crime ultimately proved unsatisfactory. Its efforts against predatory criminality were held hostage to the administration's own strategic decision to define the mission there as principally one of limited couterterrorism and to de-emphasize state-building and also to impose restrictive and counterproductive timeliness on U.S. assistance, particularly military, efforts. Thus, from the very beginning of the U.S. intervention, when there was the largest window of opportunity to embrace Afghan aspirations for good governance and shape the outcome, and throughout 2014 when the number of U.S. troops in Aghanistan was radically reduced, Washington neglected to commit itself to rebuilding Afghanistan in the right way. And earlier inflection point that perhaps could have countered the basic mis-governance trends in the country and the rise of predatory criminality was in 2004 when the first disarmament effort was undertaken. However, that opportunity was missed, with most of the crucial warlords not fully and sufficiently disarmed. Details: Tokyo: United Nations University Centre for Policy Research, 2017. 37p. Source: Internet Resource: Crime-Conflict Nexus Series: No 8: Accessed June 20, 2017 at: https://i.unu.edu/media/cpr.unu.edu/attachment/2442/Afghanistan-Affectations-How-to-Break-Political-Criminal-Alliances-in-Contexts-of-Transition.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Afghanistan URL: https://i.unu.edu/media/cpr.unu.edu/attachment/2442/Afghanistan-Affectations-How-to-Break-Political-Criminal-Alliances-in-Contexts-of-Transition.pdf Shelf Number: 146319 Keywords: Crime-Conflict NexusDrug SmugglingDrug WarlordsIllegal EconomiesIllicit DrugsIllicit EconomiesOpiumPolitical Corruption |
Author: Galemba, Rebecca B. Title: Cultures of Contraband: Contesting Illegality at the Mexico-Guatemala Border Summary: Driving from Frontera Comalapa, Chiapas, Mexico to the communities on the Mexico-Guatemala border where I planned to live and conduct fieldwork from September 2006- September 2007, I drove through several rural farms, towns, and winding roads. Upon reaching the Pan-American Highway is a makeshift police station, a small concrete building labeled, PFP (Policia Federal Preventiva, or Federal Preventative Police). Outside a police car was stationed as traffic whizzed by. Shortly before entering the border communities, there is also a military base. The Mexican government installed this base in the late 1990s during the Zapatista conflict to monitor resistance, despite the fact that the Zapatistas had little presence in the Comalapa region. The military currently uses the base to erect road blockades to inspect for contraband, illegal migrants, illicit drugs, and illegal firearms. There were almost always blockades on Fridays so that soldiers could inspect vehicles returning from market day at the official border crossing at La Mesilla, Guatemala and Ciudad Cuauhtemoc, Mexico. I had originally intended to conduct research at the Mexico-Guatemala border to study the contrasts between policies that simultaneously advocated an "open" border for free trade and a militarized border to comply with Washington's security demands to stem the northward flow of illicit drugs, crime, and undocumented migrants (Benitez Manaut 2003; Pickard, CIEPAC 2007). Despite the increased presence of the Mexican military and police forces2 in the region, border residents agreed that since the late 1990s they experienced less official border surveillance. Instead, residents allude to a booming industry of cross-border contraband in everyday goods, as well as undocumented migrants, arms, and drugs. I realized that my original interest in undocumented migration formed part of a larger picture of historical and cross-border flows of people, goods, and information. Studying border flows from the ground-up revealed a border region that was not just simultaneously "open" to goods and "closed" to people as I had anticipated, but full of various contingent and conflicting openings and enclosures. When I interviewed a Mexican customs inspector at Ciudad Cuauhtemoc, he lamented, "In this region illegality governs. It is what distinguishes this region [from other customs inspections posts]." This inspector had worked in multiple customs ports throughout Mexico, but seemed to resign and adapt himself to this aspect of "illegality," referring to it as part of the "regional culture." Despite stricter laws and Mexico's modernization of the official border crossing and customs inspections in the late 1990s, he told me that most commerce in the region occurred in clandestine crossings. This dissertation examines the multiple meanings of illegality and how notions of illegality permeate, and at times govern, social, political, and economic life at the Mexico-Guatemala border. A 2006 article in El Financiero, labeled the Mexico-Guatemala border "a paradise for contraband...[stating that] the problem, which is little spoken about, is that illegality dominates everything at the border." By focusing on the residents of a clandestine border pathway on the Mexico-Guatemala border, I problematize the concept of "illegality," arguing that the social and economic relations engendered by illegal practices often generate new forms of law, economy, and moral norms. While legal and illegal practices may blur in everyday interactions (Nordstrom 2007), I examine how residents distinguish and organize the heterogeneity of these practices in order to situate illegality within the larger political and moral economy. By examining the daily relations between border residents, state and federal agents, farmers, formal-sector companies, and smugglers, I illustrate how illegality produces and reconstitutes gendered, ethnic, and class inflected subjectivities. Details: Providence, RI: Brown University, 2009. 364p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: https://repository.library.brown.edu/storage/bdr:155/PDF/ Year: 2009 Country: Mexico URL: https://repository.library.brown.edu/storage/bdr:155/PDF/ Shelf Number: 130138 Keywords: Border SecurityContrabandDrug TraffickingIllegal FirearmsIllegal MigrantsIllicit DrugsTrafficking in Firearms |
Author: Bayoumi, Ahmed M. Title: Report of the Toronto and Ottawa supervised consumption assessment study, 2012 Summary: Do Toronto and Ottawa need supervised consumption facilities? Is the implementation of supervised consumption facilities in Toronto or Ottawa feasible? To answer these questions, we conducted the Toronto and Ottawa Supervised Consumption Assessment (TOSCA) a scientific study involving the collection and analysis of data from a variety of sources. What is a supervised consumption facility? A supervised consumption facility is a legally sanctioned public health facility that offers a hygienic environment where people can inject illicit drugs under the supervision of trained staff. Some facilities also allow people to smoke illicit drugs. The primary goals of supervised consumption facilities include: reducing drug-related risks including the transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B and C and other blood-borne infections; decreasing the number of overdoses; minimizing public order problems (including public drug use); and improving access to health and social services. To address drug-related problems, communities across the world have responded with policies and programs designed to reduce demand for illicit drugs, reduce the supply of illicit drugs, and reduce drug-related harm. Communities across Canada use a comprehensive approach, which includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and enforcement. Supervised consumption facilities are an example of a harm reduction program and are a component of some drug strategies. These facilities were designed to address the health and social problems not addressed by existing drug policies and programs. Across the world, including Canada, other harm reduction programs such as needle and syringe programs and opioid substitution programs have been implemented. In Canada, there is one supervised injection facility and another organization that offers a supervised injecting service, but no supervised smoking facilities. In September 2003, Canada's first supervised consumption facility opened in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, an area with a high rate of poverty, open drug use, HIV infection rate and overdose deaths. Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation in Vancouver offers a supervised injecting service that is open only to clients of the agency. Several other Canadian cities have considered the establishment of supervised consumption facilities, including Victoria and Montreal. A 2008 report explored the feasibility of a supervised injection facility for Ottawa. In 2005, Toronto City Council adopted the Toronto Drug Strategy, which included a recommendation for a needs assessment and feasibility study for supervised consumption site(s) taking into account the decentralized nature of drug use in Toronto. Details: Toronto, Ont. : St. Michael's Hospital : Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 2012. 325p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 28, 2017 at: http://www.catie.ca/sites/default/files/TOSCA%20report%202012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Canada URL: http://www.catie.ca/sites/default/files/TOSCA%20report%202012.pdf Shelf Number: 148504 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction Drug Consumption Facilities Drug Legalization Drug Policy Illicit DrugsNeedle Exchange Program |
Author: Wish, Eric D. Title: Community Drug Early Warning System (CDEWS-3): Maryland - Site 4 of 4 Summary: The Community Drug Early Warning System (CDEWS) provides timely information about emerging drug use in criminal justice populations in local communities by collecting and re-testing urine specimens already obtained and tested for a limited panel of drugs by local criminal justice testing programs. CDEWS or local staff sample specimens that are ready to be discarded and send them to an independent laboratory for testing for an expanded panel of over 150 drugs. By using already collected de-identified urine specimens, CDEWS is able to provide a relatively quick and inexpensive snapshot of the types of drugs recently used by participating populations. The CDEWS methodology has now been piloted in twelve jurisdictions and the results are provided in five reports already released by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). This report presents findings from adult parolees and probationers in a single jurisdiction -- Maryland -- as part 4 of 4 sites for the third CDEWS Study, called CDEWS-3. This study was conducted somewhat differently from prior CDEWS studies. This is because we wanted to replicate the findings from a study we had conducted in Maryland in 2008. And second, because of the opioid epidemic in Maryland, the State asked us to collect and analyze a separate large sample of specimens statewide that had tested positive for opiates by the laboratory used by the Maryland Division of Parole and Probation (DPP). With the strong support of the DPP, we collected two samples of specimens: the Maryland Regional Sample (N=288) and the Opiate Positive (Opiate+) Sample (N=202 statewide). Specimens were classified as CJS+ (tested positive for any drug) or CJS- (tested negative for all drugs) according to the results from the DPP laboratory's 4-drug screen. The findings from the Maryland Regional Sample indicated that most of the persons who had tested positive for one of the drugs in the CDEWS larger test panel had also tested positive for one of the four drugs in the DPP drug screen. However, approximately one in ten CJS+ specimens also contained antidepressants, synthetic cannabinoids (SC), methadone and/or other licit pharmaceutical opioids, drugs not tested for by the limited DPP screen. The additional drugs the CDEWS lab detected may not have practical significance for the DPP, given that most of these specimens did test positive for a drug in the DPP's limited screen. It is not possible to tell from the urinalyses if the persons taking the licit drugs were doing so legally under a physician's supervision. In contrast, 15% of the specimens that the DPP screen indicated did not contain a drug (CJS-) contained an opioid. Methadone and buprenorphine were among the opioids most found in CJS specimens and it is possible that these persons were receiving treatment with these drugs. Antidepressants were identified in as many CJS- specimens as CJS+ specimens (9%). SC was found in CJS- specimens but these metabolites were less common than in CJS+ specimens. These results suggest that in this population, persons were unlikely to be using SC to avoid detection by the standard DPP tests. The comparisons of probationers/parolees in this study and our earlier study in 2008 show considerable agreement in the drugs detected. The primary changes were a decline in cocaine (36% to 17%) and buprenorphine (15% to 7%) and an increase in codeine (3% to 13%) among CJS+ specimens. The increase in codeine positives may be the result of the increased sensitivity of the tests used in the current study. The results from the Opiate+ Sample strongly indicated that probationers/parolees who had tested positive for opiates by the DPP screen were likely to be using a variety of legal and illegal opioids in addition to non-opioid drugs. About one in three also used cocaine, one fifth used marijuana and/or benzodiazepines and about one quarter used a prescription opioid other than morphine or codeine. These results therefore have important implications for the testing used by physicians and diagnosticians who need to know if patients are using other drugs. Use of multiple opioids at the same time may lead to serious health complications and even death. We also conducted special analyses of the combined specimens found in either sample to be positive for fentanyl, synthetic cannabinoids, or codeine. Perhaps some of the most meaningful results in this study were those showing the large number of opioid and non-opioid drugs found in the fentanyl+ specimens. The 21 specimens positive for fentanyl each contained an average of 5 different drugs, most prominently morphine, codeine, 6-MAM (heroin), cocaine, and/or hydromorphone. The findings for fentanyl+ specimens were similar to those described above for the entire sample of Opiate+ specimens and our recent study of 136 persons who died of a fentanyl related overdose in New Hampshire. It is clear that probationers/parolees in Maryland who screen positive for any opioids are likely to be using a variety of other opioid and non-opioid drugs. These findings suggest that treatment will be more effective if one identifies and focuses on the totality of drugs the person may be using. Our analysis of the combined sample of all specimens positive for SC supported the findings from our previous CDEWS studies that found multiple SC metabolites in specimens. Surprisingly, specimens from the current study often contained both new and older generation SC metabolites. Given the unpredictable composition of synthetic cannabinoids (also known as Spice or K2) being marketed, it is not possible for users to know what chemicals they are consuming and to predict the effects. SC was less likely to be found in the Maryland samples compared to other CDEWS study samples, and few persons who tested CJS- in the Maryland Regional Sample were found to test positive for SC. Probationers in Maryland may therefore be less likely than other populations CDEWS has studied to use SC to avoid screening positive by the CJS test screens, which do not typically test for SC. We also found that 70% of the Opiate+ specimens contained codeine and that codeine was found across the state. In addition, codeine was detected in 81% of fentanyl+ specimens from the combined Opiate+ and Maryland Regional samples. Acetylcodeine, which metabolizes into codeine, is often produced as an impurity of illicit heroin synthesis, which may explain the large percentage of specimens positive for codeine given that almost all of the specimens also contained morphine. It is also possible that some of the codeine positives were the result of the direct use of codeine. We suspected that some of the codeine detected might have been caused by the use of "Purple Drank", a mixture of codeine syrup and promethazine typically sold as a cough suppressant, that has been reported in Maryland. However, only 4% of the codeine positive specimens contained promethazine. Given that the half-life of promethazine is longer than that of codeine, one would expect to have detected promethazine in these specimens had "Purple Drank" been the source of the codeine. It is also possible that the codeine may have resulted from codeine extracted from pills containing the drug. Additional research is needed to learn more about the codeine that was detected in 60% or more of probationers across all regions of Maryland and how the use of codeine may relate to the State's current opioid epidemic. Details: Washington, DC: Office of National Drug Control Policy Executive Office of the President, 2017. 57p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 29, 2017 at: https://ndews.umd.edu/sites/ndews.umd.edu/files/finalreport_cdews3_mdapproved.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://ndews.umd.edu/sites/ndews.umd.edu/files/finalreport_cdews3_mdapproved.pdf Shelf Number: 148578 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction Drug Control Policy Drug Enforcement Drug OffendersDrug TestingIllicit Drugs ParoleesProbationersUrine Testing |
Author: Wish, Eric D. Title: Community Drug Early Warning System (CDEWS-3): Ohio -- Site 2 of 4 Summary: The Community Drug Early Warning System (CDEWS) provides timely information about emerging drug use in criminal justice populations in local communities by collecting and re‐testing urine specimens already obtained and tested for a limited panel of drugs by criminal justice testing programs. CDEWS or local staff sample specimens that are ready to be discarded and send them de‐ identified to an independent laboratory for testing for an expanded panel of drugs. The CDEWS methodology has been implemented previously in five jurisdictions with non‐prison populations (Wish et al., 2013; Wish et al., 2015). This report describes the first CDEWS study of prison inmates, conducted in the Belmont and Ross Correctional Institutions for adult males in Ohio. This report is the second of 4 reports that are part of the third CDEWS Study, CDEWS‐3. Urine drug testing is conducted in these facilities on the basis of the inmate's assignment to one of three test groups: Random, For Cause, and treatment Program testing. Specimens are tested by the correctional institution for a panel of 8 drugs. Specimens that had tested positive (CJS+) or negative (CJS‐) for any drug by the prison drug screen were selected from each of the test groups for inclusion in the study. A total of 108 usable specimens were obtained from Belmont and 85 specimens from Ross. The most dramatic findings from this study involved the detection of two types of prescription drugs in both institutions, buprenorphine, a prescribed opioid used to treat substance use disorder for opioids, and antidepressants. Buprenorphine is not prescribed for treatment in these institutions and it is not clear how much of the antidepressants detected were prescribed by the physicians at the prison. While marijuana use was detected in these institutions, it is noteworthy that not a single specimen tested positive for a synthetic cannabinoid. In contrast to other criminal populations studied by CDEWS in other locations, there was no evidence of synthetic cannabinoid use to avoid detection by the prison's drug testing program. This study demonstrated that the CDEWS methodology could be adapted for prison settings. While the use of buprenorphine and marijuana was already being detected by these institutions' testing programs, the extensive use of antidepressants uncovered may be a new finding. Details: Washington, DC: Office of National Drug Control Policy Executive Office of the President, 2016. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 6, 2017 at: https://ndews.umd.edu/sites/ndews.umd.edu/files/pubs/finalreport-cdews3-oh-v31-final-for-distribution.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://ndews.umd.edu/sites/ndews.umd.edu/files/pubs/finalreport-cdews3-oh-v31-final-for-distribution.pdf Shelf Number: 148740 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction Drug Control Policy Drug Enforcement Drug Testing Illicit DrugsUrine Testing |
Author: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Title: Drug squads: units specialised in drug law enforcement in Europe: Situation in the EU Member States, Norway and Turkey in 2015 Summary: In 2014, the EMCDDA took the decision to carry out a limited follow-up study of the EMCDDA Paper Drug squads: units specialised in drug law enforcement in Europe (EMCDDA, 2013), with the aim of monitoring possible changes and trends in drug supply reduction resulting from law enforcement activities. An abbreviated version of the data collection questionnaire employed in the original study was used for reporting by reference persons from the 28 EU Member States, Norway and Turkey. The reference persons were also given the opportunity to provide additional information and comments. The European drug law enforcement landscape in 2015 is broadly similar to the situation in 2012. The total number of drug squads in Europe has remained stable (1 187 squads in 2012 versus 1 133 in 2015), as has the number of staff allocated to drug squads. Although the number of law enforcement officers decreased by 10 % between 2012 and 2015 (from 17 720 to 15 870), the total number of staff employed in European drug squads increased slightly (from 19-490 to 20-515 staff members). Details: Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2017. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 18, 2018 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/7143/Drug%20squads%202017.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/7143/Drug%20squads%202017.pdf Shelf Number: 148857 Keywords: Drug Control Drug Enforcement Drug Markets Illicit DrugsLaw Enforcement |
Author: Groshkova, Teodora Title: Developing drug supply monitoring in Europe: current concepts Summary: Recently, there has been an increased focus on improving the quality of drug supply data at EU level, underpinned by a number of policy developments, notably the Council of the European Union's conclusions of 15 November 2013 regarding supply and supply reduction within the implementation of the EU Drug Action Plan (2013-16). Mindful of the uncertainties and challenges of measuring an increasingly dynamic illicit drug market, while building on the positive work in the EU Member States, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) has been a driving force for improving supply metrics and indicators. This paper presents a snapshot of the evolution of the EMCDDA's conceptual framework for supply monitoring. It describes a dynamic system based upon three linked thematic areas: drug markets, drivers and facilitators; drug-related crime, harms and other consequences; and reduction of and responses to drug supply. Each area is served by a set of (overlapping) indicators. The framework was developed to logically organise the multifaceted aspects of illicit drug markets and supply, going beyond the EMCDDA's current core monitoring by integrating new data sources and novel measurement methodologies. The present work contributes to the concerted effort in the EU to establish a coherent drug supply monitoring framework, including identifying new sources of information. While work to further enhance the existing supply indicators should remain a priority, baselines should also be established in new priority areas to allow enhanced monitoring of the supply side of the drugs phenomenon, thus providing a balanced set of drug policy tools. Details: Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2017. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: EMCDDA Papers: accessed February 1, 2018 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/6934/tdau17004enn.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/6934/tdau17004enn.pdf Shelf Number: 148957 Keywords: Drug Markets Drug Supply Drugs and Crime Illicit Drugs |
Author: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Title: Environmental substance use prevention interventions in Europe: Technical report Summary: There is a growing recognition of the important role environmental factors play in health-related behaviour. Traditional substance use prevention approaches in Europe have predominantly focused on warning or informing about the risks of use or on skills-based interventions. In contrast, environmental prevention policies aim to limit unhealthy behaviours by changing the environment in ways which influence people's substance use choices. In a new report published today - Environmental substance use prevention interventions in Europe - the EMCDDA offers a first operational definition of the concept and an initial overview of where and how such interventions are being used in the region. The definition identifies three categories of environmental prevention measures: regulatory, economic and physical. Drawing on the expertise of leading specialists in the field, today's report contributes to the debate on this emerging issue. Based on the results of a survey of European prevention practitioners in 2016, the publication paints a first picture of the types of environmental prevention interventions being used in the substance use field in Europe and the extent to which such measures are being implemented. Although the survey has limitations, the publication provides a useful starting point for future research and identifies gaps in provision. Many behaviours we perform every day are automatic and are generally reactions to common and familiar stimuli. Therefore, environmental and social cues and automatic processes are important influences on behaviour. There is growing recognition of the potential public health benefits to be obtained from interventions that take advantage of such processes to change behaviour. Environmental prevention policies and interventions build on current interest in these approaches and seek to provide a stimulus that evokes healthier decisions. This can occur through altering the design of the environment, or aspects of it, to influence choice ('choice architecture'). For example, physical changes may include bars providing glasses for alcohol that are taller and narrower, but with smaller volumes, tending to make people drink less. Similarly, changes to the economic environment, such as increasing the price of tobacco, may discourage smokers. Regulatory changes can include legislation to constrain undesirable behaviours, such as cannabis use in public places, under-age drinking or drinking and driving. The web-based questionnaire at the heart of the publication generated responses from 117 subjects (from 27 countries) with knowledge of substance use environmental prevention measures. It contained questions on measures covering illicit drugs, alcohol and tobacco and enquired whether measures were available nationally or locally. Of the 49 measures presented to the professionals answering the survey, 39 concerned regulatory and economic environmental prevention measures and 10 referred to physical environmental measures. Regulatory and economic measures were identified as available more often than the physical environmental measures. National-level availability of a variety of regulatory measures related to illicit drugs was reported on average by 83% of respondents. For regulatory or economic measures relating to alcohol and tobacco, an average of 52% and 60% of respondents respectively indicated national-level availability. Physical environmental prevention measures were less commonly reported at the national level: for drugs, alcohol and tobacco combined they were only reported by 19% of respondents. However, local availability of these physical measures was higher, reported, on average, by 56% of respondents. While environmental prevention approaches are currently less well-known than traditional forms of prevention, this may change. Globalisation and rapid technological change may increase substance use opportunities and pressures and environments may become riskier. In these circumstances, environmental interventions are likely to be needed, in addition to skills-based interventions, in order to sustain protective behaviour. Such interventions impact behaviour differently and create complementary ways of achieving positive socialisation. Details: Lisbon: EMCDDA, 2018. 92p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 6, 2018 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/7882/Environmental-substance-use-prevention-Interventions-in-Europe.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/7882/Environmental-substance-use-prevention-Interventions-in-Europe.pdf Shelf Number: 149317 Keywords: Alcohol Abuse Environmental Crime Illicit DrugsOffences Against the Environment Substance Abuse |
Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office Title: Illicit Opioids: While Greater Attention Given to Combating Synthetic Opioids, Agencies Need to Better Assess their Efforts Summary: What GAO Found Federal agencies collaborate with foreign governments, such as China, Mexico, and Canada, as well as with international organizations, to limit the production of illicit synthetic opioids. They do this by enhancing investigations, sharing information on emerging trends, helping to expand the regulation of illicit substances, and building capacity to thwart the distribution of illicit drugs. Federal agencies have ongoing efforts to limit the domestic availability of and enhance their response to illicit synthetic opioids. For example, federal efforts include treating overdose death scenes as crime scenes where officers collect evidence to investigate and identify the drug source. Federal agencies have also documented specific strategies to combat illicit opioids. However, only one of the five strategies we reviewed included outcome, or results-oriented measures-largely due to agency perceptions that designing such measures posed challenges. The Government Performance and Results Act Modernization Act of 2010 directs agencies to develop goals, as well as performance indicators. Without specific outcome-oriented performance measures, federal agencies will not be able to truly assess whether their respective investments and efforts are helping them to limit the availability of and better respond to the synthetic opioid threat. We also found that while federal law enforcement agencies are increasingly coordinating with the public health sector to share overdose information, both sectors reported ongoing data sharing obstacles and related challenges with the timeliness, accuracy, and accessibility of overdose data. Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government states that information for decision-making should be appropriate, current, complete, accurate, accessible, and provided on a timely basis. Embarking on a concerted effort, led by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), to examine and address data related concerns will enhance agencies' efforts continue to understand and respond to the opioid epidemic. Federal agencies have adapted to the opioid epidemic by, among other things, expanding prevention programs and treatment options. For example, agencies have increased engagement with medical professionals about the implications of prescribing practices to help reduce opioid abuse, and provided additional resources to states and localities to expand the distribution and use of overdose reversal and treatment options. Why GAO Did This Study Increased illicit use of synthetic (manmade) opioids has contributed to drug-related overdose deaths. Synthetic opioids like fentanyl-a substance 100 times stronger than morphine- accounted for more than 19,000 of the nearly 64,000 overdose deaths in 2016, the most recent year for which federal data are available. GAO was asked to review U.S. agency efforts to combat illicit synthetic opioids. This report examines how U.S. agencies (1) work with international partners to limit production of illicit synthetic opioids; (2) work domestically to limit the availability of and enhance their response to these drugs and how agencies can improve their effectiveness; (3) measure performance in their documented opioid response strategies; and (4) have adapted their approaches to prevention and treatment. GAO reviewed documents that described agencies' international coordination efforts, domestic opioid reduction strategies and prevention and treatment approaches, and interviewed international and federal agency officials engaged in drug control policy. GAO also interviewed state and local law enforcement and public health officials in seven states, selected in part for their high rates of overdose deaths. What GAO Recommends GAO is making six recommendations, including that agencies develop performance metrics. DHS agreed, ONDCP did not state whether they agreed or disagreed, and DOJ did not agree with GAO's recommendations. GAO continues to believe that these recommendations remain valid. Details: Washington, DC; GAO, 2018. 94p. Source: Internet Resource: GAO-18-205: Accessed April 16, 2018 at: https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/690972.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/690972.pdf Shelf Number: 149801 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AdditionDrug Control PolicyIllegal DrugsIllicit DrugsOpioid EpidemicOpioidsPrescription Drugs |
Author: Patterson, Eileen Title: Drug use monitoring in Australia: 2015 and 2016 report on drug use among police detainees Summary: Established in 1999, the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program is funded by the Australian Government and is the nation's largest and longest-running ongoing survey of police detainees across the country. DUMA currently operates at five data collection sites and comprises two core components: a self-report survey including a range of criminal justice, demographic, drug use and drug market participation information; and voluntary urinalysis, which provides an objective measure for corroborating reported recent drug use (within 48 hours of arrest). This biennial report is part of the Australian Institute of Criminology's (AIC) Statistical Report series and aims to describe the DUMA data collected between January 2015 and December 2016 (herein referred to as 2015-16) at five sites: Adelaide (South Australia), Brisbane (Queensland), Perth (Western Australia) and Sydney (Bankstown and Surry Hills, New South Wales). Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2018. 98p. Source: Internet Resource: Statistical Report 04: Accessed April 24, 2018 at: https://aic.gov.au/publications/sr/sr4 Year: 2018 Country: Australia URL: https://aic.gov.au/publications/sr/sr4 Shelf Number: 149873 Keywords: Alcohol AbuseDrug Abuse and Addiction Drug Abuse and Crime Drug Offenders Illicit DrugsSubstance Abuse |
Author: Disney, Lynn Title: Illicit Drug Use and Criminal Behavior: A Literature Review Summary: Speculation and case histories about the role of illegal drug use and crime abounds. Turf wars between rival gangs, desperate users seeking resources to supply their habits, injuries resulting from a person high on PCP-are all examples of crimes that occurred as a result of illegal drug use. Look at almost any newspaper and you will find articles discussing these crimes in detail. These accounts rarely apply an empirical framework, and in reality, estimating the proportion of crime attributable to illegal drug use is an area of research where little agreement exists. The purpose of this literature review is to examine evidence-based approaches that have been tested in research and then determine whether defensible methodologies exist for calculating a drug use-attributable fraction for crimes committed in the United States. ANALYTICAL CONSIDERATIONS The precise nature and relationship of these factors is complex. Drugs can produce a variety of symptoms and side effects, depending on the individual. Do mental health problems precede or are they caused by the drug use? Does the criminal behavior occur because the individual is taking drugs or is it a cause of substance use? The answers to these questions differ based on who is taking the drug, the drug being taken, and the environment in which it is taken. A person with schizophrenia may abuse drugs to quell the symptoms of the disease. A woman may abuse drugs to alleviate feelings of inadequacy caused by spousal abuse. A teenager may engage in risky sexual behaviors due to lowered inhibitions caused by using drugs. A heroin addict may commit a burglary to obtain the funds to support his habit. In some cases, the crime would not occur but for the drug use. This paper attempts to tease out the causal relationship between illicit drug use and other forms of criminal behavior. Complicating any examination of the link between illicit drug use and criminal behavior is the tendency to include tobacco use and alcohol in this equation. While these products all may involve some significant risk of criminal behavior, they are outside the scope of this report. To the extent possible, numbers attributed to the use and abuse of tobacco and alcohol will be removed from the analysis. The abuse of prescription drugs as a cause of criminal behavior was not excluded but few studies focused solely on this exposure. Details: Washington, DC; Office of National Drug Control Policy, 2010. 84p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 4, 2018 at: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/policy-and-research/illicit_drug_use_and_criminal_behavior_literature_review_2010.pdf Year: 2010 Country: International URL: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/policy-and-research/illicit_drug_use_and_criminal_behavior_literature_review_2010.pdf Shelf Number: 150048 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug-Related ViolenceDrugs and CrimeIllicit Drugs |
Author: McGuffog, Ingrid Title: Drug Use and Drug Control Policy: Evaluating the Impact of Precursor Regulation on Drug Use Behaviour Summary: Controlling the availability of illicit drugs and their use is an exemplar of a wicked problem. Reducing the scale of the illicit drugs market through suppressing supply has proven extremely difficult. A recent systematic review of studies by Cunningham and colleagues who have produced a series of research papers examining the impact of precursor regulations on various methamphetamine outcomes in North America, argue this research represents the most compelling evidence to date that 'precursor regulations, or indeed any supply control strategy, can have significant impacts on the retail market for illicit drugs'. The review of this work concludes that the question for future research is 'not so much whether precursor regulations work, but which regulations work best and in what context'; this is the starting point for my research. The market for methamphetamine is entrenched, broad and dynamic and represents an important criminological and public health problem in Australia. Within Australia the production of methamphetamine has been concentrated in Queensland and that state government has responded by developing a coercive regulatory framework which co-opts pharmacies into a partnership with drug law enforcement that is aimed at preventing the diversion of licit precursor chemicals to the illicit market for manufacture into methamphetamine. In 2005, the Queensland Pharmacy Guild in partnership with the Queensland Police Service developed an electronic medication recording system Project STOP, - which is a real-time web based database used by police to track and apprehend 'pseudo runners' - to facilitate adherence to the compulsory requirements of recording and reporting sales of pseudoephedrine placed upon them by both health regulations and the criminal law. In my thesis, I refer to the family of innovations (legislative, policy and technological interventions) underpinning the police-pharmacy partnership as Third Party Policing (TPP). Details: Brisbane: Griffith University, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 2012. 270p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 7, 2018 at: https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/366750/McGuffog_2013_02Thesis.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/366750/McGuffog_2013_02Thesis.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 150096 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Control PolicyDrug MarketsIllicit DrugsMethamphetamines |
Author: Troyano Sanchez, Dora Lucila Title: Coca Industrialization: A Path to Innovation, Development, and Peace in Colombia Summary: For decades, Colombia has faced the challenge of promoting economic development and peace in its coca growing regions while quelling the flow of coca for unlawful purposes. During this time, the country has rarely considered promoting economic development with coca, partly because the national and international conversation has written off coca growers as one of the main drivers of the drug trade. Coca Industrialization: A Path to Innovation, Development, and Peace in Colombia seeks to challenge this perspective, primarily by conceiving of coca as an agricultural product with ample industrialization opportunities that fit within the existing national and international legal arrangements. This report explores coca's diverse potential in applications as varied as nutrition, natural medicine, personal care, and agro-industry-as well as coca's historical cultural uses. The report addresses the following questions regarding this controversial plant and its use in economic ventures: What are the benefits of coca leaf for nutrition? What examples are there in Colombia of initiatives that advance coca industrialization? Is there a legal framework for developing enterprises in Colombia based on coca? What would need to be true to expand the horizons for coca industrialization? The report suggests seeing the coca plant (Erythroxylum spp) as an agricultural product. It proposes building a coca leaf industry that, firstly, guarantees a sound income for farmers; secondly, provides good quality, sustainable raw materials for manufacturers; and, thirdly, ensures traceability, and control across the supply chain, with adherence to international laws. The report is divided into four sections. The first chapter, "What Does the Coca Leaf Offer," considers the coca leaf 's value and uses. It describes the results of a recent bromatological study that explores coca's nutritional value, applying the national regulator's standards for food products. This chapter concludes that coca indeed appears to have significant nutritional potential and offers a research agenda to help fully confirm this hypothesis. The second chapter, "Coca Industrialization Experiences," describes Colombian entrepreneurship surrounding coca leaf. It maps the business initiatives that have sprung up in the gray area of the current normative framework. This chapter briefly reviews Bolivia and Peru's coca leaf markets, and examines how these countries facilitated the development of new products across coca's traditional and modern uses. The third chapter, "The Normative Framework for Colombia," outlines and analyzes the laws and regulations relating to coca. Despite Colombia's political changes, industrializing coca leaf for non-drug uses remains challenging. The current policy framework tolerates a gray area where small businesses can operate, but has failed to define norms that would promote industry growth from farmer to end user. We scan the laws passed since colonial times right up to the State Council ruling issued in the first half of 2015, which widened the narrow legal window that allows coca manufacturing and distribution. The final chapter, "Horizons for Coca Industrialization," offers approaches for building a coca leaf industry around non-narcotic uses. We describe the experience of the National Training Service (SENA) partnership with the southern Cauca village of Lerma. This state-community partnership (which we call the Lerma Model) offers a process to incrementally build the coca leaf industry and gradually reform Colombia's coca control framework. The Lerma Model focuses on advancing community well-being via technological innovations that benefit the entire supply chain. Drawing from experiences in Lerma and the Andean region, we conclude with a proposal that reinforces the Colombian state's rural development policy stemming from the 2016 Peace Agreement framework. This proposal scales the Lerma Model into a social and technology innovation program based on sectoral pilots that accelerate coca industrialization while building a system of local social control. This strategy contributes to a more legitimate and effective drug and rural development policy via a process based on science, innovation, and mutual benefit, which invites all social and political sectors of a polarized country. Details: New York: Open Society Foundations, 2018. 70p. Source: Internet Resource: Lessons for Drug Policy Series: Accessed May 25, 2018 at: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/path-to-innovation-evelopment-and-peace-in-colombia-en-20180521.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Colombia URL: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/path-to-innovation-evelopment-and-peace-in-colombia-en-20180521.pdf Shelf Number: 150368 Keywords: CocaineDrug MarketsDrug Policy ReformDrug TraffickingEconomic DevelopmentIllicit Drugs |
Author: Arredondo Sanchez Lira, Jaime Title: The Resurgence of Violent Crime in Tijuana Summary: This policy brief provides an assessment of the recent resurgence of violent crime in the Mexican border city of Tijuana in the state of Baja California. With an estimated 1.8 million inhabitants in 2017, Tijuana is the largest Mexican city on the U.S.-Mexico border. The city is home to roughly 49% of Baja California's population, while comprising only around 2% of the state's territory. Today one of Mexico's fastest growing cities, Tijuana reportedly grows at an annual rate of 35,000 people per year, or nearly 96 new inhabitants per day, drawing large numbers of immigrants from elsewhere in Mexico to join the city's robust economy. A longtime destination for cross-border tourism, Tijuana has long prided itself as the "world's most visited city." Today, nearly 190,000 people cross the border between Tijuana and neighboring San Diego on a daily basis for work, commerce, schooling, fine dining, family gatherings, and other recreational pursuits. Moreover, an estimated 200,000 U.S. citizens reside in the state of Baja California (roughly one in five of all U.S. citizens estimated to reside in Mexico), with many of them living in Tijuana. The city's thriving manufacturing sector makes Tijuana a vital part of the vibrant cross-border economic area known as the "Cali-Baja" region, particularly in areas such as electronics and medical devices; one study estimates that this region is responsible for roughly 40% of all audio-visual manufacturing in North America. Yet, dating back to the Prohibition-era of the 1920s, Tijuana also has long suffered a reputation as a city of vice. Over the last decade, that reputation has been further damaged by dramatic surges of violent crime, often attributable to drug-trafficking and organized crime groups. The city also has high levels of drug use that are shaped by its proximity to the United States. While methamphetamine is the main illicit drug used in the State of Baja California, the city has a higher concentration of heroin drug users compared to the national average, resulting in a concentrated epidemic of HIV and Hepatitis C virus among this high-risk population. In 2017, Tijuana had more homicides than any other city in Mexico, in a record year for national homicide figures. According to information from the Baja California Ministry of Public Safety, from 2016 to 2017 Tijuana saw the number of investigations on homicide cases rise from 872 to 1,618, an increase of roughly 86% in just one year. Preliminary figures from the Baja California State Secretary of Public Security put the total number of homicides in these cases at 1,780 homicide victims in Tijuana. 8 Preliminary data from Mexico's National Public Security system puts the total number of victims of homicide in the country at 29,168, a number that could increase to over 30,000 when final tallies are completed in the coming months.9 Based on these figures, the authors calculate that in 2017 one out of twenty murders in Mexico took place in Tijuana. Details: San Diego: Justice in Mexico, 2018. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Brief: Accessed June 20, 2018 at: https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/180205_TJViolence.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Mexico URL: https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/180205_TJViolence.pdf Shelf Number: 150597 Keywords: Drug TraffickingHomicidesIllicit DrugsOrganized CrimeTrafficking in DrugsViolenceViolent Crime |
Author: Haysom, Simone Title: The heroin coast: A political economy along the eastern African seaboard Summary: This report examines the characteristics of the heroin trade off the East African coast and highlights the criminal governance systems that facilitate drug trafficking along these routes. In recent years, the volume of heroin shipped from Afghanistan along a network of maritime routes in East and southern Africa appears to have increased considerably. Most of this heroin is destined for Western markets, but there is a spin-off trade for local consumption. An integrated regional criminal market has developed, both shaping and shaped by political developments in the region. Africa is now experiencing the sharpest increase in heroin use worldwide and a spectrum of criminal networks and political elites in East and southern Africa are substantially enmeshed in the trade. This report focuses on the characteristics of the heroin trade in the region and how it has become embedded in the societies along this route. It also highlights the features of the criminal governance systems that facilitate drug trafficking along this coastal route. Details: s.l.: ENACT, 2018. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Paper, Issue 04 : Accessed July 5, 2018 at: https://enact-africa.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/2018-07-02-research-paper-heroin-coast.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Africa URL: https://enact-africa.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/2018-07-02-research-paper-heroin-coast.pdf Shelf Number: 150768 Keywords: Criminal NetworksDrug MarketsDrug TraffickingHeroinIllicit DrugsOrganized Crime |
Author: Blakey, David Title: Disrupting the supply of illicit drugs into prisons. A report for the Director General of. National Offender Management Service Summary: This is a one person review of how illicit drugs get into prisons and what can be done about it. Drugs get in: - With visitors - 'Over the wall' - In the post and parcels - Brought in by prisoners - Through corrupt staff - Disrupting one route raises the use of the others; - Rehabilitation and detoxification schemes are undermined by illicit drugs; - Prison drug strategies should cover both disruption and rehabilitation, and be managed by a nominated Governor. Five factors affect all or more than one route and can be employed to disrupt. They are: - Use of good practice - Disrupting the use of mobile phones - Use of searching - Use of search dogs - Use of legislation In the long term there are 3 major ways to disrupt effectively. They are: - Development and use of technology - Development of partnership working with Police - Use of intelligence Details: s.l.: David Blakey, 2008. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 12, 2018 at: http://www.onlinelibraryaddictions.stir.ac.uk/files/2017/07/blakey-report-disrupting.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.onlinelibraryaddictions.stir.ac.uk/files/2017/07/blakey-report-disrupting.pdf Shelf Number: 150842 Keywords: Drug OffendersDrugs in PrisonIllicit DrugsPrison Contraband |
Author: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Title: Opioid harm in Australia: and comparisons between Australia and Canada Summary: Locally and internationally, the rising use of opioids is a cause of concern. All opioids-including codeine-can be addictive and their use can result in dependence, accidental overdose, hospitalisation or death. This report brings together information from a range of data sources to tell the national story of opioid use and its harmful effects. It is the first time that the AIHW has produced such a comprehensive report that presents current national data and trends on opioid use and harms in Australia. The report also presents findings from a collaboration between the AIHW and the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). This includes comparisons between ED presentations and hospitalisations in Australia and Canada, where possible, and discussion of the benefits and challenges of international collaboration. In Australia in 2016-17, 3.1 million people had 1 or more prescriptions dispensed for opioids (most commonly for oxycodone); about 40,000 people used Heroin; and about 715,000 people used Pain-killers/analgesics and pharmaceutical opioids for illicit or non-medical purposes. Opioid deaths and poisoning hospitalisations have increased in the last 10 years Legal or pharmaceutical opioids (including codeine and oxycodone) are responsible for far more deaths and poisoning hospitalisations than illegal opioids (such as heroin). Every day in Australia, nearly 150 hospitalisations and 14 emergency department (ED) presentations involve opioid harm, and 3 people die from drug-induced deaths involving opioid use. In 2016, the number of opioid deaths (1,119) was the highest number since the peak in 1999 (1,245 deaths). After 1999, the number of deaths fell to a low of 439 in 2006, then began to climb again. In 2016, opioid deaths accounted for 62% of all drug-induced deaths. From 2007 to 2016, after adjusting for differences in the age structure of the population, the rate of opioid deaths increased by 62%, from 2.9 to 4.7 deaths per 100,000 population. The increase was driven by an increase in accidental opioid deaths and in pharmaceutical opioid deaths. Similarly, from 2007-08 to 2016-17, after adjusting for age, the rate of hospitalisations per 100,000 population with a principal diagnosis (main reason for hospitalisation) of opioid poisoning increased by 25%, while the rate of hospitalisations with any diagnosis (all reasons for hospitalisation) of opioid poisoning increased by 38%. Pharmaceutical opioids are responsible for more opioid deaths and poisoning hospitalisations than heroin In 2016, the most commonly mentioned opioid in opioid deaths was Naturally derived opioids (for example, oxycodone, codeine and morphine), which was mentioned in 49% of opioid deaths. Similarly, in 2016-17, hospitalisations with a principal diagnosis of opioid poisoning were more likely to involve pharmaceutical opioids than heroin or opium. The rate per 100,000 for those by Naturally derived opioids was more than twice as high as for those by Heroin. More opioid prescriptions were dispensed but on average prescriptions were for lower doses and/or quantities In 2016-17, 15.4 million opioid prescriptions were dispensed under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to 3.1 million people. The oral morphine equivalent (OME) is a measure of opioid use that adjusts for the difference in potency between different opioids. It converts the amount of each opioid dispensed to the amount of oral morphine that would be required to produce the same pain-relieving effect. After adjusting for differences in the age structure of the population, from 2012-13 to 2016-17, although there was a rise in the rate of prescriptions dispensed per 100,000 population and the number of people per 100,000 population receiving them (9% and 4% respectively), the OME stayed the same over the same period (989 to 987 OME mg per 1,000 population per day)-on average, the prescriptions dispensed were for lower doses and/or quantities. Oxycodone and codeine most commonly dispensed opioids -- Oxycodone was the most commonly dispensed prescription opioid in 2016-17, with 5.7 million prescriptions dispensed to 1.3 million people, followed by codeine (3.7 million prescriptions to 1.7 million people) and tramadol (2.7 million prescriptions to 600,000 people). Similar to the results for all opioid prescriptions dispensed, on average prescriptions dispensed for oxycodone were for lower doses and/or quantities. After adjusting for differences in the age structure of the population over time, from 2012-13 to 2016-17 there was approximately a 30% rise in both the number of oxycodone prescriptions dispensed per 100,000 population and the number of people receiving them per 100,000 population, but the OME over the same period remained the same (338 to 340 OME mg for oxycodone per 1,000 population per day). Higher rates of OME for opioids dispensed in Inner regional and Outer regional areas -- After adjusting for differences in the age structure of the population, the total number of prescriptions dispensed per 100,000 population was highest for Inner regional areas (74,000 per 100,000 population) and lowest for Very remote areas (38,000 per 100,000 population). The rate of OME was also highest for Inner regional areas (1,374 OME mg per 1,000 population per day), followed closely by Outer regional areas (1,362 OME mg per 1,000 population per day). These rates of OMEs are 2 times higher than in Very remote areas, which at 645 OME mg per 1,000 population per day was the lowest of all areas. 1 in 10 Australians have ever used any type of opioid for illicit or non-medical purposes In 2016, around 1 in 10 (11%) of Australians aged 14 and over had ever used at least 1 type of opioid for illicit or non-medical purposes; recent use (that is, use in the last 12 months) was much lower, at 3.7%. Most had used pharmaceutical opioids rather than illegal opioids, with 9.7% having ever used Pain-killers/analgesics and pharmaceutical opioids, compared with 1.3% who had ever used Heroin. Of people who reported non-medical use of Pain-killers/analgesics and pharmaceutical opioids, 75% had used Over-the-counter codeine products, 40% had used Prescription codeine products and 17% had used Oxycodone. Opioid use varies between Australia and Canada -- Both Australia and Canada have government-funded pharmaceuticals. Overall, there was a downward trend in both countries in the total average opioid dosage (the defined daily dose or DDD) per 1,000 people, per day prescribed in the 5 years to 2016-17. However there were slight differences in the types of opioids prescribed, with the DDD rate for hydromorphone substantially higher in Canada, and the DDD rate for tramadol and buprenorphine higher in Australia. Both countries had a similar DDD rate for fentanyl. Illicit use of fentanyl is more common in Canada than it is in Australia, while heroin use is comparatively higher in Australia than in Canada. The impact of this difference is that people using these different drugs-while they are all opioids-have different trajectories and contact with the acute care system. Fentanyl is more potent than heroin and has a greater potential to be lethal, meaning many users die before they can receive acute care. Side effects from opioid use are responsible for the greatest number of hospitalisations in both Canada and Australia Despite differences in the rates of hospital care in Australia and Canada for opioid harms-due in part to differences in systems and infrastructure for health services-there are similarities in the profiles of people most likely to receive hospital care for opioid harm. In both Australia and Canada, the greatest volume of harm treated in hospitals came from side effects from opioid use. The age distribution for people hospitalised for this reason was similar in Australia and Canada, with rates of hospitalisation increasing with increasing age, reflecting the rates of prescription opioids in both countries. Details: Canberra: AIHW, 2018. 130p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 14, 2018 at: https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/605a6cf8-6e53-488e-ac6e-925e9086df33/aihw-hse-210.pdf.aspx?inline=true Year: 2018 Country: Australia URL: https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/605a6cf8-6e53-488e-ac6e-925e9086df33/aihw-hse-210.pdf.aspx?inline=true Shelf Number: 153417 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionIllicit DrugsOpioid CrisisOpioid DeathsOpioids Prescription Drug Abuse Prescription Drugs |
Author: U.S. Department of Justice. Drug Enforcement Administration Title: 2018 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary: The 2018 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA)1 is a comprehensive strategic assessment of the threat posed to the United States by domestic and international drug trafficking and the abuse of illicit drugs. The report combines federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement reporting; public health data; open source reporting; and intelligence from other government agencies to determine which substances and criminal organizations represent the greatest threat to the United States. Illicit drugs, as well as the transnational and domestic criminal organizations who traffic them, continue to represent significant threats to public health, law enforcement, and national security in the United States. Drug poisoning deaths are the leading cause of injury death in the United States; they are currently at their highest ever recorded level and, every year since 2011, have outnumbered deaths by firearms, motor vehicle crashes, suicide, and homicide. In 2016, approximately 174 people died every day from drug poisoning (see Figure 1). The opioid threat (controlled prescription drugs, synthetic opioids, and heroin) has reached epidemic levels and currently shows no signs of abating, affecting large portions of the United States. Meanwhile, as the ongoing opioid crisis justly receives national attention, the methamphetamine threat remains prevalent; the cocaine threat has rebounded; new psychoactive substances (NPS) are still challenging; and the domestic marijuana situation continues to evolve. Controlled Prescription Drugs (CPDs): CPDs are still responsible for the most drug-involved overdose deaths and are the second most commonly abused substance in the United States. As CPD abuse has increased significantly, traffickers are now disguising other opioids as CPDs in attempts to gain access to new users. Most individuals who report misuse of prescription pain relievers cite physical pain as the most common reason for abuse; these misused pain relievers are most frequently obtained from a friend or relative. Heroin: Heroin use and availability continue to increase in the United States. The occurrence of heroin mixed with fentanyl is also increasing. Mexico remains the primary source of heroin available in the United States according to all available sources of intelligence, including law enforcement investigations and scientific data. Further, significant increases in opium poppy cultivation and heroin production in Mexico allow Mexican TCOs to supply high-purity, low-cost heroin, even as U.S. demand has continued to increase. Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids: Illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids - primarily sourced from China and Mexico - are now the most lethal category of opioids used in the United States. Traffickers- wittingly or unwittingly- are increasingly selling fentanyl to users without mixing it with any other controlled substances and are also increasingly selling fentanyl in the form of counterfeit prescription pills. Fentanyl suppliers will continue to experiment with new fentanyl-related substances and adjust supplies in attempts to circumvent new regulations imposed by the United States, China, and Mexico. Cocaine: Cocaine availability and use in the United States have rebounded, in large part due to the significant increases in coca cultivation and cocaine production in Colombia. As a result, past-year cocaine initiates and cocaine-involved overdose deaths are exceeding 2007 benchmark levels. Simultaneously, the increasing presence of fentanyl in the cocaine supply, likely related to the ongoing opioid crisis, is exacerbating the re-merging cocaine threat. Methamphetamine: Methamphetamine remains prevalent and widely available, with most of the methamphetamine available in the United States being produced in Mexico and smuggled across the Southwest Border (SWB). Domestic production occurs at much lower levels than in Mexico, and seizures of domestic methamphetamine laboratories have declined steadily for many years. Marijuana: Marijuana remains the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. The overall landscape continues to evolve; although still illegal under Federal law, more states have passed legislation regarding the possession, use, and cultivation of marijuana and its associated products. Although seizure amounts coming across the SWB have decreased in recent years, Mexico remains the most significant foreign source for marijuana available in the United States. Domestic marijuana production continues to increase, as does the availability and production of marijuana-related products. New Psychoactive Substances (NPS): The number of new NPS continues to increase worldwide, but remains a limited threat in the United States compared to other widely available illicit drugs. China remains the primary source for the synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cathinones that are trafficked into the United States. The availability and popularity of specific NPS in the United States continues to change every year, as traffickers experiment with new and unregulated substances. Mexican Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs): Mexican TCOs remain the greatest criminal drug threat to the United States; no other group is currently positioned to challenge them. The Sinaloa Cartel maintains the most expansive footprint in the United States, while Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion's (CJNG) domestic presence has significantly expanded in the past few years. Although 2017 drug-related murders in Mexico surpassed previous levels of violence, U.S.-based Mexican TCO members generally refrain from extending inter-cartel conflicts domestically. Colombian TCOs: Colombian TCOs' majority control over the production and supply of cocaine to Mexican TCOs allows Colombian TCOs to maintain an indirect influence on U.S. drug markets. Smaller Colombian TCOs still directly supply wholesale quantities of cocaine and heroin to Northeast and East Coast drug markets. Dominican TCOs: Dominican TCOs dominate the mid-level distribution of cocaine and white powder heroin in major drug markets throughout the Northeast, and predominate at the highest levels of the heroin and fentanyl trade in certain areas of the region. They also engage in some street-level sales. Dominican TCOs work in collaboration with foreign suppliers to have cocaine and heroin shipped directly to the continental United States and its territories from Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic. Family members and friends of Dominican nationality or American citizens of Dominican descent comprise the majority of Dominican TCOs, insulating them from outside threats. Asian TCOs: Asian TCOs specialize in international money laundering by transferring funds to and from China and Hong Kong through the use of front companies and other money laundering methods. Asian TCOs continue to operate indoor marijuana grow houses in states with legal personal-use marijuana laws and also remain the 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, commonly known as Ecstasy) source of supply in U.S. markets by trafficking MDMA from clandestine laboratories in Canada into the United States. Gangs: National and neighborhood-based street gangs and prison gangs continue to dominate the market for the street-sales and distribution of illicit drugs in their respective territories throughout the country. Struggle for control of these lucrative drug trafficking territories continues to be the largest factor fueling the street-gang violence facing local communities. Meanwhile, some street gangs are working in conjunction with rival gangs in order to increase their drug revenues, while individual members of assorted street gangs have profited by forming relationships with friends and family associated with Mexican cartels. Illicit Finance: TCOs' primary methods for laundering illicit proceeds have largely remained the same over the past several years. However, the amount of bulk cash seized has been steadily decreasing. This is a possible indication of TCOs' increasing reliance on innovative money laundering methods. Virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, are becoming increasingly mainstream and offer traffickers a relatively secure method for moving illicit proceeds around the world with much less risk compared to traditional methods. Details: Washington, DC: DEA, 2018. 164p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 14, 2018 at: https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2018-11/DIR-032-18%202018%20NDTA%20final%20low%20resolution.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2018-11/DIR-032-18%202018%20NDTA%20final%20low%20resolution.pdf Shelf Number: 153464 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction Drug CartelsDrug Enforcement Drug Trafficking GangsIllicit DrugsOpioid CrisisOrganized Crime |
Author: Peace, Michelle Title: Characterization and Abuse of Electronic Cigarettes: The Efficacy of "Personal Vaporizers" as an Illicit Drug Delivery System Summary: Statement of Problem Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes or e-cigs), known as "personal vaporizers" (PV) by avid users or electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) by industry, have experienced a significant increase in popularity for those seeking an alternative to smoking traditional tobacco products. These products are comprised of a battery-powered atomizer and a cartridge filled with a pharmaceutical (nicotine), flavorings, and water dissolved in glycerol products. E-cigarette are manufactured in a variety of options: from off-the-shelf non-customizable devices to customizable, including self-wrapping of the element, homemade wicks, self-preparation of the e-cigarette liquid formulation (e-liquids), cups to hold plant material, dripping vs wicking, and wattage adjustors to administer the desired drug. The lack of enforced regulation prior to May 2016 has resulted in easy accesses to e-cigarettes and has shepherded their nefarious uses. The use of the e-cigarettes as an illicit drug delivery device is touted on websites, forums, blogs, and videos describing how best to use them for specific illicit drugs such as tetrahydrocannabinol, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin. These sites explain at length the benefits of "vaping" illicit drugs as it can conceivably be done in public without attracting notice. While some individuals and communities have begun to legislate where users can vape, vaping is not just acceptable, it is considered cool by many and often has the added benefit of no odor. Analyzing paraphernalia for drug usage uses straightforward methodology established in controlled substance laboratories nationwide. E-cigarettes were largely uncharacterized at the beginning of this research. In forensic science laboratories, little is known or understood about their construction, let alone how they are used to deliver illicit drugs. From a general toxicological perspective, little is documented regarding the delivery of nicotine, particularly as a function of power, for e-cigarettes. Even less is known regarding the adulteration of e-cigarettes and how the e-cigarettes are used or modified to optimize the delivery of an adulterant and/or alternative drug. Problems can arise with using electronic cigarettes to deliver illicit drugs. According the vaping community, the dosing can be increased by turning up the wattage/voltage on the device. This method to increase dosage alone, or combined with increasing the volume of the "puff", could easily lead to overdoses. Increasing temperatures could lead to pyrolysis products which can potentially be used as biomarkers that could identify the use of e-cigarettes in biological tissues and which may have unknown biological effects. Drug forums are providing cautionary tales to users, however, these are overshadowed by the clear benefits these devices bring to drug users. Few peer-reviewed published manuscripts in the literature describe, define, and/or illustrate the use of e-cigarettes. The overarching purpose for this study was to characterize the use and efficacy of electronic cigarettes to deliver pharmaceutical products. E-cigarettes were functionally described, methods were developed to analyze the pharmaceutical products (e-liquids and aerosol), truth in advertising was described for commercially available products, adulterations to the products were assessed, and potential biomarkers were evaluated. Details: Richmond, VA: Virginia Commonwealth University, 2018. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 12, 2019 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/251788.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/251788.pdf Shelf Number: 154091 Keywords: Drug AbuseE-CigarettesElectronic CigarettesElectronic Nicotine Delivery SystemsIllicit DrugsOverdoseParaphernaliaVapingVaporizers |
Author: Intergovernmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa Title: Typologies Report on Laundering the Proceeds of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances in West Africa Summary: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I Drug trafficking is the largest source of illicit funds globally. This is largely due to the wide gap between production cost and the final price the consumer pays, especially in Western Europe and North America. For the trafficker, profit is the motive and is largely determined by the risk they are willing to take to deliver the drugs to the highest paying consumer. Locally, massive cannabis cultivation and consumption has been a source of major concern in the not only because of the illegal money it generates but also due to the associated health hazards. In recent years, West Africa has been targeted by drug traffickers from Latin America with large consignment of cocaine which is warehoused in the region and mostly shipped in small quantities to Europe and other destinations using local couriers. The problem has attracted attention at the highest level in the region as well as globally. There are ongoing regional initiatives to address the problem. II As a contribution to that initiative, and in order to have a good understanding of the relationship between money laundering and drug trafficking in the region, this typologies exercise was conducted. The study analyses various facets of the legal and enforcement environment of AML and Drug trafficking in ECOWAS member States. It looked at the vulnerabilities of the region and why West Africa has become a target for drug traffickers. It also looked at the techniques, methods, mechanisms and instruments used by drug traffickers to launder the proceeds of drug trafficking by reviewing relevant case studies and identifying typologies. III Twelve out of fifteen ECOWAS countries were involved in the study. One expert was identified in each of the 12 countries who helped to administer the two questionnaires developed for the study and produced a country report. A typologies workshop was held where country reports were reviewed, including case studies. IV The findings of the study indicates that drug traffickers employ complex means to launder money generated from drug trafficking including the use of lawyers, bureau de change, trade, cash couriers,, front companies, purchase of real estate, etc. V With regard to legal framework, most of the AML laws are quite recent compared to the drug trafficking laws. In some countries, the penalty for drug offences is not proportionate and dissuasive. There is general lack of effectiveness with regard to the enforcement of AML laws across board. Capacity to carry out effective AML investigation is generally low and many ML predicate offences are not investigated for ML. The domination of the informal sector and cash transaction of the economy of the region are obstacles to effective enforcement/implementation of AML measures. The disparity in AML capacity among member States is a source of concern and need to be urgently addressed. VI A number of recommendations were made which, if implemented will help to improve the overall implementation of AML measures both at the member States and at the regional levels. Summary of Findings VII The following is the summary of the major findings of the exercise: A. All countries in West Africa are extremely vulnerable to drug trafficking and related money laundering. The vulnerability is related to geographical, political, legal, institutional, economic and social factors. The large sea coast is either partly or completely unmanned in most parts of the region. Generally, inland borders are porous and not effectively manned across the region. B. Most of the countries have AML laws that were enacted not more than 4 years earlier, and the necessary infrastructure and human capacity to support the execution of the law are still being put in place. In a number of the countries, this process has been stalled by lack of resources. C. The trafficking tends to concentrate in countries with unstable political, social and economical situation and weak controls (legal, enforcement, prosecutorial and judicial). D. The laundering of the money generated from drug trafficking tend to be carried out in stable countries with relatively fair economy in the region where cash dominates transactions and is difficult for authorities to monitor cash inflows and outflows, as well as some in countries outside the region (largely countries where the heads of the networks operate from and the countries of some of the drug couriers from outside of the region). E. Corruption appears to play an important part in the cross-border movement of proceeds of crime as cash or when converted into goods. F. The general lack of capacity to interdict illicit drugs especially cocaine and heroin, makes money laundering almost inevitable due to the prevailing opportunities for money laundering in the informal sector. G. There is general lack of capacity for money laundering investigation in most of the countries coupled with the fact that money laundering investigation has not been fully integrated in drug trafficking investigation in most of the countries. Investigating money laundering during drug investigation does not appear to be a top priority as indicated by the apparent absence of asset seizure and confiscation despite convictions obtained of drug traffickers in most of the countries and the significant drug seizures made. H. Coordination between the investigating agencies and FIUs during drug trafficking related money laundering investigation is very week. The trust factor remains an important element in this lack of coordination. I. Over emphasis of money laundering through the formal financial system undermines overall AML/CFT efforts especially in West Africa where the cash dominated informal sector is the preferred channel for laundering the proceeds of crime, including drug trafficking. J. Reporting entities do not appear to be providing STRs commensurate with the level of the drug trafficking problems in most of the countries. This may be as a result of lack of expertise in ML risk analysis or lack of interest in providing such information. K. Most of the FIUs do not have sufficient analytical expertise to detect drug trafficking related money laundering. Emphasis appears to be placed more on corruption related ML by the FIUs. L. Cross border information sharing both in the control of drug trafficking and related money laundering is virtually absent except where there is a public incidence that affect countries. Details: Dakar, Senegal: GIABA, 2010. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 14, 2019 at: https://www.giaba.org/media/f/118_final-drugs-typologies-report-dev071811---english.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Africa URL: https://www.giaba.org/media/f/118_final-drugs-typologies-report-dev071811---english.pdf Shelf Number: 154138 Keywords: Anti-Money LaunderingCocaineCorruptionDrug TraffickersDrug TraffickingDrug TypologiesECOWASFIUIllicit DrugsMoney LaunderingWest Africa |
Author: Health Poverty Action Title: Punishing poverty - How the failed 'war on drugs' harms vulnerable communities: Case studies of Brazil and India Summary: Around the world the so called 'war on drugs' is collapsing. Many countries are replacing the prohibition of illicit drugs, with new approaches which prioritise and protect people's health and wellbeing. Whilst reform is underway, it is not happening nearly fast enough or reaching far enough. The prohibitionist criminal justice approach that has dominated drug policy for the past 50 years continues to destroy livelihoods and claim lives. The people most affected aren't those in charge of the drugs trade. Instead, it's those caught up at the lowest levels in a trade that is destroying their lives and communities, particularly in the global south. Prohibition has failed to reduce the world's supply of illicit drugs. Meanwhile the heavy handed and often militarised law enforcement approach that often goes with it - directed primarily at those involved at the lowest level in the production and supply of illicit drugs - has fueled poverty, inequality, corruption and violence. This is felt most sharply by marginalised communities and women who engage in the small-scale trade out of necessity or lack of alternatives. In these contexts of significant vulnerability, powerlessness and poverty, the drugs trade can offer a decent income or means of survival, where no other exists. Details: London: HPC, 2019. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 5, 2019 at: http://fileserver.idpc.net/library/Punishing-poverty-research-report-WEB.pdf Year: 2019 Country: International URL: http://fileserver.idpc.net/library/Punishing-poverty-research-report-WEB.pdf Shelf Number: 154489 Keywords: BrazilDrug EnforcementDrug OffendersDrug Policy ReformIllicit DrugsIndiaPovertyWar on Drugs |
Author: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Title: Wastewater Analysis and Drugs: A European multi-city study Summary: The findings of the largest European project to date in the emerging science of wastewater analysis are taken up in this 'Perspective on drugs'. The project in question analysed wastewater in around 60 European cities and towns (hereinafter referred to as 'cities') to explore the drug-taking habits of those who live in them. The results provide a valuable snapshot of the drug flow through the cities involved, revealing marked geographical variations. Details: Lisbon: EMCDDA, 2018. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Perspectives on Drugs: Accessed March 5, 2019 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/pods/waste-water-analysis_en Year: 2018 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/pods/waste-water-analysis_en Shelf Number: 154817 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug EnforcementIllicit DrugsWastewater Analysis |
Author: InSight Crime Title: Criminal Game Changers 2018 Summary: Welcome to InSight Crime's Criminal GameChangers 2018, where we highlight the most important trends in organized crime in the Americas over the course of the year. From a rise in illicit drug availability and resurgence of monolithic criminal groups to the weakening of anti-corruption efforts and a swell in militarized responses to crime, 2018 was a year in which political issues were still often framed as left or right, but the only ideology that mattered was organized crime. Some of the worst news came from Colombia, where coca and cocaine production reached record highs amidst another year of bad news regarding the historic peace agreement with the region's oldest political insurgency, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC). The demobilization of ex-FARC members has been plagued by government ineptitude, corruption, human rights violations, and accusations of top guerrilla leaders' involvement in the drug trade. And it may have contributed directly and indirectly to the surge in coca and cocaine production. It was during this tumult that Colombia elected right wing politician Ivan Duque in May. Duque is the protege of former president and current Senator Alvaro Uribe. Their alliance could impact not just what's left of the peace agreement but the entire structure of the underworld where, during 2018, ex-FARC dissidents reestablished criminal fiefdoms or allied themselves with other criminal factions; and the last remaining rebel group, the National Liberation Army (Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional - ELN), filled power vacuums in Colombia and neighboring Venezuela, making it one of our three criminal winners this year. Meanwhile, a new generation of traffickers emerged, one that prefers anonymity to the large, highly visible armies of yesteryear. Also of note in 2018 was a surge in synthetic drugs, most notably fentanyl. The synthetic opioid powered a scourge that led to more overdose deaths in the United States than any other drug. Fentanyl is no longer consumed as a replacement for heroin. It is now hidden in counterfeit prescription pills and mixed into cocaine and other legacy drugs. It is produced in Communist-ruled China and while much of it moves through the US postal system, some of it travels through Mexico on its way to the United States. During 2018, the criminal groups in Mexico seemed to be shifting their operations increasingly around it, especially given its increasing popularity, availability, and profitability. The result is some new possibly game changing alliances, most notably between Mexican and Dominican criminal organizations. Among these Mexican criminal groups is the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion - CJNG), another of our three criminal winners for 2018. The CJNG has avoided efforts to weaken it with a mix of sophisticated public relations, military tactics and the luck of circumstance - the government has simply been distracted. That is not the say it is invulnerable. The group took some big hits in its epicenter in 2018, and the US authorities put it on its radar, unleashing a series of sealed indictments against the group. Mexico's cartels battled each other even as they took advantage of booming criminal economies. The result was manifest in the record high in homicides this year. The deterioration in security opened the door to the July election of leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. AMLO, as he is affectionately known, did not necessary run on security issues, but he may have won on them, and in the process, inherited a poisoned security chalice from his predecessor. While Pena Nieto can claim to have arrested or killed 110 of 122 criminal heads, AMLO faces closer to a thousand would-be leaders and hundreds of criminal groups.... Details: s.l.: Insight Crime, 2019. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 25, 2019 at: https://www.insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/CRIMINAL-GAMECHANGERS-2018-InSight-Crime.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Latin America URL: https://www.insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/CRIMINAL-GAMECHANGERS-2018-InSight-Crime.pdf Shelf Number: 155157 Keywords: CocaineCriminal NetworksDrug CartelsDrug TraffickingFentanylIllicit DrugsOpioidsOrganized CrimeWar on Drugs |
Author: Strulik, Holger Title: From Pain Patient to Junkie: An Economic Theory of Painkiller Consumption and Its Impact on Wellbeing and Longevity Summary: In this paper, I propose a life cycle model of painkiller consumption that combines the theory of health deficit accumulation with the theory of addiction. Chronic pain is conceptualized as a persistent negative shock to lifetime utility that can be treated by pain relief medication. Some individuals treated with opioid pain relievers develop addiction, which increases their demand for opioids and reduces their welfare and life expectancy through side effects and potential overdose. Nevertheless, individuals prefer opioid treatment if they fail to understand how it causes addiction. Once individuals are unintentionally addicted and access to prescription opioids is discontinued, consumption shifts to illicit opiods (like heroin). I calibrate the model for a benchmark American and investigate the comparative dynamics of alternative drug characteristics, pain intensities, and ages of onsets of pain and their implications for welfare and life expectancy. I also discuss treatment of addiction and the use of opioids in palliative care. Details: Gottetingen, Germany: University of Goettingen, Department of Economics, Center for European Governance and Economic Development Research, 2018. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Papers No. 359: Accessed March 28, 2019 at: https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/cegedp/359.html Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/cegedp/359.html Shelf Number: 155208 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction Illicit DrugsOpioid Epidemic Opioids Prescription Drugs |
Author: Pardo, Bryce Title: Contemporary Asian Drug Policy: Insights and Opportunities for Change Summary: Changing patterns in drug use and supply can affect the well-being and development of Asian countries in many ways: The burden of disease from injection drug use, over-reliance on the criminal justice system, and rise of drug-related crime can impede economic, environmental, and social development. Historically, countries in Asia have addressed illicit drug use and supply with harsh punishments, including compulsory treatment and the death penalty. The region has long espoused the goal of creating a drug-free society, a goal that has been abandoned in other parts of the globe for being infeasible. This report describes the illicit drug policy landscape for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) + 3 countries (China, Japan, and South Korea), which account for about 30 percent of the world's population. The authors also present three case studies on the shifting drug policy landscape in Asia: (1) the violent crackdown on people who use or sell drugs in the Philippines, (2) Thailand's move from a similar crackdown toward an alternative approach of reducing criminal sanctions for drug use and improving access to medication treatment and needle exchange, and (3) China's emergence as a major source of many new chemical precursors and drugs, like fentanyl, that are exported outside Asia. Data on drug use and dependence in Asia are limited There is tremendous imprecision in the data available on drug consumption and expenditures in Asia. This information is critical for understanding the revenues generated by drug traffickers and putting the amount of drugs seized into context. As in many countries, most Asian nations rely on surveys of self-reported behaviors to learn about substance use; issues of underreporting might be more pronounced in Asia given the stigma and harsh punitive responses. Injection drug use contributes to the burden of disease; gaps in access to treatment remain Several countries in the region have reported alarming rates of blood-borne illnesses among injection drug-using populations. The region has employed compulsory inpatient treatment, although many countries are starting to adopt voluntary outpatient medication therapies for people who use opiates. Nonetheless, gaps in access remain and some countries have maintained restrictions on medication therapies. Approaches to drug problems vary The Philippines has embarked on a violent repression of drug distribution and use. This is a particularly dubious approach for improving health outcomes and could have unintended consequences. The Thai government has shifted rhetoric toward treatment and reduced punishment and has reformed laws to allow medical cannabis and kratom. China is a leading source of legitimate chemicals for global markets. However, gaps in regulatory oversight and an abundance of manufacturers permit illicit export of precursors and synthetic drugs, including fentanyl. China has attempted to bring new chemicals under regulatory control, but producers are quick to adapt, impeding efforts to stem the flow to global markets. Recommendations National governments and regional organizations should improve their data-collection efforts to produce more-accurate and more-reliable estimates of drug consumption and expenditures. This could be done by utilizing new and advanced measurement techniques, such as wastewater testing, web surveys, and respondent-driven sampling. Medical practitioners and researchers should expand evidence-based drug treatment (e.g., methadone and buprenorphine for opiate use disorders) and disease-prevention modalities (e.g., needle and syringe exchange programs) as well as evaluate new efforts that show promise in reducing drug use and harm. Policymakers and researchers should monitor and project the implications of shifting patterns in synthetic drug supply, including their impact on the cultivation of traditional drugs. Those condoning harsh drug law enforcement, including capital punishment, should reconsider this approach. In addition to potential unintended consequences, there is a growing body of research suggesting that the certainty and swiftness of a sanction matters more than severity in creating a deterrent effect. This raises important questions about the use of violent crackdowns and capital punishment for drug offenses in Asia. Details: Santa Monica, RAND, 2019. 118p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 15, 2019 at: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR2700/RR2733/RAND_RR2733.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Asia URL: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR2700/RR2733/RAND_RR2733.pdf Shelf Number: 155854 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction Drug Abuse and Crime Drug Markets and Supply Drug Policy Illegal Drug Trade Illegal Drugs Illicit DrugsOpioids |
Author: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Title: European Drug Report 2019: Trends and Developments Summary: The Trends and Developments report presents a top-level overview of the drug phenomenon in Europe, covering drug supply, use and public health problems as well as drug policy and responses. Together with the online Statistical Bulletin and 30 Country Drug Reports, it makes up the 2019 European Drug Report package. Table of contents -- Preface - Introductory note and acknowledgements - Commentary - Chapter 1: Drug supply and the market Chapter 2: Drug use prevalence and trends Chapter 3: Drug-related harms and responses Annex: National data tables Details: Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2019. 95p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed June 6, 2019 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/edr/trends-developments/2019_en Year: 2019 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/edr/trends-developments/2019_en Shelf Number: 156230 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction (Europe) Drug Abuse and Crime Drug Abuse Policy Drug Control Drug Offenders Illicit Drugs |
Author: Walker, Summer Title: Fragmented But Far-Reaching: The UN System's mandate and response to organized crime Summary: From peace operations to how to better manage forests and food supply chains, the United Nations (UN) is engaged in the fight against organized crime and efforts to mitigate its impact within the ambit of the UN's wider goals: peace and security, human rights and sustainable development. Mandates relating to key crime types are often allocated to one or more agencies or departments across the UN System, but, as always, mandates evolve, and information about these mandates and the relevant programmes and activities carried out by agencies can be fragmented, scattered and duplicatory. For some emerging or resurging forms of crime, mandates allocated decades ago have required a far more comprehensive set of responses in their contemporary forms. To better understand the UN's overall mandate for addressing organized crime, the Global Initiative conducted a desk review of the UN's entities and agencies to identify their mandates and working agendas for organized crime, specifically in relation to the UN's work on six crime types that have had major impacts on broader UN goals, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper is a companion piece to an interactive online tool, which displays the organized-crime agendas within the UN System. The tool's purpose is to provide a better understanding of the UN's counter-crime work and serve as a basis for discussion about how organized crime challenges, which are now far-reaching and serious, could be more effectively met and how UN System resources can be used more coherently. The mandate for addressing organized crime extends across the UN System in a way that is expansive, exhaustive and certainly under-appreciated. A review by the Global Initiative has identified a working agenda for 79 out of the UN's 102 entities, bodies and agencies, or nearly 77 per cent. The research (see Figure 1) found that 37 per cent of these entities address human trafficking, and 33 per cent work on illicit drugs. Environmental crime was third, with 28 per cent of entities addressing related issues. Cybercrime and financial crime both saw 22 out of the 102 entities addressing the issue (21 per cent), and arms trafficking is worked on by 21 entities, yet this understanding of arms trafficking does not include illicit chemical and nuclear material trafficking. This paper examines the implications this has for the UN System given such a widely dispersed mandate. Organized crime is a cross-cutting threat to the goals of many different sectors, in all three core areas of the UN's work: peace and security, human rights and development. Previous analysis conducted by the Global Initiative found that organized crime affects a high proportion of the SDGs. An additional Global Initiative review of UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions in 2018 found that 22 of the 54 resolutions (40 per cent) referred to a form of organized crime, showing a significant recognition of the problem on the international security agenda. Given the diverse nature of organized-crime threats, it is possible to argue that perhaps it is only right that the requirement to respond to organized crime is distributed across the UN System so widely. But without a coherent strategy underpinning this wide mandate, responses to organized crime across the system can be fragmented, and opportunities to achieve synergies and learn lessons from responses are not maximized, or perhaps not realized at all. Organized crime is a challenge that rises and falls on the global policy priority list. The diversity of illicit markets and the fact the harm caused by organized crime tends to be more corrosive in nature than sensational mean that it is often overlooked or downgraded on the priority list. However, over the past two decades, there have been certain points when the threat of a specific form of organized crime became so compelling that it demanded an urgent response from the international community and the UN System. These flashpoints in the debate - for example, during the piracy crisis in the Gulf of Aden in 2011/12 (see page 3), or the demand for a response to human smuggling and trafficking in 2016/17 - have regrettably shone a light on the UN System's shortcomings rather than draw attention to the efficacy of the world's global governance mechanism to respond to shared, transnational threats that require collective response. Many efforts have been made to create better UN System coherence, but with the global scale and impact of organized crime on the rise, the need to recognize its corrosive impact on major UN objectives should be an imperative for the following reasons: - Organized crime is a leading cause of violence and homicide globally. - Criminal interests and corruption in natural-resource sectors are leading drivers of deforestation and unsustainable natural-resource extraction. - Organized crime has a destructive impact on governance, anti-corruption, economic development and trade, and environmental protection efforts. - Serious rights violations to individuals are caused by organized crime, such as the interlinking phenomena of modern slavery, forced labour, human trafficking and aggravated smuggling. It is very clear when looking at the spread of activity across the system that the issue is not solely a law-enforcement problem. Threats posed by criminal groups are wide-ranging: they impact good governance, breed corruption and weaken development agendas. A holistic view of the issues aligned with increased coherence would help shrink the learning curve on the pervasive impact of organized crime on international security, development and human rights. Details: Geneva: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, 2019. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 24, 2019 at: https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/gitoc_un_june_19.pdf Year: 2019 Country: International URL: https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/gitoc_un_june_19.pdf Shelf Number: 156607 Keywords: Arms TraffickingCybercrimeEnvironmental CrimeFinancial CrimeHuman RightsHuman TraffickingIllicit DrugsModern SlaveryOrganized CrimeTransnational Organized CrimeUnited Nations |