Drug Policy Question of the Week – 7-25-12

As answered by Mary Jane Borden, Editor of Drug War Facts for the Drug Truth Network on 7-25-12. http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3945

Question of the Week: What are drug control models?

The abstract of a 1996 article that appeared in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management began,

“The debate over alternative regimes for currently illicit psychoactive substances focus on polar alternatives: harsh prohibition and sweeping legalization.”

Indeed, according to a Thomas Jefferson School of Law article,

“The central principle of [U.S.] drug war strategy has been that vigorous enforcement of increasingly strict criminal laws, though expensive, is necessary to reduce drug abuse and related problems.”

However, the article goes on to note,

“… that the overwhelming public support for ever-more punitive drug policies during the 1980s and early 1990s has disappeared and we now see substantial majorities in favor of reform measures. … voters have generally embraced proposals to move state and local drug policies away from the drug war strategy.”

But what are these alternative proposals and strategies?

As noted by the Global Commission on Drug Policies,

“There is much confusion in the literature and public debate about the terms decriminalisation, depenalisation, legalisation and regulation. Universally accepted definitions do not exist and interpretations frequently vary even within the same language.”

Canadian researcher Mark Haden stated in a 2004 article in the International Journal of Drug Policy,

“We need to ask new questions. The question “how do we stop drug use?” is not as useful as the question “how do we regulate the market for drugs in a way which increases social cohesion and minimises harms?”

The next few Drug War Facts segments will focus on reviewing the spectrum of options available as drug control models that will hopefully answer this question.

Drug Policy Question of the Week – 7-4-12

As answered by Mary Jane Borden, Editor of Drug War Facts for the Drug Truth Network on 7-4-12. http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3935

Question of the Week: What is DUID?

DUID stands for “driving while under the influence of drugs.” Some reports have called this “OUI” or “operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs (OUI drugs), also called drugged driving.” Other common terms still include DWI (driving while under the influence) or OMVI (operating a motor vehicle while under the influence).

According to a Western New England Law Review article,

“Nationwide, three different standards have been drafted in legislation defining what constitutes OUI drugs: two “effect-based” laws and one “per se” law. The first effect-based law requires that an OUI drug motorist be rendered incapable of driving due to drug use. The second effect-based law requires a demonstration that an OUI drug motorist’s ability to operate a motor vehicle is impaired or that the motorist is under the influence or affected by an intoxicating drug while driving. Some per se laws set a limit on the amount of drug or drug metabolite in the driver’s system at the time of the arrest. However, there was a lack of consensus as to the particular levels. As a result, states with per se laws now employ a “zero tolerance” per se law. This zero tolerance per se law prohibits motorists from operating a motor vehicle if there is any detectable level of illicit drug or drug metabolite in their body, regardless of whether the motorist operated the motor vehicle in an impaired manner.”

A 2009 report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded,

“State-by-State analysis indicates there is a lack of uniformity or consistency in the way the States approach drugged drivers.”

 

Drug Policy Question of the Week – 6-5-12

As answered by Mary Jane Borden, Editor of Drug War Facts for the Drug Truth Network on 6-5-12. http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3903

Question of the Week: When did people start using drugs?

According to a 2009 historical overview by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime,

“The use of psychoactive substances has occurred since ancient times …”

Reviewing just opium, cannabis and coca, the UNODC goes on to say,

“The use of opium for medicinal and recreational use is documented in antiquity. The Sumerians referred to it as ‘Gil Hul’ or ‘joy plant’ as early as 3000 B.C. Techniques of opium production were passed to the Babylonians from where it spread to other countries in the Near and Middle East. Opium production shifted from Mesopotamia to Egypt around 1500 B.C., to Persia probably around 900 B.C, and to Asia Minor around 500 B.C.”

The UNODC also traces cannabis use to

“as early as 4000 B.C. in Central Asia and north-western China, with written evidence going back to 2700 B.C. in the pharmacopeia of emperor Chen-Nong. It then gradually spread across the globe, to India (some 1500 B.C., also mentioned in Altharva Veda, one of four holy books about 1400 B.C.1), the Near and Middle East (some 900 B.C.),
Europe (some 800 B.C.), various parts of South-East Asia (2nd century A.D.), Africa (as of the 11th century A.D.) to the Americas (19th century) and the rest of the world.”

Regarding coca, the non-profit Acción Andina states that,

“Archaeological evidence has confirmed that the coca leaf has been  cultivated and used by the indigenous people of the Andes region for at least 4,000-5,000 years while other estimates put this as far back as 20,000 years.”

Thus the short answer to the question of when people started using drugs is a very, very long time ago!

Drug Policy Question of the Week – 6-2-12

As answered by Mary Jane Borden, Editor of Drug War Facts for the Drug Truth Network on 6-2-12.  http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3892

Question of the Week: How much is the global illicit market worth?

The last Drug Truth Network segment covered Transnational Organized Crime, a relatively new term that was the focus of a 2011 report by Global Financial Integrity. It concluded,

“Whether it is drugs, human kidneys, human beings, illegally harvested timber, weapons, or rhinoceros horns, as long as someone is willing to buy it, someone will be willing to sell it.”

Understanding profit as a driving force, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime computed a “macro” estimate of global illicit trade in 2009, finding

“The overall best estimates of [its] criminal proceeds are close to US$2.1 trillion in 2009 … About half of these proceeds were linked to trafficking in drugs.”

The “micro” components of these criminal proceeds can be found in a new Drug War Facts table based on Global Financial Integrity’s estimates. This table also includes dollar values from the UNODC for cannabis, cocaine, opiates and amphetamine stimulants.

This table shows that the $321 billion illicit drug trade clearly dominated the illicit international trade, representing almost half of its total estimated $646 billion value in 2005. The only other market to come close was “Counterfeiting” at $250 billion. In contrast, the “Small arms and Light Weapons” market had a “mere” value of only $650 million or 0.1% of the total.

At $141 billion, cannabis and cannabis resin combined were estimated to have a global retail value equal to twice the sum of these ten “smaller” illicit markets combined.

Hence, removing just cannabis and cannabis resin from the illicit market place could reduce the proceeds available to transnational organized crime by almost one quarter.