In 2018, the West African Commission on Drugs (WACD) published a ground-breaking ‘Model Drug Law for West Africa: A tool for policymakers’ to assist West African policymakers in (re)formulating national drug laws. The Model Drug Law was a follow-up to the Commission’s 2014 publication ‘Not Just in Transit: Drugs, the State and Society in West Africa’.

The Model Drug Law contains the four key parts of a drug law (general provisions, penal provisions, authorised activities, and schedules and annexes), each of which consists of model legislative provisions and commentary, in line with the UN drug control conventions.

By its design the Model Drug Law is a technical document, so this ‘explainer’ aims to provide a more accessible summary of the key elements.

How to use the West Africa Model Drug Law: ‘Explainer’ 1: Summary of key elements

Since 2013, a number of countries and local jurisdictions around the world have legalised and regulated their cannabis supply chains for non-medical use. Lawmakers, regulators, researchers, and advocates continue to design, enact, implement and revise regulatory frameworks for medical and recreational cannabis. And yet lessons from regulating other psychoactive substances, including tobacco products, are not always fully considered.

The experience of the illicit tobacco trade is particularly relevant for cannabis regulation. There are of course significant differences between the two substances. Cigarettes kill over 7 million people worldwide annually, and between one half and two thirds of their users. Non-combustible cannabis products, in contrast, present very low levels of harm, and some medical benefits. Cannabis and tobacco distribution also differ in nature. The global tobacco market is heavily concentrated. China, Brazil, and India accounted for 63% of all tobacco leaf cultivation in 2019 as part of a global cigarette market dominated by a small number of companies. China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC) accounted for 43.9% of global cigarette retail volume in 2019 – the large majority of it is destined for domestic consumption, though the company has been developing a global expansion strategy. Beyond CNTC, Philip Morris International (PMI) (13.4% of global retail volume in 2019), British American Tobacco (BAT) (12.7%), Japan Tobacco International (JTI) (9.1%) and Imperial Brands (4.2%) accounted for 70% of the rest of the world’s market share in 2019. In contrast, cannabis can be grown indoors and therefore almost anywhere across the world. The illicit cannabis market has been characterised by a high number of small-scale growers, including for personal consumption and local distribution. Moreover, cigarettes are light, compact, distributed in small packs, and easy to smuggle – in part because they can be disguised as legal products through false invoicing and/or when hidden within a shipment containing other commodities. One 20-foot shipping container alone can hold almost five million cigarettes.

Yet tobacco and cannabis are both plants with psychoactive substances, with some similar characteristics including with regard to production (cultivation and processing) and consumption (tobacco and cannabis products can be smoked, consumed with a vaporiser, or used orally), and to some extent converging industries.

In any jurisdiction that regulates a psychoactive drug like tobacco or cannabis, a portion of it will remain on the illicit market. In Canada for instance, approximately half of the total cannabis market was illicit in the third quarter of 2020, almost two years after cannabis legalisation was introduced, according to expenditure data. Across the 10 Canadian provinces, legal recreational cannabis shares varied from 13% to 70% in September 2019. An estimated 10-12% of cigarettes consumed worldwide are illicit – this includes both illicit production and distribution.

Given those similarities and while the legal cannabis industry is still nascent, now is the time to explore lessons from tobacco control in order to inform cannabis regime design decisions. By tackling these questions early, governments are more likely to be able to prevent the emergence of an industry capable of preventing, deflecting and undermining policies centred on public health, social justice, inclusive and equitable trade, and human rights. The tobacco experience is arguably not a reason to refrain from regulating cannabis at all. Rather it serves as a cautionary tale of the difficulties to restrain private actors once they have become too powerful. The history of the illicit tobacco trade, and the role of the tobacco industry in both driving it and shaping responses to it, is particularly relevant in that regard. It will be the focus of this report.

Cannabis regulation: Lessons from the illicit tobacco trade

Australia’s Annual Overdose Report 2021

 reveals that there have been 34,728 overdose deaths in Australia since the turn of the century.

That figure includes 2,227 overdose deaths in 2019, 1,644 of which were unintentional.

We stand at a unique moment in history. We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to create an unprecedented legal framework that reconfigures one of the world’s major illegal trades – to make it work for social justice rather than against it.

We have identified 15 key priorities to be included in legal regulation policy that will directly impact and strengthen sustainable development and global equity.

This paper is an invitation for organisations and advocates to get involved in the process of developing legal regulation and by doing so begin to address the harms caused by years of prohibition.

Legal regulation of drugs through a social justice lens

Em 2018, a Comissão da África Ocidental sobre Drogas (WACD, na sigla em inglês) publicou uma inovadora “Lei-modelo sobre Drogas para a África Ocidental: Uma ferramenta para formuladores de políticas” para auxiliar formadores de políticas da África Ocidental na (re)formulação de leis nacionais sobre drogas alinhadas com as convenções de controle de drogas das Nações Unidas e obrigações em matéria de direitos humanos. A Lei-modelo sobre Drogas foi um desdobramento da publicação de 2014 pela Comissão “Não Simplesmente em Trânsito: Drogas, o Estado e a sociedade na África Ocidental”.

Por definição, a Lei-modelo sobre Drogas é um documento técnico - mas pode ser uma das muitas ferramentas altamente úteis para ajudar a sociedade civil a promover reformas da política de drogas, redução de danos, bem como programas relacionados ao HIV, saúde pública e direitos humanos, inclusive e especialmente para pessoas que usam drogas. Este “documento explicativo” é um dos dois documentos de advocay relacionados à Lei-modelo sobre Drogas da África Ocidental - sendo que o outro explica e detalha o conteúdo principal da própria Lei-modelo sobre Drogas.

Este breve documento serve como um guia prático para a sociedade civil sobre as possíveis maneiras de usar a Lei-modelo sobre Drogas no avanço de reformas da política de drogas na África Ocidental e além. Apesar de seu foco na lei de drogas e suas disposições legislativas, a Lei-modelo sobre Drogas pode ser usada por uma ampla variedade de organizações da sociedade civil, incluindo redes de pessoas que usam drogas, trabalhando com políticas de drogas, de redução de danos e questões relacionadas.

Como‌ ‌utilizar‌ ‌a‌ ‌Lei-modelo‌ ‌sobre‌ ‌drogas‌ ‌da‌ ‌África‌ ‌Ocidental:‌ ‌“Documento Explicativo” 2: Guia para advocacy da sociedade civil

Para auxiliar os governos a alinhar suas leis sobre drogas com evidências de saúde pública, direitos humanos e com os objetivos das convenções sobre drogas para proteger a saúde e o bem-estar da humanidade, em 2018, a Comissão da África Ocidental sobre Drogas (WACD, na sigla em inglês) publicou uma inovadora “Lei-modelo sobre Drogas para a África Ocidental: Uma ferramenta para formuladores de políticas” para auxiliar formadores de políticas da África Ocidental na (re)formulação de leis nacionais sobre drogas.A Lei-modelo sobre Drogas foi um desdobramento da publicação de 2014 pela Comissão “Não Simplesmente em Trânsito: Drogas, o Estado e a sociedade na África Ocidental”.

A Lei-modelo sobre Drogas contém as quatro partes principais de uma lei sobre drogas (disposições gerais, disposições penais, atividades autorizadas, cronogramas e anexos), cada uma das quais contendo modelos de disposições legislativas e comentários, de acordo com as convenções de controle de drogas da ONU.

De acordo com sua proposta, a Lei-modelo sobre Drogas é um documento técnico, portanto o presente "documento explicativo" visa fornecer um resumo mais acessível de seus elementos-chave

Como utilizar a Lei-modelo sobre Drogas da África Ocidental: “Documento Explicativo” 1: Resumo dos Principais Elementos

This position paper and recommendations were developed by a working group of 10 women drawn from the membership of YouthRISE and WHRIN, based in 10 different countries across the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania. This paper sets out the core issues and recommendations relating specifically to young women who use drugs. Young women and girls who are affected by punitive drug policy face unique age-related as well as gender-specific risks, barriers and rights violations that are not well recognized or responded to by policymakers or service providers. These intersectional inequities are particularly evident when facing societal expectations, when accessing harm reduction and health care services including sexual and reproductive health services, when navigating the illicit drug market and when in contact with the criminal justice system.

Young women and drug use - Position paper

The number of women and girls in prison, estimated to be more than 740,000, is increasing: between 2010 and 2020 there was a 17 per cent increase globally. Punitive drug policies are known to be a key driver of rising prison populations and to have a particular and disproportionate impact on women.

Drawing on the report, Sentencing of women convicted of drug-related offences, as well as findings from an expert meeting held in London in February 2020, and the recent briefing, Punitive Drug Laws: 10 years undermining the Bangkok Rules, this model for reform details how policy makers and criminal justice practitioners can respond effectively and positively to reduce the unnecessary imprisonment of women for drug‐related offences in line with international standards.

10-point plan: Gender-sensitive drug policies for women

We would like to commend the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on developing the World Drug Report, as it provides both governments and civil society with essential information on global developments in drug cultivation, trafficking and consumption, that in turn could inform future policy decisions. Throughout this response we provide our insights on the report and ways in which it could provide more meaningful data and representation, that could better advise governments, international bodies and civil society moving forward.

We see throughout this report that drug cultivation, trafficking and use have consistently increased over the last 50 years. With consistent increasing rates of drug consumption and drug related death across the globe, it is clear that both drug supply and demand reduction efforts are failing us. We are seeing more potent and purer drugs (particularly cocaine and cannabis) becoming more commonplace. As traditional policies focused on creating a “drug free world” are proven consistently infective, we call for a shift in policies which maximises the health and welfare of all those in society, particularly people who use drugs.

The overall framing of the document as “Drugs cost lives”, though well meaning, is stigmatising and even potentially harmful, given the recent strides made by the international community, particularly towards those vulnerable that are caught in the illicit drug trade. We find it more reflective of our lived realities to assert that the criminalisation and underfunding of life saving harm reduction services, lack of fact based drug education, inefficient mental health services and the lack of access to an unadulterated drug supply is what costs lives. Drugs themselves are not inherently life-threatening, as evidenced by the medical benefits that can be derived from both legal and illegal psychoactive substances, an aspect acknowledged by the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs and many member states.

“Drugs cost lives” therefore highlights an outdated attitude that fails to account for the recent decisions taken by the international community, overlooking the need for member states to address the funding shortages experienced by harm reduction services, as well as their commitment to upholding the human rights of drug users. In a time when we need attitudes that seek to maximise the health and life quality of society as a whole, but particularly those who are exposed to the drug trade and people who use drugs, youth representatives urge for holistic data and observations to back the commitments and ethos displayed by the United Nations.

Youth Response to the World Drug Report 2021

In this five-year reflection you will hear from the people whose experiences are testimony to the many ways PITCH has inspired, transformed and connected HIV responses across the world.

By focusing on advocacy and investing on such a large scale in community organisations, networks, platforms and people, the partnership has supported movements to form within and across countries. These movements have changed laws, policies, practices and mindsets – and the daily lives of marginalised people have improved as a result.

PITCH provides compelling evidence that community-led advocacy is crucial for an effective HIV response. Its focus on building the skills needed for effective advocacy has led to numerous advances, big and small. Through each win, marginalised people have created more enabling environments, and their access to HIV and sexual and reproductive health services has improved. For the communities that have brought about these changes, the power and influence they have been able to wield has been inspiring and transformational, for them and for others.

The journey many advocates and organisations have gone on in the past five years has been incredible to witness. Many advocates have gained new skills in key areas such as political campaigning, responding to rights violations, fundraising and communications, and have grown in confidence as a result.

PITCH: Five-year reflection

Achieving the global target to eliminate HIV transmission among men who have sex with men (MSM) faces additional challenges from the lack of effective and scaled intervention to address a part of the population who use drugs in sexual settings (colloquially known as chemsex). In this report, we intend to deliver a practical toolkit for community-based organisations (CBOs) who work to improve health outcomes for MSM, particularly in Asian countries. This manual provides the contextual information on chemsex practices among MSM in Asia and offers information and interventions to respond to the situation appropriately.

Chemsex is a term generally used to describe the psychoactive substance use by MSM at the sex event-level, which typically includes mephedrone, GHB/GBL, or crystal methamphetamine. In Asia, the definition of chemsex (local terms: high fun, chemfun) seems to be adjusted to reflect the local pattern that may involve different drugs such as poppers, ecstasy, 5-metoxy-n or foxy, cocaine, ketamine, cannabis, or non-prescription drugs. Overall, the prevalence of this practices among MSM in Asia ranges from 3.1% to 30.8%. Several reasons influencing the decision of MSM in Asia to practice chemsex include the direct benefit of using the drug, persuasion from peer network, and external prejudice directed towards MSM existence. For now, the practice is more likely to be done by MSM who live in urban areas, have higher educational degree and income, and engage in habitual online behaviours, can be categorized as money boy, and have been identified as HIV+.

The use of drugs in sexual context has a strong relation with sexual risk behaviours that contributes to the increased risk of HIV transmission among MSM. The risk behaviours include higher sex frequency, unprotected sex with multiple partners, group sex, inconsistent condom use, internal ejaculation, lower expectation of sex partners to use condom, less concern on sex partners HIV and Sexual transmitted infection (STI) status, and imbalanced power relations. Consequently, the chemsex practice increases the odds of contracting HIV and other sexually acquired infections. In addition, some evidence indicates that chemsex practice is associated with mental health issue, such as suicidal risk, depression, and anxiety. The interplay between social inequities, substance use, and other health conditions can mutually reinforce health disparities such as HIV.

Chemsex in Asia - A community manual on sexualised substance use among men who have sex with men

Around the world, drug law enforcement disproportionately targets people of African descent, with heightened negative social, economic, health, and legal impacts. Research on different countries consistently shows that Black people are systematically discriminated against in all stages of the criminal justice process, being disproportionately policed, arrested, harshly sentenced, and incarcerated for drug offences. This has distinct repercussions not only on their liberty, but also on their health, and on the health and safety of their communities. The disparity is such that drug policy has been described as a “key mechanism for racial and social control within society”. Far from being unintended consequences, drug control is in fact being employed “to justify excessive surveillance, criminalization and the targeting of people of African descent worldwide."

That drug control works to criminalise and dehumanise certain individuals more than others also emerged in the case of George Floyd, where the presence of ‘potential intoxicants in his system’ was reported as a potential reason for his death, in an attempt to deflect from the responsibilities of police officers who ended Mr. Floyd’s life.

In March 2019, the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent stated that: “Enduring and entrenched racial disparities in the criminal justice system – as well as ongoing tolerance of race-based outcomes in policing, entrenched racial disparities, and ongoing selective enforcement of the law – reflect harmful stereotypes grounded in the historical legacies of the global trafficking in enslaved Africans, colonisation, and the ways in which modern social narratives evolved from rhetoric designed to justify these institutions and the exploitation of people of African descent.”

Similarly, in its 2015 study on the impact of the world drug problem on the enjoyment of human rights, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has acknowledged that ethnic minorities “may be particularly subject to discrimination in the context of drug enforcement efforts.”

This report focuses on racism and discrimination against people of African descent in drug law enforcement. A detailed reconstruction and in-depth analysis of the racial undertones of drug control laws, their enforcement, and their impacts on people of African descent around the world goes well beyond the scope and space of this report. As such, this submission merely provides some (among many) examples from the USA, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil, on policing, arrest, sentencing and incarceration of people of African descent for drug offences; and comments on some social and health impacts of this phenomenon, whilst referring to more detailed sources.

Publications from IDPC Members