TNI Drug Policy Briefing No. 24, September 2007The report points out that the main policy instruments aiming to tackle opium production in Afghanistan - eradication of opium poppy fields and implementing alternative livelihoods projects - are missing their targets.
This IDPC Briefing reviews the data in the latest report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime on the state of the global market, criticises the claims made in the report that international action is successfully controlling the market, and questions the political objectivity of the UNODC as we approach the review of the global objectives set in 1998.
This article by Jamie Bridge describes the impact that policing practice can have on harm reduction approaches - as well as the efforts that have been made to engage law enforcement personnel in harm reduction interventions and training.
With Afghanistan now responsible for more than 90 per cent of the world's opium production, there is massive international pressure for repressive policies.
The latest report from the Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme describes the high rates of drug problems in all prison systems, summarises the current state of global knowledge and research evidence, and provides a guide for policymakers on how to develop effective policies and programmes in this area.
Despite 2006 witnessing the most intensive use of fumigation in the country's history, some 157,200 hectares of cultivation were detected, 13,200 hectares more than in 2005.