Getting high on the policy agenda: Europe, the US and the future of the global drug prohibition regime

Examining the Dynamics of Policy Change and U.S. Narcotics Policy: Implications for the Global Narcotics Regime

“…For sure, one might argue that the view expressed by Senator Kerry may not have been exclusive to the 1980s and 1990s alone, but also applicable to recent times Nadelmann, 2006, Wyler, 2009:2). While different views exist on the strategies of narcotics control 110 (Gerber and Jensen, 2001: 7), it is widely believed that one of the reasons for the relentless effort by the US in the global narcotics control is the fact that the major supply of narcotic drugs into the US comes from outside the US (Bewley-Taylor, 2006,1999a. In effect, the US has for many decades led the international counternarcotics control (supply-reduction) programs on drug growers, processing centers, and transit points in many of the source countries (see appendix 4) while the domestic control programs focus on the disruption of the distribution networks and users as shown in figure 5.1.…”

“…Andreas and Nadelmann (2006: vii) centuries." In the case of narcotics policy, it is common to find that almost all countries adhere to the international treaties prohibiting drugs that are labeled as narcotics, except for scientific and some limited medical purposes (Bewley-Taylor, 2006:29, Nadelmann, 1990).…”

“…For example, many religiously affiliated groups and individuals within the US have since the beginning of the twentieth century framed the source of the narcotics problem beyond the boundaries of the US (Bewley-Taylor, 2006, 1999a. According to Bewley-Taylor (2006:29), the attempt by these moral advocates (Protestant culturalism), was to shift the blame to outside sources in order to fight against the use of illegal drug that many deemed morally unacceptable to the American society.…”

“…A good case in point is the Dutch liberal drug policy experiment. The Dutch experiment began in the 1970s with the aim of making soft narcotic drugs such as cannabis available to users as a pragmatic method of responding to the reality of the drug problem (Bullington, 2004;Bewley-Taylor, 2006 In 2001, for example, more than 95 percent of cannabis possession cases were not prosecuted in France. The law on marijuana was also relaxed in other European countries, such as Denmark, Italy, and Germany.…”

“…Apart from the emerging pressure from many international advocacy groups for narcotics policy reforms, there is also a growing criticism from certain countries about the US-backed prohibition approach. The Dutch liberal drug policy experiment, which began in the 1970s with the aim of making soft narcotic drugs (cannabis) available to users, is a good case in point (Bullington, 2004;Bewley-Taylor, 2006). Besides the Dutch experiment, other countries such as Switzerland, Australia, Canada, and other European countries are loosening their marijuana laws (see chapter five).…”