Thematic session 3: The criminal misuse of information and communications technologies for illicit drug-related activities is increasing; (21 October 2021) Chair: Welcome back.I now would turn to the participants of our today’s discussion, and I welcome warmly all those who join us today Chloe Carpenter, UNODC Research Section: Good Morning. I’ve been asked to introduce these …
Global Drug Policy Observatory
Side Event: Cannabis and the Conventions: Aftermath of UNGASS
Organized by the Washington Office on Latin America, the Global Drug Policy Observatory, the Transnational Institute, the Transform Drug Policy Foundation and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. John Walsh Washington Office of Latin America (WOLA) – Moderator: The Outcome Document sought to give states flexibility, and now 1 in 5 Americans live in an area …
Side event: Cannabis and the conventions: Aftermath of UNGASS
Chaired by John Walsh (WOLA). Dave Bewley Taylor (GDPO): I’d like to provide some historical context and then approach the current legal situation. During the UNGASS, the issue was largely ignored; certainly in the Outcome Document. Cannabis is the world’s most widely used illicit substance. Its scheduling had very little to do with scientific evidence on health harms. …
Side event – Getting better results: Aligning drug policy objectives within the wider UN system
Side event organised by New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, Switzerland, the Global Drug Policy Observatory, the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy, IDPC and Transform Hon. Peter Dunne, Associate Minister of Health, New Zealand. Over the past few years, we have shifted drug policies towards a health approach. Most of us have come to the …
Side Event: Improving system-wide coherence by reprioritising metrics to evaluate illicit drug policy
Side event organised by ICSDP, GDPO, Transform, IDPC, Switzerland, Mexico and Brazil. Dave Bewley-Taylor, University of Swansea Global Drug Policy Observatory. The Sustainable Development Goals that have been agreed by the United Nations further amplify the need for better drug policy metrics. Drugs can be seen as influential across all the Sustainable Development Goals – …
Towards better measurements and improved system-wide coherence: Policy indicators, development and public health

Side event organised by the International Drug Policy Consortium, the Global Drug Policy Observatory, Switzerland Martin Matter, Switzerland. Available data and indicators are ill suited to assess the impact of drug control. Unexpected, adverse and unintended consequences will not show. If the purpose is to understand how policy affects the drugs phenomenon, then a …