International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)

This briefing provides an overview of the key questions that drug decriminalisation advocates should consider to mobilise for and demand reform.

This Guide for Advocacy is intended to be a user-friendly resource for people from all sectors who wish to understand the key objectives, principles and concepts relating to decriminalisation of drug use and how to advocate for it. Through three stages – Know it, Show it, Grow it – it outlines practical steps for developing strategies to advocate for decriminalisation, and offers tools that can be adapted and applied to plant the seeds for cultivating healthy, safe and inclusive communities.

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.

This paper sets out the ways in which current drug control efforts are already impacting upon the development sector’s efforts to achieve sustainable development, highlighting specific areas of policy incoherence between drug control and development, as well as recommendations for the way forward, which must be recognised and addressed if we are to fully achieve the new Goals and Targets set out in the Sustainable Development Agenda. The development sector has so far remained largely absent from debates on drug policy reform, but if it is serious about achieving the SDGs it can no longer remain silent.

For centuries, criminal laws, justice systems, and prisons have been designed for, and by, men. The 2010 United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders, also known as the ‘Bangkok Rules’, break away from this history by establishing the first set of international human rights standards that focus on the specific needs and experiences of women deprived of liberty. This briefing paper provides analyses the concrete ways in which punitive drug legislation has impacted upon the achievement of the Bangkok Rules, and offers several recommendations on how to translate the commitments set in the Bangkok Rules into drug policy.

The Strategic Plan further cements IDPC's position as the global drug policy reform network, with over fifteen years of experience and constantly growing in reputation, size, scope, influence and reach. The IDPC Strategic Plan 2021-2023 will guide our network as it builds on the irreversible global momentum for drug policy reform, strengthens partnerships, and deepens bonds of solidarity with like-minded movements against oppression. The new Strategic Plan also updates the network's vision and mission, reflecting our movement's maturity, ambition and purpose.

The past year has been one of both consolidation and growth of the IDPC network. Despite a challenging geo-political climate and increased pressure on civil society space, there is no doubt that the drug policy reform movement continues to grow and attract new voices and allies. The IDPC Secretariat is proud and humbled to support and amplify the work of so many diverse and committed advocates from all over the world.

This report was commissioned by the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), with the support of Australian Aid, for the purpose of developing a better understanding of drug policy advocacy activity in 10 Asian countries.

This edition of the IDPC Drug Policy Guide is more comprehensive and forward looking than ever before, and embodies the breadth and diversity of the consortium, which has grown both geographically and in thematic diversity since IDPC’s inception ten years ago.