Abstract
This chapter gives an overview of the international context within which drug policies have developed. It shows how Britain has been and is linked to the rest of the world through foreign policy and trading relationships. It illustrates the impact of drugs around the world in cities like Rio de Janeiro and Prague, and in countries ranging from the USA to Africa and Afghanistan, Mexico and Colombia. It notes recent trends in globalisation and the growth of organised crime. The international drug control system is outlined with its Conventions, institutions and agencies. A brief review of some of the activities of those for and against drug policy reform is given, paying especial attention to UNGASS 2016.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Reports
D. Bewley-Taylor, M. Jelsma, S. Rolles and J. Walsh (2016) Cannabis Regulation and the UN Treaties. Strategies for Reform. Briefing Paper. Washington, Washington Office on Latin America (http://www.wola.org).
J. Buxton (2015) Drug Crop Production, Poverty and Development. New York, Open Society Foundations.
J. Csete, A. Kamarulzam, M. Kazatchkine, F. Altice, M. Balicki, J. Buxton, J. Cepeda, M. Comfort, E. Goosby, J. Goulão, C. Hart, T. Kerr, A.M. Lajous, S. Lewis, N. Martin, D. MejÃa, A. Camacho, D. Mathieson, L. Obot, A. Ogunrombi, S. Sherman, J. Stone, N. Vallath, P. Vickerman, T. Zábransky and C. Beyrer (2016) ‘Public health and international drug policy’. The Lancet, The Lancet Commissions, 1–54.
GCDP (2011) War on Drugs. Report of the Global Commission on Drug Policy. Global Commission on Drug Policy.
GCDP (2014) Taking Control: Pathways to Policies that Work. GCDP.
P. Reuter and F. Trautmann (2009) A Report on Global Illicit Drugs Markets 1998–2007. Brussels.
S. Rolles (2009) A Comparison of the Cost-effectiveness of Prohibition and Regulation of Drugs. London, Transform.
A. Rosmarin and N. Eastwood (2012) A Quiet Revolution: Drug Decriminalisation Policies in Practice Across the Globe. London, Release.
UNAIDS (2015) A Public Health and Rights Approach to Drugs. UNAIDS.
UNODC (2008) ‘Achievements and unintended consequences of the international drug control system.’ In: UNODC (ed.) World Drug Report 2008. New York, United Nations.
UNODC (2016). World Drug Report. New York: UN.
Books and Articles
V. Berridge and G. Edwards (1981) Opium and the People: opiate use in Nineteenth Century England. London, Allen Lane.
D. R. Bewley-Taylor (2012). International Drug Control: consensus fractured. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
J. Buxton (2006) The Political Economy of Narcotics. London, Zed Books.
M. Elvins (2003). Anti-Drugs Policies of the European Union: transnational decision making and the politics of expertise. New York, Palgrave Macmillan.
H. Ghodse (ed.) (2008) International Drug Control into the 21st Century. Aldershot, Ashgate.
M. Glenny (2015) Nemesis: One Man and the Battle for Rio. London, Bodley Head.
B. Inglis (1976) The Opium War. Hodder and Stoughton.
A. Klein (2008) Drugs and the World. London, Reaktion.
A Klein (2011) ‘Harm reduction in Africa’. African Journal of Drug and Alcohol Studies, 10, 59–70.
A. W. McCoy (2003) The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade, Afghanistan, Southeast Asia, Central America. Chicago, Lawrence Hill Books.
J. Perlman (2010) Favela - four decades of living on the edge in Rio De Janeiro. Oxford University Press.
J. Rehm, P. Anderson, B. Fischer, A. Gual and R. Room (2016) ‘Policy implications of marked reversals of population life expectancy caused by substance use’. BMC Medicine, 14, 42. doi:10.1186/s12916-016-0590-x.
R. Saviano (2007) Gomorrah: Italy’s Other Mafia. London, Macmillan.
M. Singer (2008) ‘Drugs and development: The global impact of drug use and trafficking on social and economic development’. International Journal of Drug Policy, 19, 467–478.
P. B. Stares (1996) Global Habit: the drug problem in a borderless world. Washington DC, Brookings Institution.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
MacGregor, S. (2017). The International Context. In: The Politics of Drugs. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-49682-9_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-49682-9_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-49681-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-49682-9
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)