Key documents
Below is a selection of key documents which make an evidence based case for legally regulating drugs:
- Post Prohibition Drug Control Systems (Mark Haden - version June 2007)
This spread sheet provides a matrix of currently prohibited drugs and some of methods of licensing and restriction that could be applied to them post prohibition. This is work in progress and the goal of this spread sheet is to stimulate discussion, NOT to provide absolute answers. The yes/no responses are not intended to be the answers, only to be discussion points.
- Ethics and drug policy (Psychiatry, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2007)
This essay by Alex Wodak,
Director of the Alcohol and Drug Service at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, Australia,
published in Psychiatry journal says that case for a deontological approach to drug policy has been severely weakened by the negative health, social, economic and security outcomes caused by global drug prohibition, and that this is increasing support for a consequentialist harm-reduction approach.
- A Public Health Approach To Drug Control in Canada (Health Officers Council of British Columbia, 2005)
This paper is a substantial revision of a May 2004 Health Officers Council discussion paper, “Psychoactive Drugs, Including Alcohol and Tobacco: A Public Health Approach”. The report was produced by an independent group of public health officials in British Colombia and is a detailed consideration of regulatory options for currently illegal drugs.
- Effective Drug Control: Toward a New Legal Framework (King County Bar Association, 2005)
This major report explores state-level regulations as a workable alternative to the "war on drugs." The report begins with the King County Bar Association's Resolution for State Regulation and Control of Psychoactive Substances while the remainder provides a comprehensive analysis of the past, present and future of drugs and drug laws. The King County Bar Association have also produced an FAQ about their report.
- After the War on Drugs - Options for Control (Transform Drug Policy Foundation, 2004)
After the War on Drugs - Options for Control is a major report by Transform Drug Policy Foundation which examines the key themes in the drug policy reform debate, detailing how legal regulation of drug markets will operate, and providing a roadmap and time line for reform. The report has also been translated into Spanish.
- Alcohol Prohibition and Drug Prohibition - Lessons from Alcohol Policy for Drug Policy (CEDRO, 2004)
This essay reviews the rise, effects and fall of national alcohol prohibition in the US and
discusses the current world-wide system of drug prohibition. It argues that although there are differences between 1920s alcohol prohibition in the US and the global drug prohibition we have today, similarities between the two
can help us better understand the situation we face and move us to less costly and more humane and effective drug policies.