[VIDEO] Peru’s Cocaine War: Traffickers vs. Farmers
The government of Peru is getting tough on traffickers and encouraging farmers to plant alternative crops, but will it work?
Drugs ‘R’ Us: the American Way
Pharmaceutical companies exert their influence over Americans of all walks of life, creating a culture of drug profiteering.
Third Rail Politics at the 2011 Seattle Hempfest
The way things get done in Washington, D.C. depends on closed door whispering. It is time to develop a non-binding straw poll to put partisan concerns aside for the sake of America.
A Peaceful End to the War on Drugs?
The international war on drugs isn’t stopping drug use or trafficking — but it is ruining lives. Drug policy expert Sanho Tree on what we can do differently.
Film: The Exile Nation Project
The Land of the Free punishes or imprisons more of its citizens than any other country. This collection of testimonials from criminal offenders, family members, and experts on America’s criminal justice system puts a human face on the millions of Americans subjugated by the US Government’s 40 year, one trillion dollar social catastrophe: The War on Drugs; a failed policy underscored by fear, politics, racial prejudice and intolerance in a public atmosphere of “out of sight, out of mind.”
Addicted to Failure: US Drug War Policy in the Americas
Since the 1960s, the US has squandered about trillion dollars on a failed drug war. Internationally, much of our “war” has taken place in Latin America where eradication planes have defoliated millions of acres in Colombia, US-trained police have filled prisons, and prohibition has fueled murderous gang wars. To foster a greater understanding of this issue Witness for Peace is hosting a speaking tour of Sanho Tree, IPS fellow and Director of the Institute’s Drug Policy project through Eugene, Portland, Corvallis, Seattle, and Olympia.
U.S. Renews Anachronistic Campaign to Stamp Out Coca Leaf Chewing
Washington hues to 50-year-old convention for abolishing a centuries-old indigenous practice.
Mexico: Pact with the Devil?
Will the next Mexican leader make a pact with drug traffickers?
Proposition 19 Is a Vote Heard ‘Round the World
Its symbolic importance to Latin America cannot be under-estimated.
A Conversation About Drug Policy with Judge James P. Gray
Opposition to the war on drugs spans the political spectrum and often produces strange bedfellows. Join IPS Drug Policy Project Director Sanho Tree as he interviews Judge James P. Gray (Retired Orange County Superior Court Judge).
New Directions DC: A Public Health and Safety Approach to Drug Policy
Join us for the first-ever full day conference on drug policy reform on Capitol Hill. The event will bring together a host of disciplines — public health, law enforcement, stakeholders, advocates, and treatment providers — to discuss what it really means to get serious about treating drug use as a health issue instead of a criminal justice issue.
Brown Bag: ‘The Big Scam: John Ross Discusses How Washington Gave Mexico A Drug Problem’
IPS’ Drug Policy Project invites you to a brown-bag discussion with John Ross. Militarization of the border has turned Mexico into an annex of “The Wire.” Drugs stay in the country longer these days and invariably leak into the Mexican marketplace, fomenting intense commercial rivalries between the cartels.
Revamping Plan Colombia
Bogotá and Washington are negotiating an agreement for five military bases in Colombia that would escalate the U.S. military’s presence in the region.
Discussion: Free Trade Agreements, the Peasant Economy, and Illicit Crops in Colombia
The illicit cultivation of coca in Colombia is not as profitable a business as one would imagine. A new study by Colombian development expert Andrés García, reveals that the majority of small farmers growing coca in the areas studied were earning less than the legal minimum wage. Why do they persist in cultivating coca for illicit use? They simply do not have a viable economic alternative, according to Mr. García’s report. Indeed he found that the majority of peasants used the money to buy basic social services, such as healthcare, which were not provided by the state.
Andrés García’s research was funded by Oxfam and conducted in the departments of Nariño and Cauca. Mr. García will share his experience working directly with coca growing communities and explain what anti-narcotic programs have failed — and which have failed miserably. He will also look at the potential impact of the proposed U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement on illicit coca cultivation.
For more information contact Sanho Tree stree@igc.org or call (202) 787-5266.
This presentation is cosponsored by the Institute for Policy Studies, Oxfam America, and the U.S. Office on Colombia.