Program: Global Drug Policy Program

Voices January 24, 2019

The Consequences of Rising Female Incarceration Rates in Latin America

Punitive drug laws are the driving force behind women’s imprisonment, but two organizations are working together to reverse the trend.

Event January 17, 2019

Women in Prison: The Devastating Impact of Rising Incarceration in the Americas

A panel of experts explores innovative strategies being launched to counter rising incarceration rates among women in the Americas.

Voices December 14, 2018 Diego Garcia-Sayan

A Pivotal Decade for the Movement to End the “War on Drugs”

Over the past decade, Open Society’s Global Drug Policy Program has supported reformers all over the world as they organize against the worst effects of the failed “war on drugs.” The future is bright, but challenges remain.

Voices July 26, 2018 Giada Girelli

Sri Lanka Should Think Twice Before Copying Duterte’s Vicious Drug War

While the world moves on, Sri Lanka continues to drift toward the brutal and criminal “war on drugs” policies championed by the Philippines’ strongman. These heinous policies must be abandoned—before it’s too late.

Voices July 2, 2018

With the Museum of Drug Policy, Artists and Activists Push for Reform

A panel of activists and artists discuss creative ways to effect change through immersive events.

Event June 25, 2018

Reimagining Drug Policy Through Artistic Expression: Museums, Marches, and More

A panel of activists and artists will discuss creative ways to push for reform through immersive events and imaginative experiences.

Voices May 29, 2018

The Future of Coca Industrialization in Colombia

A new report looks at the coca leaf as a legal agricultural product and presents challenges, opportunities, and parameters for a legal system to expand coca industrialization.

Event May 22, 2018

The Future of Coca Industrialization in Colombia: A Pathway to Development and Peace

A new report looks at the coca leaf as a legal agricultural product and presents challenges, opportunities, and parameters for a legal system to expand coca industrialization.

publication May 2018

Coca Industrialization: A Path to Innovation, Development, and Peace in Colombia

This report explores coca’s diverse potential in applications as varied as nutrition, natural medicine, personal care, and agro-industry—as well as coca’s historical cultural uses.

Voices May 22, 2018 David Restrepo

How a New Approach to Coca Will Strengthen Colombia’s Democracy

A new report shows how, after decades of needless destruction, a grassroots movement in Colombia is breaking from the failed “war on drugs” and devising new strategies for increasing prosperity and strengthening peace.

Voices April 16, 2018

Latin America’s Fake News Problem

In advance of the 2018 democratic presidential elections in five Latin American countries, experts discussed how Brexit, the 2016 U.S. election, and the alarming rise of post-truth politics might affect the outcome.

Event April 9, 2018

The Rise of Fake News and Social Media Manipulation in Latin American Politics

Brexit and the 2016 U.S. elections shed light on the alarming rise of post-truth politics, fueled by fake news, media manipulation, and populist movements. What are the implications for five upcoming Latin American elections?

Voices February 14, 2018 Katerina Gogova

How Macedonia’s Bureaucracy Is Failing Young People

Too many of the country’s institutions are simply not equipped with the medicine, expertise, or guidance they need to help young people who are using drugs.

Voices October 18, 2017 Matthew Wilson & Joy Chia

The World Must Learn from Hong Kong’s Example

While many policymakers work to control heroin dependence, Hong Kong stands out. A new report explains why—and offers lessons to public officials hoping to follow its example.

publication October 2017

Globally Informed, Locally Responsive

Globally Informed, Locally Responsive presents a model for how localities can review best practices from other treatment delivery contexts and then adapt these recommendations to their local contexts.

Event June 21, 2017

Drugs in Documentary Films: A Showcase

The Open Society Foundations and PBS POV present an evening of excerpts from new documentary films exploring a range of harmful effects created by the current drug control regime.

Voices May 4, 2017 Constanza Sánchez Avilés & Andrea Langlois

A Small Case in Spain Is a Big Victory for Smarter Drug Policy

A ruling in Catalonia opens the door to legitimizing ancestral use of the coca leaf.

Voices March 27, 2017 Kasia Malinowska

Busting the Drug Addiction Myth

Dr. Carl Hart has spent his career studying the effects of drugs on the human brain. The science shows us that a fear-based approach to fighting addiction is misleading and often harmful.

Voices March 13, 2017 Nicholas Spiers & Litay Ortega

Envisioning a New Approach to a Sacred Mexican Plant

A video series explores the complicated story behind Salvia divinorum—one of the most revered, and widely misunderstood, psychotropic plants.

Voices February 21, 2017 David Mansfield

A Flourishing in the Deserts of Afghanistan. But for How Long?

A photo exhibition looks at the human stories driving a tenuous environmental revolution in Afghanistan.

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