Promoting more humane, balanced, and effective drug laws
The project was created amidst growing evidence that the decades long “War on Drugs” has failed. Current international drug control policies have not decreased drug consumption, curbed the planting of crops destined for the illicit market, or curtailed the expanding drug trade. Instead, they have marginalized drug users who are pushed out of reach of treatment programs, repressed farmers who may have no other means of survival, and overwhelmed criminal justice systems. Such policies have targeted users and small-scale traffickers, while large-scale criminal organizations have remained unrestrained.
It is time for an honest discussion based on research and analysis into the effectiveness of current and alternative drug policies. The TNI/WOLA Drug Law Reform Project aims to inform national and international debates, incorporating the principles of effective law enforcement practices, harm reduction, proportionality of sentences, prison reform, and human rights.
Our analysts – scholars, policy-makers, and legal experts – provide up-to-date information on drug policy developments in Latin America. The TNI/WOLA Drug Law Reform Project is coordinating a series of informal drug policy dialogues and workshops in the region. Our in-country researchers are conducting investigations of drug control laws, their applications, and prison conditions in eight key countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay.
