United Nations

The UN's International Narcotics Control Board has called for greater access to and use of opioid pain relievers in the developing world. In a slap at proposals to license and "medicalize" the Afghan opium crop, the INCB argues that global supply isn't the problem.

Medical marijuana vending machines, oh my! The International Narcotics Control Board expresses its "concern."

As part of a series of regional forums in advance of next month's meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, Vancouver this week hosted a forum where participants sent a clear signal that prohibition is not working.

Even as the UN General Assembly condemned the death penalty this week, China condemned one man to death for methamphetamine trafficking and Malaysia condemned another to death for having less than two pounds of marijuana.

The 2007 International Drug Policy Reform Conference opened with a bang Thursday in New Orleans as the United Nation's top drug fighter addressed a skeptical and sometimes hostile audience.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Tuesday released its annual world drug report and marked the International Day Against Drugs and Illicit Trafficking. Both actions are drawing criticism.

A new report from the UN drug office warns that Central America is being submerged in drugs and crime. It recommends heightening prohibitionist efforts.

The opium economy is the leading employer in Afghanistan, despite limited eradication efforts funded by the west.

With the release of its annual report this week, the International Narcotics Control Board has set its sights on Bolivia and that country's pro-coca policies. The US is also preparing to make a decision on whether to decertify Bolivia as not cooperating in American drug war goals. The Bolivians don't seem to care.

While the US using tried-and-failed eradication schemes on the Afghan opium trade, others including the UN and World Bank are calling for smarter alternative development. Others are going even further.