Further resources and reading for World War D

These are suggested resources and reading for World War D carefully selected by the author, Jeffrey Dhywood

United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime
Established in 1997 through a merger between the United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention, UNODC operates in all regions of the world through an extensive network of field offices. UNODC is mandated to assist Member States in their struggle against illicit drugs, crime and terrorism. In the Millennium Declaration, Member States also resolved to intensify efforts to fight transnational crime in all its dimensions, to redouble the efforts to implement the commitment to counter the world drug problem and to take concerted action against international terrorism.
http://www.unodc.org

National Institute on Drug Abuse (USA)
NIDA's mission is to lead the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction. This charge has two critical components. The first is the strategic support and conduct of research across a broad range of disciplines. The second is ensuring the rapid and effective dissemination and use of the results of that research to significantly improve prevention and treatment and to inform policy as it relates to drug abuse and addiction.
http://www.drugabuse.gov/

Office of National Drug Control Policy
The Obama Administration is committed to restoring balance to U.S. drug-control efforts by coordinating an unprecedented government-wide public health and public safety approach to reduce drug use and its consequences. Led by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), this effort includes a renewed emphasis on community-based prevention programs, early intervention programs in healthcare settings, aligning criminal justice policies and public health systems to divert non-violent drug offenders into treatment instead of jail, funding scientific research on drug use, and, through the Affordable Care Act, expanding access to substance abuse treatment.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp

Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
The mission of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is to enforce the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States and bring to the criminal and civil justice system of the United States, or any other competent jurisdiction, those organizations and principal members of organizations, involved in the growing, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substances appearing in or destined for illicit traffic in the United States; and to recommend and support non-enforcement programs aimed at reducing the availability of illicit controlled substances on the domestic and international markets.
http://www.justice.gov/dea/

International Narcotics Control Board (INCB)
The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) is the independent and quasi-judicial monitoring body for the implementation of the United Nations international drug control conventions. It was established in 1968 in accordance with the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961. It had predecessors under the former drug control treaties as far back as the time of the League of Nations.
http://www.incb.org/

World Drug Report 2012
The most extensive report on drug use and drug trafficking throughout the world.
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/WDR-2012.html

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) was established in 1993. Inaugurated in Lisbon in 1995, it is one of the EU’s decentralised agencies. The EMCDDA exists to provide the EU and its Member States with a factual overview of European drug problems and a solid evidence base to support the drugs debate. Today it offers policymakers the data they need for drawing up informed drug laws and strategies. It also helps professionals and practitioners working in the field pinpoint best practice and new areas of research.
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/

Global Commission on Drug Policy
The commission was formed to "bring to the international level an informed, science-based discussion about humane and effective ways to reduce the harm caused by drugs to people and societies. [It built] on the successful experience of the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy."
http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org

Report of the Global Commission on Drug Policy
Calling the global war on drugs a costly failure, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, a group of high-profile world leaders which includes former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and past presidents of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, is urging the Obama administration and other governments to end "the criminalization, marginalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs but do no harm to others." The report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy, recommends that governments try new ways of legalizing and regulating drugs, especially marijuana, as a way to deny profits to drug cartels.
http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/wp-content/themes/gcdp_v1/pdf/Global_Commission_Report_English.pdf

WHO - “Neuroscience of psychoactive substance use and dependence”
This neuroscience report is the first attempt by WHO to provide a comprehensive overview of the biological factors related to substance use and dependence by summarizing the vast amount of knowledge gained in the last 20-30 years. The report highlights the current state of knowledge of the mechanisms of action of different types of psychoactive substances, and explains how the use of these substances can lead to the development of dependence syndrome. Though the focus is on brain mechanisms, the report nevertheless addresses the social and environmental factors which influence substance use and dependence. It also deals with neuroscience aspects of interventions and, in particular, the ethical implications of new biological intervention strategies.
http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/en/Neuroscience.pdf

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition is an international organization of criminal justice professionals who bear personal witness to the wasteful futility and harms of our current drug policies. Our experience on the front lines of the “war on drugs” has led us to call for a repeal of prohibition and its replacement with a tight system of legalized regulation, which will effectively cripple the violent cartels and street dealers who control the current illegal market.
http://www.leap.cc/

The International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)
www.idpc.net The International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) is a global network of 90 NGOs and professional networks that specialise in issues related to the production and use of controlled drugs. The Consortium aims to promote objective and open debate on the effectiveness, direction and content of drug policies at the national and international level, and supports evidence-based policies that are effective in reducing drug-related harm.
http://www.idpc.net

The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA)
The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is the US' leading organization promoting alternatives to current drug policy that are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights.
http://www.drugpolicy.org

TalkingDrugs
TalkingDrugs is a space for sharing stories about drugs
http://www.talkingdrugs.org

Global Initiative for Drug Policy Reform
The War on Drugs has failed. It is time for politicians and the public to press for urgent policy reform. The Global Initiative for Drug Policy Reform was launched at the House of Lords on 17.11.2011. The aim of the initiative is to bring together : a) countries interested in reform; b) countries who have successfully implemented alternative drug control strategies; and c) the Global Commission on Drug Policy, in order to discuss new evidence and reports, towards the goal of reforming global drug policy, including amendments to the UN Conventions. Improving our drug policies is one of the key policy challenges of our time. The taboo on debate must end. It is time for reform.
http://reformdrugpolicy.com/

Common Sense for Drug Policy
Common Sense for Drug Policy is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to reforming drug policy and expanding harm reduction. CSDP disseminates factual information and comments on existing laws, policies and practices. CSDP provides advice and assistance to individuals and organizations and facilitates coalition building. CSDP supports syringe exchanges, the expansion of Methadone and Buprenorphine availability and other public health measures to reduce harm to users and restrict the spread of HIV / AIDS and Hepatitis C. CSDP advocates the regulation and control of marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol and subject to local option. CSDP favors decriminalizing the use of hard drugs and providing them only through prescription. CSDP also advocates clear federal guidelines for the practice of pain management so that physicians need not fear unwarranted law enforcement scrutiny of medical practices.
http://www.csdp.org

National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML)
NORML's mission is to move public opinion sufficiently to achieve the repeal of marijuana prohibition so that the responsible use of cannabis by adults is no longer subject to penalty.
http://norml.org/

El Colectivo por una Política Integral hacia las Drogas AC
El Colectivo por una Política Integral hacia las Drogas AC es una organización de la sociedad civil dedicada a la investigación, la educación, la acción y la difusión orientadas a transformar la cultura y las políticas de drogas bajo un enfoque de reducción de riesgos, multidisciplinario, integral, basado en evidencia, científico y de respeto a los derechos humanos.
http://www.cupihd.org

StoptheDrugWar.org (DRCNet)
StoptheDrugWar.org (DRCNet) calls for an end to drug prohibition (e.g. some form of legalization), and its replacement with some sensible framework in which drugs can be regulated and controlled instead.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/

“Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed: A Judicial Indictment Of the War On Drugs” by Judge James P. Gray
Our drug prohibition policy is hopeless, just as Prohibition, our alcohol prohibition policy, was before it. Today there are more drugs in our communities and at lower prices and higher strengths than ever before. We have built large numbers of prisons, but they are overflowing with non-violent drug offenders. The huge profits made from drug sales are corrupting people and institutions here and abroad. And far from being protected by our drug prohibition policy, our children are being recruited by it to a lifestyle of drug use and drug selling. Judge Gray's book drives a stake through the heart of the War on Drugs. After documenting the wide-ranging harms caused by this failed policy, Judge Gray also gives us hope. We have viable options. The author evaluates these options, ranging from education and drug treatment to different strategies for taking the profit out of drug-dealing. Many officials will not say publicly what they acknowledge privately about the failure of the War on Drugs. Politicians especially are afraid of not appearing i??tough on drugsi??'. But Judge Gray's conclusions as a veteran trial judge and former federal prosecutor are reinforced by the testimonies of more than forty other judges nationwide. Author note: James P. Gray is Judge of the Superior Court in Orange County in Southern California. He has served as former federal prosecutor in Los Angeles and as a criminal defense attorney as a member of the JAG Corps in the Navy. In 1998 he made an unsuccessful run for Congress as a Republican against Bob Dornan. Judge Gray has discussed issues of drug policy on more than one hundred radio and TV shows and numerous drug forums around the country.
http://www.amazon.com/Why-Drug-Laws-Have-Failed/dp/1566398606/

Drug War Heresies: Learning from Other Vices, Times, and Places (RAND Studies in Policy Analysis) by
This meticulously researched study represents the first effort to provide a nonpartisan and objective analysis of how the United States should approach the drug legalization question. It surveys what is known about the effects of different drug policies in Western Europe and what happened when cocaine and heroin were legal in the US a century ago. The book shows that legalization involves different tradeoffs between health and crime and the interests of the inner city minority communities and the middle class. The book explains why it is so difficult to accomplish substantial reform of drug policy.
http://www.amazon.com/Drug-War-Heresies-Learning-Analysis/dp/052179997X/

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
As the United States celebrates the nation's "triumph over race" with the election of Barack Obama, the majority of young black men in major American cities are locked behind bars or have been labeled felons for life. Although Jim Crow laws have been wiped off the books, an astounding percentage of the African American community remains trapped in a subordinate status--much like their grandparents before them. In this incisive critique, former litigator-turned-legal-scholar Michelle Alexander provocatively argues that we have not ended racial caste in America: we have simply redesigned it. Alexander shows that, by targeting black men and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control, even as it formally adheres to the principle of color blindness. The New Jim Crow challenges the civil rights community--and all of us--to place mass incarceration at the forefront of a new movement for racial justice in America.
http://www.amazon.com/New-Jim-Crow-Incarceration-Colorblindness/dp/1595581030/

Lies, Damned Lies, and Drug War Statistics: A Critical Analysis of Claims Made by the Office of Nati
by Matthew B. Robinson and Renee G. Scherlen
http://www.amazon.com/Lies-Damned-Drug-War-Statistics/dp/079146976X

Innocent Bystanders: Developing Countries and the War on Drugs, Philip Keefer, Norman Loayza
This World Bank report can also be downloaded from http://www.amazon.com/Innocent-Bystanders-Developing-Countries-Drugs/dp/0821380346
http://econ.worldbank.org/external/default/main?pagePK=64165259&theSitePK=469382&piPK=64165421&menuPK=64166093&entityID=000333037_20100325005015

Drugs: America's Holy War
by Arthur Benavie
http://www.amazon.com/Drugs-Americas-Holy-Arthur-Benavie/dp/0789038412/

“The Legalization of Drugs (For and Against)” by Doug Husak and Peter de Marneffe,
Cambridge University Press, Sep 12, 2005 The use or possession of many drugs is currently a criminal offense in the U.S. Can these criminal laws be justified? What are the best reasons to punish or not to punish drug users? These are the fundamental issues debated in this book by two prominent philosophers of law. Douglas Husak argues in favor of drug decriminalization, by clarifying the meaning of crucial terms, such as legalize, decriminalize, and drugs. Peter de Marneffe argues against drug legalization, demonstrating why drug prohibition, especially the prohibition of heroin, is necessary to protect youth from self-destructive drug use.
http://www.amazon.com/Legalization-Drugs-Against-Doug-Husak/dp/0521546869

David R. Bewley-Taylor, “Challenging the UN drug control conventions: problems and possibilities”,
International Journal of Drug Policy 14 (2003).
http://www.ijdp.org/article/S0955-3959%2803%2900005-7/abstract

The Beckley Foundation, Global Cannabis Convention Report
Extended Summary, 2010
http://reformdrugpolicy.com/beckley-main-content/global-cannabis-commision-report-2/cannabis-policy/

Cannabis Policy: Moving Beyond Stalemate
by Robin Room, Benedikt Fischer, Wayne Hall and Simon Lenton (Mar 26, 2010)
http://www.amazon.com/Cannabis-Policy-Moving-Beyond-Stalemate/dp/0199581487

Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know, by Mark A.R. Kleiman, Jonathan P. Caulkins and A
Paperback - Jul 13, 2011
http://www.amazon.com/Drugs-Drug-Policy-Everyone-Needs/dp/0199764506

Erowid
Erowid is a member-supported organization providing access to reliable, non-judgmental information about psychoactive plants, chemicals, and related issues. We work with academic, medical, and experiential experts to develop and publish new resources, as well as to improve and increase access to already existing resources. We also strive to ensure that these resources are maintained and preserved as a historical record for the future. Vision We imagine a world where people treat psychoactives with respect and awareness; where people work together to collect and share knowledge in ways that strengthen their understanding of themselves and provide insight into the complex choices faced by individuals and societies alike. We believe that truth, accuracy, and integrity in publishing information about psychoactives will lead to healthier and more balanced choices, behaviors, and policies around all psychoactive medications, entheogens, herbs, and recreational drugs. Erowid's vision is to facilitate and create resources that are part of the evolution towards this goal.
http://www.erowid.com

Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to their History, Chemistry, Use, and Abuse by Paul M. Gahlinger
Illegal Drugs is the first comprehensive reference to offer timely, pertinent information on every drug currently prohibited by law in the United States. It includes their histories, chemical properties and effects, medical uses and recreational abuses, and associated health problems, as well as addiction and treatment information.
http://www.amazon.com/Illegal-Drugs-Complete-History-Chemistry/dp/0452285054

Psychoactive substances: a guide to ethnobotanical plants and herbs, synthetic chemicals, compounds
Sinead O'Mahony Carey, (2010) Health Service Executive South.
http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/13725/1/Psychoactive_substances.pdf

“The Meaning of Addiction: An Unconventional View”
Stanton Peele, Aug 14, 1998
http://www.amazon.com/The-Meaning-Addiction-Unconventional-View/dp/0787943827