Drug Trafficking & Counter-Narcotics Policy

The sun reflects off the White House before President Joe Biden's speech before the Joint Session of Congress in Washington, U.S., April 28, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Why has President Biden been slow to embrace cannabis reform?

Monday, May 24, 2021

Soldiers stand guard at the biggest marijuana plantation found in Mexico, in San Quintin, about 350 km (220 miles) away from Tijuana, July 13, 2011. Mexican soldiers discovered the plantation in a remote desert surrounded by cactuses, a top army officer said on Thursday. Soldiers patrolling the area found 300 acres (120 hectares) of pot plants being tended by dozens of men on Tuesday, said General Alfonso Duarte. Picture taken July 13, 2011. REUTERS/Jorge Duenes (MEXICO - Tags: SOCIETY CRIME LAW MILITARY)

Will cannabis legalization reduce crime in Mexico? Has it in the US?

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Monday, April 26, 2021

--FILE--A bottle of Fentanyl pharmaceuticals is displayed in Anyang city, central China's Henan province, 12 November 2018.China will add fentanyl-related substances to a supplementary list of controlled narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances with non-medical use since May 1. The decision was announced Monday in a joint statement by the Ministry of Public Security, the National Health Commission and the National Medical Products Administration. Fentanyl and its analogues that were previously included in the list of controlled narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, as well as the related substances in the supplementary list, will remain to be controlled according to relevant regulations, the statement said.No Use China. No Use France.

Biden takes a reformist drug strategy, but the challenge of supply countries remains

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Monday, April 19, 2021

Activist and volunteer, part of the Cannabico Mexican Movement, waters marijuana plants, inside the protest cannabis garden next to Mexico's Senate building during a call for legalization in Mexico City, Mexico September 24, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

Mexico’s cannabis legalization, and comparisons with Colombia, Lebanon, and Canada

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

A police officer uses a drone during a search for skeletal remains and clothing at a plot of land, in the municipality of Hidalgo, on the outskirts of Monterrey, Mexico September 3, 2020. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril

Death from above: How criminal organizations’ use of drones threatens Americans

Michael Sinclair

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Law enforcement officers unload part of approximately 3,200 lbs. of cocaine, which was seized at the Port of New York/Newark on February 28, 2019 in a joint operation involving U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the New York Police Department (NYPD), and the New York State Police (NYSP), in Newark, New Jersey, U.S., in this image released on March 11, 2019. Courtesy U.S. Customs and Border Protection/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.

The wicked problem of drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere

Michael Sinclair

Friday, January 15, 2021

FILE PHOTO: Mexico's defense Minister General Salvador Cienfuegos attends an event at a military zone in Mexico City, Mexico September 2, 2016. REUTERS/Henry Romero/File Photo/File Photo

Cienfuegos and the US-Mexico firestorm

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Monday, November 23, 2020

Opium poppies are pictured in the fields of Pueblo Viejo in the Sierra Madre del Sur in the southern state of Guerrero, Mexico, August 25, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

The pitfalls of poppy licensing in Mexico

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Monday, August 31, 2020

Soldiers cut opium poppies as they destroy a field of illegal plantation in the Sierra Madre del Sur, in the southern state of Guerrero, Mexico, August 25, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso SEARCH "JASSO OPIUM" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Poppy, eradication, and alternative livelihoods in Mexico

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

A police officer walks amid ammunition near the scene of a shooting in Mexico City, Mexico, June 26, 2020. REUTERS/Henry Romero

Mexico’s criminal brazenness matters

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Monday, August 3, 2020