Rethinking ‘flexibilities’ in the international drug control system — potential, precedents and models for reforms

Much international drug policy debate centres on, what policies are permissible under the international drug treaties, whether member states are openly ‘breaching’ these treaties by changing national regulatory frameworks and shifting priorities away from a ‘war on drugs’ approach, and what ‘flexibility’ exists for policy reform and experimentation at national and local levels. Orthodox interpretations hold that the current system is a US-led ‘prohibition regime’ that was constructed in an extremely repressive and restrictive manner with almost no flexibility for significant national deviations. This paper challenges these orthodox interpretive frameworks and suggests no absolute and clear dichotomy between strict adherence and ‘breaches’ of the international treaties.