The IDPP has a number of concurrent projects underway, each focusing on different levels of international drug policy.
The core project is the Expert Group on the Economics of Drug Policy, which focuses on the macroeconomics of global strategy, feeding directly into Member State debates around the upcoming UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs in 2016.
The Interior Minister of Guatemala received the 2014 report of the LSE Expert Group and undertook to use its findings in fora such as the OAS and the UN.
"The LSE report is worth a read in its own right. But it is the changing political context that makes it really interesting." - The Economist
At the national level, the IDPP has developed a policy advisory foothold in a number of countries and regions. In particular, the IDPP has developed links with Uniandes in Colombia to work on the issues of drug production and the Peace Process, funded by the British Council.
Meanwhile, the IDPP has an active presence in many countries, from the US to Canada, Mexico, Malaysia, Switzerland, Ireland and France, driving policy discussions, engaging in academic debates and ensuring our research is discussed at all levels of policy formations, from students to the general public to politicians.
The IDPP produces high-profile reports and engages policymakers in Policy Planning Workshops, including one with the Irish Drugs Minister to plan new drug policies for Ireland and the UK and a workshop with the UN Development Programme to develop a global development framework for drug policies.
"Perhaps the most thorough account of the war on drugs done to date."
George Soros, Financial Times on Ending the Drug Wars.
The Expert Group on the Economics of Drug Policy has been the most high-profile project the IDPP has undertaken. Over the period from June 2013 through April 2014 LSE IDEAS brought together the report of the Expert Group on the Economics of Drug Policy under our Project Chair, Professor Danny Quah. This represented 10 contributions by world-leading experts in the field of drug policy. Simultaneously we convened an Advisory Network of world-leading economists, including five Nobel Prize winners, human rights experts, political leaders and other global figures.
The Expert Group report attracted major international press attention. Coverage ran in at least 300 different international news outlets. Contributors spoke on television in Canada, US, Mexico and the Middle East. Numerous other international television networks provided coverage across the world. Contributors were interviewed on Australian, Colombian and US radio stations. Furthermore, the report directly influenced the publication of the Economist Leader article, 24th May 2014