By President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark Laws should make things better. Sadly, as we stand at the precipice of finally ending AIDS, an epidemic of archaic and insensitive laws is stifling our efforts and making things far worse. The Global Commission on HIV and the Law

Global Commission Calls for Drug Decriminalization and Expansion of Proven, Cost-Effective Solutions to Reduce HIV/AIDS – Including Sterile Syringe Access, Safer Injection Facilities, and Prescription Heroin Programs While Some Countries Have Virtually Eliminated Drug-Related HIV Transmissions, Drug War Policies in U.S., Russia, Thailand and China Cause Millions of Needless Infections

Landmark Report Released in Advance of  2012 World AIDS Conference in Washington, DC Global Commission Calls for Drug Decriminalization and Expansion of Proven, Cost-Effective Solutions to Reduce HIV/AIDS – Including Sterile Syringe Access, Safer Injection Facilities, and Prescription Heroin Programs While Some Countries Have Virtually Eliminated Drug-Related HIV Transmissions, Drug War

The members of the Global Commission on Drug Policy are immensely sad with the loss of our colleague, Mexican author Carlos Fuentes. We express our sincere condolences to his family and a deep gratitude for him being part of so many important endeavors during his life, including his dedication to

First leader from Eastern Europe to take part Former president of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski has joined the Global Commission on Drug Policy to help the reform of ineffective and harmful drug laws. He is the fifth president to join the Commission, along with Cesar Gaviria of Colombia, Fernando Henrique Cardoso

By Aleksander Kwasniewski In the year 2000, as the president of Poland, I signed one of Europe’s most conservative laws on drug possession. Any amount of illicit substances a person possessed meant they were eligible for up to three years in prison. Our hope was that this would help to

Sir Richard Branson will receive the Cannabis Culture Award 2012 in Barcelona this week on behalf of the Global Commission on Drug Policy. Sir Richard serves on the Global Commission along with former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, and former U.S.

Commissioners Thorvald Stoltenberg and Sir Richard Branson will attend ceremonies in Amsterdam and Barcelona The Global Commission on Drug Policy will be conferred with the Cannabis Culture Award from the Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum as recognition of its efforts to end the war on drugs and for harm reduction

By Fernando Henrique Cardoso, César Gaviria and Ernesto Zedillo What is the best way to deal with drugs? Criminalizing drug users or treating them as patients? Sticking to a strict prohibitionist stance or experimenting with alternative forms of regulation and prevention? Latin America is talking about drugs like never before.

Mr. Kofi Annan has been recently appointed as Joint Special Envoy for Syria. Given that this complex and critical assignment will absorb his full energies and attention for the coming months, he felt appropriate to recuse himself as a Commissioner of the Global Commission on Drug Policy with immediate effect,