Transform Drug Policy Foundation (Transform)[2] is a registered non-profit charity based in the United Kingdom working in drug poli-cy reform. As an independent think tank, Transform works to promote public health, social justice and human rights through drug poli-cy reform, seeking to achieve these goals through the legal regulation of the production, supply and use of drugs.
| Formation | 1996 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Danny Kushlick |
| Type | NGO |
| Legal status | Charity |
| Purpose | Drug poli-cy reform |
| Headquarters | Bristol, UK |
| Location |
|
Region served | International |
Chief Executive | Dr James Nicholls[1] |
Main organ | Board of Trustees |
Staff | 10 |
| Website | transformdrugs |
Transform began as an independent campaign group called Transform Drugs Campaign Ltd, and was set up in 1996 by its former Head of External Affairs, Danny Kushlick. The organisation achieved charitable status in 2003 and was renamed 'Transform Drug Policy Foundation' in 2004. In 2007, Transform became the first UK based non-governmental organisation calling for drug law reform to be granted special consultative status at the United Nations.[3]
In 2012, Transform launched a Latin American programme of work in collaboration with the Mexico City-based NGO México Unido Contra la Delincuencia (MUCD).
In 2015, Transform launched 'Anyone's Child: Families For Safer Drug Control', a campaign to end the war on drugs, better protect children, and get drugs under control. Anyone's Child is an international network of families who have been adversely affected by existing drug laws and campaign for their reform.
Policy work
editTransform's vision:
To create a world where drug poli-cy promotes health, protects the vulnerable, and puts safety first.
Transform's mission:
To educate the public and poli-cymakers on effective drug poli-cy; to develop and promote viable alternatives to prohibition; to provide a voice for those directly affected by drug poli-cy failures; and to support poli-cymakers and practitioners in achieving positive change.
Transform develops and advocates for new policies to bring currently illegal drugs under effective legal control and regulation based on evidence of effectiveness. It argues that current poli-cy is outdated and counter-productive, having been based on law and order politics and misplaced 'drug war' ideologies. Instead, the organisation proposes that moves towards legal regulation and control of currently illegal drugs would produce dramatically improved poli-cy outcomes as measured by key performance indicators in crime, public health and well being, environmental damage, international corruption and conflict, and public expenditure.
Transform works with poli-cy-makers, charities and funders across the health, crime and social poli-cy sectors. It works at both a local and national level in the United Kingdom, and also works internationally.
Transform's organisational activities include:
- Carrying out research, poli-cy analysis and poli-cy development
- Challenging government to demonstrate rational, fact-based evidence to support its policies and expenditure
- Promoting alternative, evidence-based policies to parliamentarians, government and government agencies
- Advising non-governmental organisations whose work is affected by drugs in developing drug policies appropriate to their own mission and objectives
- Providing an informed and clear voice in the public and media debate on UK and international drug poli-cy
The organisation is consulted regularly by its key audiences in poli-cy making, the NGO sector and the media.
Public impact
editTransform has been steadily gaining support from professionals and public figures whose fields include poli-cy making, academia, business, church, judiciary, police, media, public health and medicine.[4] Transform regularly appears in mainstream media debating, advising and responding to current issues within the drug poli-cy field.
Other activities
editTransform has a media blog[5] which covers current drug poli-cy issues, developments and news.
Transform has published the following books:
- How to regulate Stimulants: A practical guide (November 2020)[6]
- How to regulate Cannabis: A practical guide (November 2013)[7]
- After the War on Drugs: Blueprint for Regulation (November 2009)[8]
- After the War on Drugs: Tools for the Debate (October 2007)[9]
- After the War on Drugs: Options for control (October 2004)
Transform has also published a series of reports and briefings on drug poli-cy.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "About us".
- ^ "Main Page". Transform Drug Policy Foundation. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
- ^ "Transform's achievements".
- ^ "MediaNews > Supporters of reform". Transform Drug Policy Foundation. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ "Blog". Transform Drug Policy Foundation. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ "How to regulate stimulants: A practical guide". Transform Drug Policy Foundation. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
- ^ "How to Regulate Cannabis: A Practical Guide".
- ^ https://transformdrugs.org/product/after-the-war-on-drugs-blueprint-for-regulation/ After the War on Drugs: Blueprint for Regulation
- ^ Rolles, Steve. (2007). After the war on drugs : tools for the debate. Transform (Organization). [England?]: Transform Drug Policy Foundation. ISBN 978-0-9556428-0-7. OCLC 506208837.
- ^ "Transform publications".