The year 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (CND), the bedrock of the current UN drug control system. TNI will host a side event at the 54th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. Several speakers will critically examine the significance and shortcomings of the Convention, explain how plants and traditional use are treated under its provisions, and discuss the current state of affairs of Bolivia's amendment proposal on coca chewing.

Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 13:00, Mozart Room in the Vienna International Centre (VIC Restaurant - Ground Floor, F Building)

Speakers:

• Pien Metaal (TNI): Introduction and moderation
• David Bewley-Taylor (Swansea University): A reinterpretation of the 1961 Single
  Convention on Narcotic Drugs
• Martin Jelsma (TNI): Plants and traditional use under the Single Convention
• A representative of Bolivian government: The current state of the coca chewing amendment

The TNI side event is part of the IDPC Lunchtime Seminar Series. The International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) is hosting a series of lunchtime drug policy seminars in the margins of the CND, bringing together CND participants from member state delegations, international organisations and civil society, to discuss current and pressing drug policy issues. A three-course lunch will be provided for 50 participants. The four events in the lunchtime series as detailed in the flyer are open to all CND delegates on a first come, first serve basis.

Further reading:

• Fifty Years of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs: A Reinterpretation, by
  David Bewley-Taylor & Martin Jelsma, Series on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 12, March 2011
• Lifting the ban on coca chewing: Bolivia’s proposal to amend the 1961 Single Convention,
  by Martin Jelsma, Series on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 11, March 2011
• Rejuvenation or defection: Some reflections on UNODC Executive Director Fedotov's opening speech, Weblog, March 21, 2011