Every step to improve lives is worth fighting for — Martin Jelsma on a 30-year drug policy struggle

The global drug control system is under growing pressure, as countries experiment with regulation and long-standing assumptions are being challenged. Martin Jelsma, who is stepping down from the Transnational Institute this year after decades of work, has been at the forefront of these debates. In this interview, we discuss the WHO’s coca review, inter se treaty reform, and what these shifts mean for the future of global drug policy.

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:45 Martin, how did you get into the field of drug policy?
13:01 Did the UN drug control system learn from its mistakes?
19:15 How do you feel about the EU’s shift toward securitizing drug policy?
24:42 Should the UN drug control system be dismantled or reformed—and what would the ideal approach look like?
33:42 Would your younger self be satisfied or disappointed with today’s drug policy landscape?
35:25 What message do you have for the next generation of drug policy reformers?

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