Por Transnational Institute December 2005

SUPPRESSED DRUG STUDY MADE AVAILABLE BY TNI

When the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) announced in a press release the publication of the results of the largest global study on cocaine use ever undertaken, events in another office sealed the fate of the study.

In the sixth meeting of the B committee, the US representative threatened that "if WHO activities relating to drugs failed to reinforce proven drug control approaches, funds for the relevant programmes should be curtailed".

This led to the decision to discontinue publication. TNI feels this information is valid, important and needs to be shared with our public. A part of the study has been recuperated and we have made it available on the TNI's Drugs & Democracy website.

Only one part has been translated into Spanish, containing the main results of the study. The most important recommendation holds that; "WHO/PSA should investigate the therapeutic benefits of coca leaf" and a broader statement on researching the impact on health at individual and population levels of different legislation and drug control measures.

More information at: http://www.tni.org/drugscoca-docs/coca.htm