For Alternative Approaches to Addiction, Think & do tank (FAAAT or FAAAT think & do tank) is an international non-profit organization working on

drug policy A drug policy is the policy regarding the control and regulation of psychoactive substances (commonly referred to as drugs), particularly those that are addictive or cause physical and mental dependence. While drug policies are generally implemen ...

, created in 2015 and based in Paris, France. The organization focuses on research and advocacy related to policy alternatives in the field of addiction, drug use and

substance abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

, claiming to foster civil society participation in policymaking at the international level. According to its mission statement, FAAAT supports "Transparent and measurable drug policies framed by fundamental rights, grounded on sustainable development, enforcing empowerment, social justice and health" and "supports the development of a legally controlled market for cannabis." The organization is present at both the local and international levels.

Background

FAAAT's vision is that, from the local up to the international level, public policies related to controlled drugs should be transparent and measurable, framed by the

Fundamental human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hum ...

of citizens, grounded on

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

, and that can empower the whole society while enforcing social justice and protecting health. The organization's think-tank researches policy alternatives to the current

prohibition of drugs The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances. While some drugs are illegal to possess, many governments regulate the ...

. Its do-tank organizes social engineering, collective action and advocacy for ground-up reformer stakeholders. The project started in August 2015, and the organization was legally registered in February 2016 by drug policy reform advocates from the French chapter of NORML, the

European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies The European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies (''ENCOD''), originally ''European NGO Council On Drugs and development'', is a network of European non-governmental organisations and citizens concerned with the impact of current inte ...

, and the US Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access who had been previously operating at

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Commission on Narcotic Drugs The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is one of the functional commissions of the United Nations' Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and is the central drug policy-making body within the United Nations System. The CND also has important man ...

meetings. The organisation collaborates with a network of experts, contributors, professionals and various stakeholders, holds conferences during the

, organizes exhibits, and other advocacy activities.

Do-tank: Advocacy programs and actions

The organization claims two goals are structuring its actions (the so-called ''do-tank''), ''"take action to ground the updates of international drug policy on sustainable development, human rights, transparency, and inclusiveness"'' and ''"strengthen peer groups, social movements and the nonprofit sector to increase knowledge, sustainability, effectiveness, and capacity for collective action on drug-related issues."'' As such, FAAAT has been essentially active at the multilateral and international level (including at the European Union level). FAAAT has also supported local advocacy groups (such as the Catalan Network of People who Use Drugs CATNPUD, the rural cannabis farmers of the Ghomara and

Senhaja The Sanhaja ( ber, Aẓnag, pl. Iẓnagen, and also Aẓnaj, pl. Iẓnajen; ar, صنهاجة, ''Ṣanhaja'' or زناگة ''Znaga'') were once one of the largest Berber tribal confederations, along with the Zanata and Masmuda confederations. Ma ...

people of the Moroccan central Riff or the French platform of NGOs for the reform of drug policies). FAAAT also works to foster exchange of data and know-hows between politics, scholars and civil society stakeholders on drug-related policies and field practices. The organization follows-up the work of the United Nations and international organizations (such as the

INCB The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) is an independent treaty body, one of the four treaty-mandated bodies under international drug control law (alongside the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, UNODC on behalf of the Secretary-General, an ...

UNODC The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the ...

WHO Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book ''Horton Hear ...

) and regularly addresses international policymakers on drug-related issues, in particular the United Nations

through oral or written statements, by showcasing policy models or by organizing fora and symposia (such as the Legal Regulations fora or the International Cannabis Policy Conference at the United Nations). The organization works closely with the official consultative bodies towards the United Nations: NYNGOC (New-York NGO Committee on Drugs) and VNGOC (Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs). FAAAT is also a founding member of the IMCPC (International Medical Cannabis Patients Coalition) and the Geneva Platform on Human Rights, Health and Psychoactive Substances. More broadly, FAAAT holds a blog and informs media and local communities about key policy issues.

Conferences

* Introduction to the Cannabis Social Clubs,

, Vienna, March 2016 (In collaboration with

NORML France NORML France (/ˈnɔːrməl/, the ''National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws''), previously known as ''Chanvre & Libertés - NORML France'' (''Hemp & Freedom - NORML France'') is a French non-profit organization based in Toulouse bu ...

, Nonviolent Radical Party, Fundación Renovatio, Regulación Responsable Spain and ICEERS). * Legal Regulations Fora,

, Vienna, March 2017 * Right to Science and Freedom of Research with Scheduled Substances,

, Vienna, March 2017 (In collaboration with the

Government of the Czech Republic The Government of the Czech Republic ( cz, Vláda České republiky) exercises executive power in the Czech Republic. The members of the government are the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic (Chairman of the Government), the deputy prime min ...

MAPS A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

Associazione Luca Coscioni The Luca Coscioni Association for the freedom of scientific research was founded on September 20, 2002 by Luca Coscioni, who had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and was a member of the Italian Radical Party who promoted the campaign for the freedom ...

, Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access and ICEERS). * International Cannabis Policy Conference,

and

Austria Center Vienna Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ci ...

, Vienna, December 2018 (In collaboration with other NGOs). * Just Coca forum, on

coca leaf Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine. The plant is grown as a cash crop in the Argentine Northwest, Bolivia, Al ...

policy (May 2022).

Think-tank: Research on alternative drug policies

Although mainly focusing on international cannabis policy, the research department of FAAAT (so-called ''

think-tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental org ...

'') claims to ''"impulse a modern approach to the categorification of "drugs": renew terminology, taxonomy & scheduling to review the biochemical paradigm of drug use"'' and pretends to ''"shift drug policies towards evidence and effectiveness: enhancing positive drug-related programs and actions from the ground."'' As such, five main axis of research appear: * A follow-up of geopolitical evolutions of international drug control policies and related agreements. During the preparations of the 2016 United Nations General Assembly Special Session dedicated to the world drug phenomenon, Kenzi Riboulet Zemouli, head of research of FAAAT, was the only personality in Spain to endorse the

Drug Policy Alliance The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is a New York City–based nonprofit organization that seeks to advance policies that “reduce the harms of both drug use and drug prohibition, and to promote the sovereignty of individuals over their minds and b ...

open letter to UN Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...

, along with the former Director-General of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Federico Mayor Zaragoza Federico Mayor Zaragoza (born 27 January 1934 in Barcelona) is a Spanish scientist, scholar, politician, diplomat, and poet. He served as director-general of UNESCO from 1987 to 1999. He is currently the chairman of the Foundation for a Culture of ...

and the former EU High Representative on common foreign and security policies

Javier Solana Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga (; born 14 July 1942) is a Spanish physicist and PSOE The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-dem ...

. FAAAT also took part to the civil society mobilisations through different canals to raise awareness around that key UN summit. * An important work of the think-tank has been the research and analysis surrounding the

process of scientifically reviewing

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

for purposes of scheduling under the international drug control Treaties where FAAAT has encouraged the WHO to take action, and fuelled civil society, researchers and physicians involvement in the process. According to the ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...

'', once the definitive results of the

reviews of cannabis for international scheduling was made public early 2019, FAAAT considered that the outcome was "positive" and "clearly acknowledges medical applications of cannabis and cannabinoids, reintegrates them into pharmacopoeias, balances harms and ffectivelyrepeals the WHO position from 1954 according to which ‘there should be efforts towards the abolition of cannabis from all legitimate medical practice.’" In December 2020, the efforts of FAAAT team were successful, with the withdrawal of "cannabis and cannabis resin" from ''Schedule IV'' of the

Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 (Single Convention, 1961 Convention, or C61) is an Treaty, international treaty that controls activities (cultivation, production, supply, trade, transport) of specific narcotic drugs and lays down ...

. * FAAAT considers that drug policies that enforce prohibition violate a series of fundamental human rights. Research is also being undertaken on this topic, and leads to outputs such as the submission of contributions to the

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...

. * The

2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...

and its numerous correlations with cannabis policies and laws, is the latest area explored by FAAAT research department. * Besides international policy, one of the important task of the organization has been to popularize ground-up, peer-based and locally oriented models of legally regulated drug markets, in particular through the promotion of Appellations of Origin to protect traditional farmers knowledge in ''producing'' countries, or the so-called cannabis social club model for ''consumer'' countries, through the edition of advocacy documents or the organisation of workshops within the United Nations on the broader modalities of application of such model.

Publications

FAAAT is registered as an editor at the French national registry, and showcases its publications on its website. Remarked publications are: * Cannabis & Sustainable Development. Paving the way for the next decade in Cannabis and hemp policy. ''Recommendations for the implementation of Cannabis policies aligned with international Human Rights standards, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 2016 UNGASS outcome document.''
Full PDF available online
* The Crimson Digest, Volume 1. ''Briefing on the international scientific assessment of cannabis: processes, stakeholders and history.''
PDF available online
* ECDD40 Procedural, methodological and terminological bias. Joint Civil Society Contribution to the 40th Meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence.

ISBN The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier that is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency. An ISBN is assigned to each separate edition and ...

s/n. * Cannabis Social Club: Policy for the XXIst century. English: , French: , Spanish: .

Civil society partners

Americans for Safe Access Americans for Safe Access (ASA), based in Washington, D.C., is a member-based organization working to ensure safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic uses and research. Americans for Safe Access works in partnership with local, state, an ...

(US) *

AIDES Aides may refer to: * AIDES, a French non-governmental organization assisting people with HIV/AIDS * ''Aides'' (skipper), a genus of skippers of family Hesperiidae * Aides (tax), a French customs duty during the time of Louis XIV * Hades, a Gree ...

(France) *

for the freedom of scientific research (Italy) *

Beckley Foundation The Beckley Foundation is a UK-based think tank and UN-accredited NGO, dedicated to activating global drug policy reform and initiating scientific research into psychoactive substances. The foundation is a charitable trust which collaborates wi ...

(UK) * Cannabis Without Borders (France) * Caribbean Collective for Justice (Jamaica) * Catalan Network of People who Use Drugs (Spain) * CatFAC (Spain) *

Conservatoire national des arts et métiers A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

(France) *

(US) * DrugScience (UK) * EIHA (

European Industrial Hemp Association The European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) is a consortium of the hemp-processing industry representing the common interests of industrial hemp farmers and producers, both nationally and at the European level. EIHA is the only consortium in th ...

) (Belgium) * ENCOD (

) (Belgium) * Fédération Addiction (France) * Fields of Green for ALL (South Africa) * Fundación Daya (Chile) *

Hemp Industries Association The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) is a non-profit trade group representing hemp companies, researchers and supporters in the United States and Canada. The group petitions for fair and equal treatment of industrial hemp. Since 1994, the HIA has ...

(US) *

International Drug Policy Consortium The International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) is a global network of over 192 NGOs that promote objective and open debate on drug policy at national, regional and international level. IDPC supports evidence-based policies that are effective a ...

(UK) * International Centre for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Service (Spain) * Latinoamerica Reforma (Chile) *

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition The Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), formerly Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization group of current and former police, judges, prosecutors, and other criminal justice professionals who use their ex ...

(US) *

Médecins du Monde ''Médecins du monde'' (MdM; ), or Doctors of the World, is an international humanitarian organization which provides emergency and long-term medical care to the world's most vulnerable people. It also advocates to end health inequities. It was f ...

(France) *

Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is an American nonprofit organization working to raise awareness and understanding of psychedelic substances. MAPS was founded in 1986 by Rick Doblin and is now based in San Jose, C ...

(US) * New York NGO Committee on Drugs (US) * Nonviolent Radical Party, Transnational and Transparty (Italy) *

(France) * Origins Council (US) * Regulación Responsable (Spain) * SOS Hépatites (France) * Stop The Drug War foundation (US) *

Students for Sensible Drug Policy Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) is an international nonprofit organization advocacy and education organization with focus on drug policy, war on drugs, marijuana legalization, psychedelics, juvenile justice and youth rights, drug decri ...

(US) * Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access (US) * Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs (Austria)

References

External links

*
FAAAT on the European Union transparency register

{{DEFAULTSORT:FAAAT Addiction and substance abuse organizations Drug control law Political controversies Drug culture Drug policy Drug policy organizations Public health organizations International medical and health organizations International charities Health charities in France Organizations established in 2016 2016 establishments in France 2016 in cannabis Cannabis law reform organizations National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws

Background

Do-tank: Advocacy programs and actions

Conferences

Think-tank: Research on alternative drug policies

Publications

Civil society partners

See also

References

External links