The International Drug Policy Consortium is a global network of 193 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academic institutions, professional networks, and think tanks including the Drug Policy Alliance, Institute for Policy Studies, and Global Exchange, that supports broad liberalization of drug policies. ¹

The organization has received funding from multiple foundations affiliated with billionaire financier and liberal philanthropist George Soros. It has received funding from the Open Society Foundations, Foundation to Promote Open Society, and the Open Society Policy Center. ²

Background

The International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) is a global network of 193 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academic institutions, professional networks, and think tanks. IDPC’s focus is left-of-center approaches to drug policy and ultimately aims to see drug policies that “advance social justice” become standard. ³

According to its website, the IDPC works closely with the United Nations and its affiliated organizations. The IDPC provides “expert advice to UN member states and agencies,” and promotes the UN System Common Position on drug-related matters which supports the “decriminalization of drug possession,” a viewpoint the IDPC shares. The IDPC also notes on its website that its work with the UN includes “promoting accountability and leveraging positive developments to advance progressive reforms.” ^{4 5 6}

Funding

The International Drug Policy Consortium receives funding from private grantmaking organizations and governmental organizations. The IDCP’s listed donors include the Robert Carr Fund, Global Fund, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNAIDS, the government of Switzerland, the U.K. Government Department for International Development, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the European Commission, and the Open Society Foundations (OSF). ⁷

The Open Society Foundations is a private grantmaking foundation created and funded by billionaire financier and liberal philanthropist George Soros. OSF was founded in 1993 as the Open Society Institute (OSI), which remains the name the foundation uses for US tax filings. OSF has since become the main hub of a Soros-funded network of more than 20 national and regional foundations, making it one of the largest political philanthropies in the world. ⁸

OSF lists grants the IDPC has received from the Soros-funded network of foundations including OSF, the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and the Open Society Policy Center. A total of nine grants between 2016 and 2020 are listed. ⁹

IDPC received two grants from the Foundation to Promote Open Society (FPOS) in 2016, one for $185,000 to reduce incarceration rates of female drug abusers in Southeast Asia, and $171,528 for institutional support. IDPC’s largest grant from FPOS was for $502,000 in 2017 to support IDCP’s charitable and educational activities. OSF also granted $30,000 in 2017 to address the “acute funding crisis facing harm reduction services” in Europe. ¹⁰

The Open Society Policy Center granted $145,000 in 2018 to support IDPC’s work on drug policy reform, FPOS provided a grant of $16,500, while OSF granted $22,900 that same year. IDPC received $422,000 from FPOS in 2019, and another $71,000 in 2020. Both grants were listed as “general support.” ¹¹

Member Organizations

The International Drug Policy Consortium has a total of 193 member organizations across the world.

Member organizations include the left-of-center drug policy organization Drug Policy Alliance, the human rights and environmentalist group Global Exchange, the think tank and advocacy group the Institute for Policy Studies, the human rights issues organization Human Rights Watch, and the Dutch think tank Transnational Institute. ¹²

1. “IDPC Members.” International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC). Accessed November 14, 2022. https://idpc.net/members.
2. “- Awarded Grants, Scholarships, and Fellowships.” Open Society Foundations. Accessed November 14, 2022. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?filter_keyword=International+Drug+Policy+Consortium.
3. “About IDPC.” International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC). Accessed November 14, 2022. https://idpc.net/about.
4. “UN level engagement.” International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC). Accessed November 14, 2022. https://idpc.net/our-work/un-level-engagement.
5. “United Nations system common position supporting the implementation of the international drug control policy through effective inter-agency collaboration.” IDPC. Accessed November 14, 2022. http://fileserver.idpc.net/library/CEB-2018-2-SoD_Common-position.pdf.
6. “International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC).” Accessed November 14, 2022. https://idpc.net/.
7. “Donors.” International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC). Accessed November 14, 2022. https://idpc.net/donors.
8. Soros, George. “The Capitalist Threat.” The Atlantic. February 1, 1997. Accessed November 14, 2022. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1997/02/the-capitalist-threat/376773/
9. “- Awarded Grants, Scholarships, and Fellowships.” Open Society Foundations. Accessed November 14, 2022. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?filter_keyword=International+Drug+Policy+Consortium.
10. “- Awarded Grants, Scholarships, and Fellowships.” Open Society Foundations. Accessed November 14, 2022. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?filter_keyword=International+Drug+Policy+Consortium.
11. “- Awarded Grants, Scholarships, and Fellowships.” Open Society Foundations. Accessed November 14, 2022. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?filter_keyword=International+Drug+Policy+Consortium.
12. “IDPC Members.” International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC). Accessed November 14, 2022. https://idpc.net/members.