This paper discusses civil society engagement in drug policy making processes and political spaces at the United Nations. Reviewing the structure of international drug policy making, mechanisms of NGO participation, its challenges, and the considerable progress in changing the landscape of the debates at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the authors offer their practical expertise. The make-up and functioning of the global drug control system, the interagency approaches at play, and the role of civil society in the international structure of drug policy making is explained. The paper takes account of the history of civil society engagement, the efforts of non-state actors to influence high-level debates and offers practical ways for practitioners and non-diplomats to be involved in advocating for and engaging in policy reform from the ground.