"Legal highs: could this be the end of the road?" – asks Joe Shuts in his article, published in The Telegraph. He refers to the new blanket ban the UK government has recently introduced to stop the flood of so-called legal highs, new psychoactive substances which have been spreading all over Europe since 2009. Should other governments follow the British example and adopt similar bans? The answer has to be a resounding "No".
European Drug Policy
We Need Room for Change!
Drugreporter, in cooperation with seven other NGOs, proudly presents the new international campaign Room for Change—because we need to change the way we respond to urban drug problems.
In Search of a Drug Consumption Room – The Open Veins of Drug Users
A blend of poverty and lack of education, coupled with public hypocrisy and the absence of any real and efficient policies – it’s a recipe for a lethal Romanian cocktail which could prove to be more dangerous for drug addicts than the drugs themselves. The number of hard drug users in the country is steadily rising, while their average age is falling, with consumption-related diseases spreading faster than ever. It’s a situation that requires an urgent change in public views and national policies.
Cannabis – Healer or Killer?
During the last few months in Poland, cannabis has been receiving a good deal of attention. This is a result of a few events – both positive and negative – which have placed the issue of cannabis regulation in the mainstream media limelight.
The Battle for Harm Reduction Continues in Budapest
The HCLU’s Drugreporter has warned that rates of hepatitis-C infection among injecting drug users in Budapest almost doubled between 2011 and 2014 – in a period when access to harm reduction programs rapidly decreased. Government politicians are still denying the reality, and accuse harm reduction advocates of exaggerating the problem.
Why Was Ibogaine Banned in Hungary?
The Hungarian government banned 42 new psychoactive substances this year – but some of them are not new at all, for example Ibogaine. The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union is suing a government agency for not providing access to the assessment reports on the risks of these drugs.
Dirty Work in Velvet Gloves in Poland – The Organisation vs. the Politicians
The Polish parliament recently pushed through a series of amendments – mostly relating to new psychoactive substances – to the country's law on counteracting drug addiction. Read about the Polish politicians’ total contempt for the opinion of civil society, as well as for evidence-based drug policy.
The Romanian “King of Legal Highs” on Interview
Alin Rotaru, dubbed by the Romanian media, ”The Kings of Legal Highs”, was the owner of what was probably the first physical “ethnobotanical shop” in Romania, which opened in early 2008 in the eastern city of Galați. Read Drugreporter’s guest author Ștefan Iancu’s interview with him.
Is the European Medical Cannabis Movement Gaining in Power?
Researchers and medical cannabis patients met at the Prague Medical Cannabis Conference to discuss the latest developments in the field. On the sidelines, Drugreporter's guest author Iga Jeziorska interviewed two activists who were involved with the recent founding of the International Medical Cannabis Patients' Coalition.
Make-or-break year in HIV prevention in Bulgaria: The “Goodwill” campaign
A joint campaign by Bulgarian NGOs is warning that by the end of 2015, Bulgaria will completely lose its HIV prevention services. Read what needs to be done to keep rates of infection low in this Balkan country.