President Duterte has given law enforcement agents licence, with impunity, to kill hundreds of drug suspects in the Philippines. This clearly breaches human rights conventions, as well as the drug control principles adopted by member states at the UNGASS on drugs in April. The international community must stand up and give teeth to its own laws and conventions!

Our Russian speaking video reporters visited Prague to explore drug laws and harm reduction services there. Please watch their short video report with English subtitles!

In June 2016, an amendment to the Bulgarian Narcotic Substances and Precursors Control Act came into force. Read the notes of an eye-witness.

Every cannabis smoker knows that the major psychoactive ingredient of the plant is Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), but there is also a range of other chemicals in marijuana smoke. One of the other significant components is cannabidiol (CBD). Anecdotal evidence suggests that CBD can inhibit some negative side effects associated with marijuana, but does this claim stand up to scientific scrutiny?

The Andrey Rylkov Foundation, the only harm reduction NGO working in Moscow, has been declared a foreign agent by the Russian government.

The Pride movement is about fighting social exclusion and discrimination – but what if the Pride organisers themselves exclude and discriminate against those who are in the greatest need of support – LGBTI sex workers? This is what happened in Budapest, where a workshop on sex work was banned from the festival.

The outcome document of UNGASS 2016 was probably a disappointment for the most progressive parts of the world, but for countries like Bulgaria, it contains some inspiring commitments. Read this article on Bulgarian drug policy news!

The reporters of our Russian language video blog, DUnews, visited Vienna in March to find out what Eastern-European and Central-Asian countries can learn from its advanced urban harm reduction system. Read their report and watch their video!

Patients call the Yekaterinburg Hospital, located at 37 Kamskaya Street, the “final journey”. This hospital is for patients with tuberculosis and other severe diagnoses. They usually leave this place in black bags.

The exclusion of non-governmental representatives from the UN High-Level Meeting on AIDS is not an isolated incident, but part of a global crackdown on civil society. To fight back, we need to understand the crucial role of NGOs in policy development.