István Gábor Takács is a human rights activist, videographer and trainer. He ran the Video Advocacy Program of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union between 2007-2015. He worked as a needle exchange program counselor for 5 years. He is author of several articles on harm reduction and cameraman, editor, director and co-director of more than 700 online videos, among them longer documentaries, such as “Kostya Proletarsky” (2020), “Taking Back What’s Ours: An Oral History of the Movement of People who Use Drugs” (2020) ”A Day in the Life: The World of Humans Who Use Drugs” (2016), “Without Rights” (2009), “Without a Chance” (2014), “Room in the 8th District” (2014) and “The Invisible” (2011). Since 2016 he works at the Rights Reporter Foundation, where besides producing films, he is training activists in video advocacy.
On 7 May 2026, PAREA convened the first European Forum of National Psychedelic Societies in Brussels, bringing together representatives from organisations in 25 countries working on psychedelic research, policy, and access across Europe. Watch key presentations on the state of psychedelic access in Europe, filmed by Drugreporter.
How could evidence-based psychedelic therapies help address war-related mental health challenges in Ukraine, particularly PTSD among veterans? This was the main question of the European Parliament event held on 6 May, which Drugreporter captured on video in its entirety. Watch the full session now!
As civic space shrinks and organized crime grows, the Nordic countries are at a crossroads. This conference brought together activists, researchers, policymakers, and people who use drugs to discuss solutions rooted in Nordic values. Watch all presentations filmed by Drugreporter here!
Tadeusz Hawrot is the founder of the Psychedelic Access and Research European Alliance (PAREA), a Brussels-based initiative working to prepare Europe for the integration of psychedelic-assisted therapies into healthcare systems. In this interview, he reflects on the policy landscape, regulatory challenges, and the future of access to these emerging treatments in the EU.
With the new EU drug strategy now adopted, key questions remain about its direction and implementation—especially the balance between public health, human rights, and security. We spoke with Anna Dovbakh, Chair of the Civil Society Forum on Drugs, about what the strategy means in practice and the role of civil society moving forward.
A new guidance note by UNAIDS, UNDP, INPUD, Release and HRDP outlines how decriminalizing drug use and possession for personal use can strengthen the global HIV response through more effective, rights-based drug policies.
The global drug control system is under growing pressure, as countries experiment with regulation and long-standing assumptions are being challenged. Martin Jelsma, who is stepping down from the Transnational Institute this year after decades of work, has been at the forefront of these debates. In this interview, we discuss the WHO’s coca review, inter se treaty reform, and what these shifts mean for the future of global drug policy.
Ten years after the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session on drugs (UNGASS), a new report by the International Drug Policy Consortium takes stock of progress and remaining gaps in global drug policy. We spoke with Marie Nougier about what has changed over the past decade—and what still needs to change.
After 15 years at the helm of the International Drug Policy Consortium, Ann Fordham is stepping down as Executive Director. Under her leadership, IDPC has grown into one of the most influential global networks advocating for drug policies grounded in human rights, public health, and social justice. In this interview, we reflect on IDPC’s achievements, ongoing challenges, and what lies ahead.
Jeremy Rudy, founder of the Sabba Collective, explains how psychedelic therapy can be integrated into society safely and responsibly — from education to policy.
