Civil society and drug user activists push harm reduction reforms across the Nordic region – please watch the videos from a side event at the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) and learn more about drug policy reform in Scandinavia!
Nordic nations such as Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland, and Denmark are widely admired for their strong democratic institutions, universal welfare systems, commitment to human rights, and high levels of gender equality. Yet when it comes to drugs, these same societies have historically embraced policies centered on criminalisation, strict law enforcement, and the goal of a “drug-free society.” Possession and use are often punished, and social stigma toward people who use drugs can be strong—even within otherwise inclusive welfare states.
Svala Johannesdottir, a harm reduction professional from Iceland, described this contradiction with the term “the Nordic paradox” in her speech at a side event of the 61st Session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND). The side event, entitled Nordic Mobilization on Human Rights and Drug Policy, was organized by John Melhus from the the Association for Humane Drug Policies Norway with the support of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, as well as the European Network of People who Use Drugs (EuroNPUD), the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), and the International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD).
The Drugreporter team filmed the session—watch the video playlist below to learn more about recent developments in each of the Nordic countries (you can switch between the videos using the arrows at the bottom left, or select a specific video from the list in the top right corner):
As we heard during the event, Nordic drug policies have undergone significant changes over the past decades. While the rhetoric of strict control and criminalisation has remained influential, many countries in the region have increasingly adopted pragmatic public-health responses to drug use. Harm reduction measures have gradually gained ground, including needle and syringe programs, opioid agonist treatment (such as methadone and buprenorphine), widespread naloxone distribution to prevent overdose deaths, and—in some places, including Norway, Denmark, and Iceland—supervised drug consumption rooms.
Across the Nordic countries, civil society has played a decisive role in driving these reforms, often challenging entrenched punitive approaches and forcing political debate. In Norway, one of the most prominent voices has been Arild Knutsen, a long-time drug user activist and leader of the Association for Humane Drug Policy (Foreningen for human ruspolitikk). Knutsen has been highly visible in Norwegian public debates, arguing that people who use drugs must be represented in policymaking and that criminalisation fuels stigma, exclusion, and preventable deaths. Building on this experience, he is now working to establish a new network of activists across the Nordic countries aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and advancing drug policy reform.
Text: Péter Sárosi
Video: István Gábor Takács
