Welcome to the first episode of our new live online video show, Drugreporter Café, where we will regularly discuss new developments in the world of drug policy with professionals, activists and decision makers. Today our show will feature drug policy reform in a small country in Southern-Eastern Europe, North Macedonia. We will discuss the chances of reform with two guests, two activists from the country, Vlatko Dekov (HOPS Skopje) and Natasa Boskova (Coalition Margins).

The thematic working group on civil society involvement of the Civil Society Forum on Drugs, an expert group of the EU Commission, conducted this review of literature on meaningful civil society involvement in the field of drug policy.

The film ‘Targets’ is a story about the women in Ukraine who are branded as “drug addicts” and who are being destroyed by the state today. These women are targets, and a real war is being waged against them. The film is an attempt to understand why this is happening and what needs to be done to stop these deaths.

The Hungarian police launched an anti-drug campaign based on the story of a 17-year-old boy who jumped out from the window while high on drugs. But telling scary stories to young people will not prevent accidents. Creating an environment where young people can access reality-based education and support, can.

An update about how access to harm reduction programs changed in European cities after the lockdown measures were lifted between the first and second waves of the COVID-19 epidemic. 

Who are peers? Why is the involvement of peers crucial in service provision to people who use drugs and are in need? This short movie documents a study visit to Amsterdam and Antwerp, two cities with a long history of peer involvement.

HumanRights360, a human rights NGO, in partnership with STEPS, a harm reduction NGO, started a new program to provide legal help to people who live on streets in Athens. We interviewed Emmanouela Soldatou, the research and advocacy coordinator of STEPS about this new initiative.

This documentary shows the experiences of outreach workers and peers in providing critical connections to prevention, treatment, and care to people who use drugs and sex workers in remote Sagaing villages in North West Myanmar. Produced by Drugreporter’s video advocacy alumni, Ko Si Thu Aung.

The new security-focused EU Drugs Agenda proposed by the EU Commission was criticised by civil society and member states. The German EU presidency is now in charge of revising it.

The second part of our series reveals how young people advocating drug policy reform cope with the new challenges and opportunities brought by the COVID-crisis.