At this side event at the 64th Session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) international experts discussed the human rights impact of drug policies in Europe – watch the video recordings!

Here comes the April edition of our monthly news update from the exciting world of drug policy reform!

The Colombian government announced that it will restart is controversial aerial fumigation program to eradicate coca fields. But does it provide any alternative livelihood to coca farmers? Did it fulfil its promises to support poor rural communities? And what do we know about the risks of forced eradication on public health and the environment? Watch this next episode of Drugreporter Café learn the answers to these questions from our two guests, Isabel Pereira (Dejusticia) and Elizabeth Dickinson (International Crisis Group).

What can we learn from the failures of repressive drug laws? How can we convince the people that they are failed? What are the alternatives of punitive drug policies? A group of NGOs launched a campaign to mark the 50th anniversary of the Misuse of Drugs Act in the UK – and the 100th anniversary of the drug law in Belgium. We discuss lessons learnt with Ester Kincova from Transform and Stéphane Leclercq from Fedito Brussels.

Does LSD microdosing boost your mental health and improve your cognitive performance? How can we measure its effectiveness? In today’s episode of Drugreporter Café, we will discuss the results of the largest self-blinded placebo controlled study on LSD microdosing with its author, Dr. Balázs Szigeti, a researcher of the Imperial College, London.

Chronic underfunding led to a drastic decision: the largest needle and syringe program operated by the NGO ARAS in Bucharest had to close down in February. Read this report from Alina Bocai, Programme Director at ARAS.

The Mayor of Amsterdam is planning to ban tourists from buying cannabis in local coffee shops to reduce “over-tourism”. But are cannabis users the real problem? Is a ban effective to stop street nuisance? We discuss these issues with Joachim Helms, a coffee shop owner and cannabis activists, who has alternative ideas about how to improve public health and safety in Amsterdam.

A citizens’ initiative in Finland aiming to decriminalise cannabis gathered the required 50,000 signatures at the end of 2019. Read this article by a Finnish activist, Aleksi Hupli!

How much does the general public actually know about psychoactive substances and how these are used in their own communities? To check it out for themselves, NoBox went to two known universities in the Philippines and asked young university students questions about drugs and the people involved with them. 

The Norwegian government presented its plan to decriminalise drug use last week – read this report from Arild Knutsen, a leading drug user activist.