More than 12.000 of people, mostly urban poor, have been murdered in the Philippines since President Duterte took office in 2016. But why is the drug war so important to Duterte? Do the people support his policies? What is the role of the church? Is international pressure effective in preventing the death of more people? We interviewed Senator Antonio Trillanes, an opposition politician at the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs to answer these questions.

The Drugreporter video team will live-stream sessions and talkshows from the annual UN meeting on drugs in Vienna on 12-14 March. Please follow us on Facebook and tune in!

Ahead of the annual meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotics Drugs next week, Italian NGOs have sent an open letter to the government, urging it not to repeat the mistakes of the past and to stand up for European and humane drug policies.

The Council encourages member states to divert drug using offenders from the criminal justice system and refer them to educational and/or treatment programs.

The Civil Society Forum on Drugs, an expert group of the EU Commission, is urging the Commission to provide adequate funding and staff to drug coordination and support demand and harm reduction interventions. 

Cruel treatment and inhumane methods of rehabilitation centres in Tatarstan are revealed and discussed by doctor of medical sciences and former residents. Watch the video of Drug Users News, member of the Drugreporter video network.

Anyone’s Child campaign gives a voice to families who have been impacted by drug policy. This time to Lugard from Kenya. Watch the short film produced by a member of the Drugreporter video network!

Iveta Chovancová is the director of Odyesus, a harm reduction NGO based in Bratislava, Slovakia. We interviewed her about trends in drug policies in her country.

The Drugreporter video team helped Coalition I Can Live, a Lithuanian drug policy reform NGO to launch a media campaign for the decriminalisation of drug use. Watch the movie we produced about drug policies in Lithuania – and read this interview with Laura Bliujiene, a lawyer working for the NGO!   

We know that there are persistent myths about cannabis among opponents of reform, from the gateway drug theory to demotivational syndrome. But there are also myths among cannabis smokers.