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.
Drug Policy and Law
Drug laws in most countries of the world follow the principle defined by the three international drug conventions (1961, 1971, 1988), that is, they prohibit the non-medical and non-scientific use of some mind altering drugs. This principle is not only outdated but it has become anachronistic: the reality is that millions of people use mind altering substances for recreational purposes and most of them do not experience significant harms from drug use. What is more, many harms people do experience are directly connected to the war on drugs, which created a lucrative black market that only benefits criminal organisations. A drug-free world is an illusion, drug policies should be aimed at reducing the harms of drug use and drug policies instead. We believe that drug use should not be punished and drugs should be regulated as legal products, adjusted to the specific characteristics and risks of those drugs.
European Council Adopts Conclusions on Alternatives to Coercive Sanctions
The Council encourages member states to divert drug using offenders from the criminal justice system and refer them to educational and/or treatment programs.
Civil Society Recommends the EU to Strengthen Drug Coordination
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.
Forced To Be Healthy
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.
Campaign for Decriminalisation in Lithuania: Interview with Laura Bliujiene
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!
5 Common Myths Among Cannabis Smokers
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.
Is Drug Policy Reform Possible Without Democracy?
An authoritarian government can scale up access to harm reduction and reform drug laws. But without a free and vibrant democratic society, drug policy reform cannot be truly meaningful and sustainable.
“Norway Can Set the Standard for Nordic Countries” – Interview with Ina Spinnangr
Our interview with Ina Roll Spinnangr, the director of the Association for Safer Drug Policies, the NGO that organised the first Nordic Drug Policy Reform Conference last year.
A Year Long Battle for Transparent Policy Making
Amendments of the Law on Psychoactive and Controlled Substances in Serbia. Read about the controversial and not-transparent process of the adoption of the amendments, and the fight of NGOs to be involved.
2017 International Drug Policy Reform Conference: Race & the Drug War
The Drugreporter video team was invited by the Drug Policy Alliance to their conference in Atlanta to produce a film about the latest developments in drug policy in the US and beyond. You can now watch our short summary movie on race and the drug war, as well as recorded key speeches and sessions! […]
