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European Drug Policy

The European Drug Policy Initiative (EDPI) is a project of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) in cooperation with professionals and NGOs from six European countries: Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Serbia. We selected these target countries in order to reflect the diversity of national drug policies and geopolitical characteristics found in the European Union and its candidates. Bulgaria and Poland represent new member states with restrictive drug policies, while older member states like Portugal are considered to have a more liberal approach. National drug policies cannot be differentiated using the East/West divide that exists within the EU. For instance, Sweden is famous for its democratic welfare society but has a traditionally restrictive attitude toward mind altering substances. On the other hand, the Czech Republic, having endured decades under a totalitarian regime, now endorses a relatively liberal drug policy.

The aim of the project is to advance drug policy reform in the European Union with providing tools for advocacy in the national and international level:

- public opinion surveys
- videos on national drug policy issues (posted on video sharing sites)
- media work (improving the press coverage of national/international campaigns)
- targeting political parties
- targeting international decision making forums (e.g. UN and EU forums)

We have tremendous amounts of evidence both on the harmful unintended consequences of current drug control policies and on the effectiveness of alternative harm reduction measures. However, the ciritcal voices of professionals and NGOs are not heard by the mainstream society. EDPI aims to implement policy change with oriented campaigns targeting society through the media. It connects scholarship with PR methods, attempts to use modern communication tools to advertise new, innovative answers to drug problems, mobilize drug user communities to come out of the closet. Even though Europe is considered small in a geographical sense compared to the United States, due to cultural and language barriers it is more difficult to raise awareness on the necessity of drug policy reform.

Our donors

EDPI is supported by the Global Drug Policy Program of the Open Society Institute (OSI) and the Commonsense for Drug Policy Foundation.European Drug Policy Initiative News

Our EDPI partners: Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia
Former EDPI Partners: Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands, Czech Republic

SanPa: Where did we leave off? Where are we now?

January 23, 2021 | Author: Susanna Ronconi

In Italy, the documentary film on the San Patrignano community has started a wide debate on drugs. Please read the passionate article of Susanna Ronconi (Forum Droghe) on the culture of silence and lies that contributed to the torture and abuse of people who use drugs!

The Rise and Fall of the Anti-Drug Savior

January 19, 2021 | Author: Péter Sárosi

Sanpa, a new miniseries now featured on Netflix, tells the story about how a man’s dream of saving people from addiction turned into a nightmare.

Young People in Drug Policy Advocacy 3 – Youth Organisations for Drug Action

January 18, 2021 | Author: Hannah Taylor

Youth Organisations for Drug Action (YODA) is a European network that brings together organisations at the forefront of harm reduction and drug policy reform.

The EESC Calls for Drug Policy Reform in the EU

December 14, 2020 | Author: Péter Sárosi

The new opinion paper adopted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) calls for less law enforcement and more health and human rights in the new EU Drugs Strategy.

Meaningful Civil Society Involvement in the Area of Drug Policy in Europe – Literature Review

November 23, 2020 | Author: Péter Sárosi

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.

Between Waves: Update on the COVID-19 and Harm Reduction Situation in Europe

November 9, 2020 | Author: Péter Sárosi

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. 

A New EU Drug Strategy is Being Prepared by the German Presidency

October 9, 2020 | Author: Péter Sárosi

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.

Young People in Drug Policy Advocacy – Part 2: Global Issues, Local Dynamics

October 6, 2020 | Author: Hannah Taylor

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.

The Land of Free Palinka: The Hypocrisy of Hungarian Drug Policies

September 28, 2020 | Author: Péter Sárosi

When it comes to drugs, Hungary is the country of extremes. It has one of the most repressive drug laws in the EU – and the most liberal regulation of alcohol at the same time.

The Oldest Harm Reduction Organisation in Bulgaria Shut Down

August 25, 2020 | Author: Péter Sárosi

In June 2020, all harm reduction services with public funding stopped in Bulgaria for the second time in three (2017-2020) years. The oldest, biggest, and most experienced harm reduction organisation, Initiative for Health Foundation, shut down too. No needle and syringe programs remained open in the country. An article by Yuliya Georgieva.

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