Seven years after our last visit, we returned to Athens to film about harm reduction in Greece, with a special focus on the first drug consumption room. Read our article and watch the movie we produced!
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
How Will Czechia Legalise Cannabis?
The Czech Republic is the first country in Central-Eastern Europe that announced to make the non-medical use of cannabis legal. In this episode of Drugreporter Café, we present an interview with Jindrich Voboril, the National Drug Coordinator, who explained us how they will regulate the legal market.
The Hypocrisy of Shaming the Finnish Prime Minister
There has been a media outcry about a leaked video in which the Finnish Prime Minister is partying with her friends. She is now accused of using cocaine. This whole scandal is a textbook example of what’s wrong with our attitudes to young people and drugs.
Civil Society Demands Balanced EU Funding for Drug Policies
Civil society organisations sent an open letter to the EU Commission to criticise the new call for drug policy grant proposals that almost only focuses on law enforcement and excludes harm reduction.
The Wall of Shame – Why crack consumption rooms are needed in Paris
In the last 3 decades marginalized people who use crack in Paris have been chased from one public park to the other by the police. Recently the police even built a wall to block the users from the rest of society. This new documentary explores the history of crack in Paris, and amplifies the voices of experts and residents who call for a better solution: safe crack consumption rooms.
The Right to Sit at the Table – The Civil Society Forum on Drugs
We are glad to present our new movie on why is it important to involve civil society in drug policy decision making, featuring the members of the EU’s Civil Society Forum on Drugs!
5th European Harm Reduction Conference in Prague, Czechia
More than 400 professionals and community activists gathered in Prague to take part in the 5th European Harm Reduction Conference.
Russian Politician Threatens Harm Reduction Activists with Imprisonment
Vitaly Milonov, a Russian government politician notorious for anti-gay and antisemitic remarks, has found a new enemy: The Andrey Rylkov Foundation, a harm reduction organisation in Moscow.
Harm Reduction Unmuted
More than 400 professionals and community activists gathered in Prague to attend the 5th European Harm Reduction Conference. Watch and share Drugreporter’s video report!
Quality Standards for Civil Society Involvement in Drug Policy
In this report, the EU Civil Society Forum on Drugs will provide you with guidelines on how to make the involvement of civil society in drug policy more meaningful.
