The Conference, hosted by the Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Association, will include workshops, presentations and forums dedicated to sharing skills and understanding in the treatment of all addictive disorders, including alcohol and other drugs, behavioural addictions, and the emerging field of online compulsive behaviour in both adults and children.

A priority aim of this Conference will also be to deepen our understanding around the interrelationship of addictive disorders between each other, as well as with mental health, family, community, and culture.

The Conference promotes and encourages participation from all parts of the sector towards a shared appreciation of what medical, psycho-social and peer-based approaches can offer, through the experiences of service users, clinicians, and researchers alike.

 DPsych MAPS, Matthew Berry Consulting – Conference Chair

 National Policy Manager, Australian Drug Foundation

CEO’s, Managers and Leaders of Addiction Treatment Centres

Lecturers, Researchers and Policy Advocates

A special thank you to our 2015 Keynote Speakers:

 Brain & Mind Research Institute, School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney

 Professor of Criminology, Department of Law and Criminology, Sheffield Hallam University, UK and visiting Research Fellow at Turning Point and Monash University

 Senior Lecturer, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales

 Nurse Practitioner (NP), Drug and Alcohol Consultation Liaison Service, John Hunter Hospital, Hunter New England Local Health District and Conjoint Teacher, University of Newcastle

 Lecturer, Flinders University and Ms Maria Maver, Consumer

 MD, PhD, FRANZCP, A/Professor of Psychiatry, Sydney Medical School – Nepean, The University of Sydney and Department of Psychiatry Nepean Hospital

Click here to view the original event post.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.

Australian and New Zealand Addiction Conference 2016

The end of Prohibition in 1933 was not the end of government efforts to control substance use in America. Almost 40 years later, President Nixon initiated the War on Drugs, the effects of which have been felt acutely in cities such as New York. While these two movements shared the same stated goals; they were also linked with larger issues of class, race, crime, and the use of government to manage citizen behavior. Join two leading scholars to discuss the role of the state in regulating alcohol in the early twentieth century and illegal substances today.

, Director, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture


, Professor of History, Harvard University


(moderator), Correspondent and Producer, VICE Media

New York prohibitions: Booze, drugs, and the state

In 2001 Portugal implemented a new national strategy on drug harms. The approach was bold: decriminalising the possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use and doubling expenditure on health-led responses to drug prevention, treatment and harm reduction.

We are delighted to have João Castel-Branco Goulão, head of the General-Directorate for Intervention on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies in Portugal and one of the architects of the 2001 Drug Strategy, present the learning from Portugal’s health-led approach to reducing drug harms.

Attendees will also hear reflections on the implications of this approach for the UK context, with presentations from policy makers and practitioners who have signalled interest in rethinking the UK’s current reliance on criminalisation in response to drug harms.

This is the final event in the European Observatory on Alternatives to Custody project, a European Union funded project for which the Centre is the UK partner. We are grateful to the Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London for co-sponsoring this event.

, head of the General-Directorate for Intervention on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies, Portugal

, Chief Constable for Durham Constabulary

 MSP, Member of the Scottish Parliament for Edinburgh East until May 2016. Between 2007 and 2014 Kenny was the Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Justice.

, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform

: Edmond J Safra Lecture Theatre, Kings College London Strand, London WC2R 2LS United Kingdom

: Phone: 020 7840 6110 Email: info@crimeandjustice.org.uk

Responding to drug harms: Can the UK learn from Portugal?

The 10th Annual Conference of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP) will be held in Sydney, Australia on 16-18 May, 2016. The conference will be hosted by the Drug Policy Modelling Program (DPMP) which is part of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), UNSW Australia.

The ISSDP Conference is a unique occasion to present your latest findings to an intellectually engaged, diverse and dedicated scholarly community, and to immerse yourself in the state of the art research across the full spectrum of drug policy research, with the participation of leading international scholars.

In addition to the main conference in Sydney, there are two satellite events, one in Canberra, NSW and one in Auckland, New Zealand.

Present original scientific research on drug policy;

Create opportunities for vigorous discussion and debate about findings and methods;

Provide an environment conducive for networking and the establishment of new collaborations;

Provide a stimulus for delegates to publish their work in journals; and

Inform policy makers about the latest scientific evidence underpinning drug policy.

More details about the conference can be found here.

10th Annual Conference of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy

The New Zealand satellite of the 10th Annual Conference of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP) will be held in Auckland (Devonport) on 11-12 May, 2016.

‘Regulating drug use: Beyond prohibition and legalisation..’

, will explore innovative regulatory responses to new psychoactive substances (NPS) (‘legal highs’) and cannabis which are in the middle ground between absolute prohibition at the one end and unregulated commercial markets at the other end.

The Auckland satellite will feature international speakers on policy approaches to NPS and cannabis, including early warning drug monitoring systems operating in Europe, legal regimes for cannabis in the United States, cannabis clubs in Europe, and egal regulated markets for NPS in New Zealand.

 - architect of the Psychoactive Substances Act which created the legal regulated market for low risk psychoactive substances in New Zealand

 - University of Maryland, with over 40 years experience of drug policy analysis

- RAND California, who has been heavily involved in the evaluation of legal cannabis regimes in the U.S.

 - Ghent University, who is conducting research on cannabis clubs in Europe

 - Curtin University, who will present on influencing policy change

 - Scientific Director of EMCDDA, on the emergence of NPS and developing an early warning system in Europe

Further speaker announcements will be forthcoming.

The venue is in beautiful Cheltenham in Devonport, which is a 10 minute ferry ride from central Auckland in a particularly scenic part of Auckland, Devonport.

Invitation are now open to submit an abstract for New Zealand satellite of the 10th Annual Conference of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP). Click here to submit an abstract or to register.

All submissions are peer reviewed, and decisions will be provided by the 19th of February 2016.

A Panel session (3-4 speakers on the same topic, 1 hour);

10th Annual Conference of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP)

To celebrate the launch of the World Hepatitis Day 2016 (WHD) website and materials on 29 April, join the World Hepatitis Alliance on 9 May to learn more about WHD campaign and materials.

You will also hear more about the launch of NOhep, a movement to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030, and how you can get involved on WHD. This webinar offers a great opportunity to ask questions and get inspiration for your WHD activities.
A recording will be made available after the session.

World Hepatitis Day 2016 Webinar

Following on from the UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS) that is due to take place in New York between 19th and 21st April, Canning House is organising its own session in light of what was discussed and also covering areas and issues which were the UN session did not, or were not able, to touch upon.

The panel will look at issues such as the future of drugs policy in region in light of UNGASS outcome; the likely development of further cannabis regimes following Uruguay; the possibility of regulated regimes in cocaine if cannabis goes well; and the also the economic/financial implications of all of these points. For example, would there be a significant effect on the economies Andean countries if cocaine was regulated? What would happen to Mexico’s exports of cannabis if it becomes regulated in California, which could happen very soon?

Furthermore, what are the security implications of legal regulation? Illicit drug trade, particularly through Central America and Mexico, produces heightened security issues connected to drug-trafficking and gang-related violence, arguably exacerbated by the war on drugs.

, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Drug Policy Reform to chair the event, and speakers including 

, Head of External Affairs at Transform Drug Policy, and 

, Executive Director, LSE IDEAS, International Drug Policy Project.

‘After the War on Drugs’ – The impacts of legal regulation in Latin America

Scroobius Pip’s Distraction Pieces Podcast Network Presents:

‘Stop and Search’ – the new drug policy podcast in association with LEAP UK. This is the first live event where we shall record this new monthly show. On this first episode, The Science Within Our Drug Laws, we have:

Robin Ince – ‘Broadcaster’, podcaster, science buff, comedian and all around niche reference maker.

Dr Suzi Gage - Drugs & mental health researcher at MRC IEU Bristol University, Guardian science blogger.

Simon Oxenham – Journalist and blogger, better known as the fantastic Neurobonkers.

With regular 'sit in the corner' pundit, Neil Woods - former undercover drugs detective and now Chairman of LEAP UK.

Hosted by writer, film producer and LEAP UK Executive Director (and now an official podcast chatterer) Jason Reed - 

 is a new monthly podcast which is set to explore the dark recesses of our drug laws. With celebrity guests, journalists, politicians, academics and policy experts, a monthly panel will apprehend drug policy, whilst being stopped and frisked by the pertinent questions of the day. We may even have a Shatner's Bassoon...

Please join us, we need to have a chat about our drug laws!

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/stop-and-search-the-science-within-our-drug-laws-tickets-24497620041

Stop and Search - The science within our drug laws

The fifty-ninth regular session of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) will be held in Washington D.C., on April 25 and 26, 2016, in the Ruben Dario Room, (8 th floor) at the General Services Building (GSB) of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States located at 1889 F Street N.W., Washington D.C., 20006.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.

59th Regular Session of CICAD

A major priority of the 70th President of the General Assembly, H.E. Mogens Lykketoft is to support prompt and inclusive implementation of the 2030 Agenda. It builds on the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals and seeks to address their unfinished business. The 2030 Agenda includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda complements and is an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Paris Climate Agreement was adopted in December 2015 in Paris and will be signed in New York on 22 April 2016.

Given the broader framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its strong interlinkages with the Climate Agreement, the President will convene a High Level Thematic Debate on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals on 21 April 2016.

This event will serve to significantly increase international awareness and political momentum around the implementation of the SDGs. It will bring together global political, business and civil society leaders in New York to focus on kick-starting SDG implementation. It will also be a unique opportunity to address the synergy between the COP21 outcome and the 2030 Agenda. Leaders will be offered a platform to catalyse action, discuss concrete steps forward and mobilize potential implementation partners.

Registration is now open for all relevant stakeholders, including civil society, private sector and academia from the following categories:
• Non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council
• Organizations accredited to the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015
• Organizations accredited to the Financing for Development (FfD) process

Applications for general registration were accepted from 1 February - 28 March 2016.

Please, click here for any further information.

High-level thematic debate on achieving the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

By Vivario and Lemann Center for Brazilian Studies

WAR ON DRUGS: A discussion on innovative Brazilian experiences.

Organised by Viva Rio, the event will discuss the Brazilian drug policy landscape. Experiences in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo will be highlighted.

 - Deputy Mayor of the city of Rio de Janeiro

 - Secretary of Social Assistance of the city of Sao Paulo

 - National Secretary of Drug Policy (SENAD)

 - Professor Emeritus, Columbia University

Past Events