David Nutt was fired by the Home Secretary for comparing the harms of ecstasy and horse-riding. Hear his case for an evidence-based approach to drug policy and resurrecting the use of psychedelics as a treatment for mental illness.

"He took personal risk to his reputation in the name of sound science" Colin Blakemore

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

Democracy and Drugs

Four years ago the US State of Colorado voted to legalise the sale of cannabis. Since then the states of Washington, Oregon and Alaska have followed suit. This November, in all likelihood, California and Massachusetts will support legalisation ballots. Uruguay has become the first country to legally regulate cannabis. The Canadian Prime Minister has announced that his government will bring forward a legalisation White Paper. Just last month the Mexican President spoke at the UN and suggested that his country was giving serious consideration to moving to a regulated market.

These reforms, in relation to cannabis in the Americas, constitute the greatest collective wave of drug policy reform in over half a century. They have precipitated a new debate; how best to create an infrastructure that safeguards legitimate public health concerns, whilst creating incentives for business to invest, and removing the black market.

The ‘tidal effect’ of these reforms will change the debate about cannabis legalisation in the UK.

 is delighted to host ‘Regulate. But How?’, to examine how best to create a sustainable legal regulated market. 

Invited speakers: Sam Bowman, Ann Fordham, Brendan Kennedy, Mike Power, Steve Rolles

Thumbnail: Sonya Yruel/Drug Policy Alliance

Debate: ‘Regulate. But How?’

The Symposium is an important networking event for the presentation of new developments in the fight against HIV & Emerging infectious diseases. The goals of the Symposium are to increase the scientific understanding of the virus, and to gain insights applicable to future efforts for controlling its spread. The Scientific Committee will design an outstanding program. Each day will offer a variety of sessions leading by renowned key opinin leaders, enriched by oral presentations with high quality abstracts. Additional abstracts will be scheduled as poster presentations with dedicated poster viewing times.

ISHEID: International symposium HIV and emerging infectious diseases

By Distraction Pieces Podcast Network - in association with LEAP UK

’ – the new drug policy podcast in association with LEAP UK and under the Scroobius Pip Distraction Pieces network. Come join for some rousing conversation and drug law debate!

Norman Lamb MP - Norman is a former minister in the coalition government and is a senior Lib Dem MP who has long championed evidence-based policy making - and consequently drug law reform

Joe Wells – Joe is a comedian and left-leaning social commentator. Joe is firmly on the fence with regards to our drug laws and will provide the voice of the contemplative layman. Hosting his own political podcast called Think Tank, Joe is a regular in the political comedy scene

Dale Beaumont-Brown – Dale is a film producer and director who has taken a longitudinal look at cannabis in his upcoming documentary, Grassroots: The Cannabis Revolution

And of course from LEAP UK, the regular host Jason Reed and regular pundit and former undercover drugs cop Neil Woods.

So what’s on the search warrant this month?

Well, the Liberal Democrats have firmly put the nailed their colours to the mast and have been the first UK political party to manifesto the issue of a regulated cannabis market under the guidance and recommendation of an expert panel. It’s about time we delved into this and strip back what this means for the UK, and take a peek behind the Westminster curtain while we're at it.

Stop and search: cannabis reform and grassroot revolutions

25th Session of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

Monday 23 May, 1.10 – 2.00pm, Conference Room M6

This side-event will focus on the treatment of women offenders and women prisoners in different regions and reflect on the importance of the UN Bangkok Rules. The expert panel will share good practices on the implementation of the UN Bangkok Rules, through gender-sensitive approaches.

 - Dr. Kittipong Kittayarak Executive Director, Thailand Institute of Justice.

Research and implementation of gender-specific community service and probation orders in Kenya

 - Andrea Huber, Penal Reform International.

Responses to cases where women kill their abusers

 - Verity Doyle, Linklaters LLP, London.

Gender-specific drug policy reform in Argentina

 - Luciana Pol, Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (member of the International Drug Policy Consortium)

Good practice on women offenders‏

The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) was established by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resolution 1992/1, upon request of General Assembly (GA) resolution 46/152, as one of its functional commissions. The Commission acts as the principal policymaking body of the United Nations in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice. ECOSOC provided for the CCPCJ's mandates and priorities in resolution 1992/22, which include improving international action to combat national and transnational crime and the efficiency and fairness of criminal justice administration systems. The CCPCJ also offers Member States a forum for exchanging expertise, experience and information in order to develop national and international strategies, and to identify priorities for combating crime.

More information will be made available in the next few weeks.

Please, find here further documentation and the expert groups.

25th Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) 

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.

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.

Past Events