Last year, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR – the UN Committee of independent experts in charge of overseeing the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) 

 to describe how drug laws and practices affect the enjoyment of the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to work, the right to housing, the right to health, the right to an adequate standard of living, or the right to education, to name a few, and what States’ obligations are in this regard.

Civil society now has the opportunity to contribute to an important initiative.

The repressive approach to drugs, together with the stigmatisation and discrimination against people who use them, has numerous negative consequences on the daily lives of our clients and peers. Drug dependence and criminal records related to drug offences are often an obstacle to finding or continuing employment. In most countries of the region, women who use drugs are denied entry to shelters or crisis centers, even in cases of domestic violence. Children, particularly those with parents who use drugs, are being separated from their families. People who are imprisoned and have drug use disorders may be denied access to treatment. The list goes on.

In order to ensure that the process is as inclusive as possible – and importantly reflects the views and concerns of civil society and affected communities – 

 has been set up for us all to share information and provide comments on the preliminary draft outline of the General Comment. 

For more information about the General Comment, and to submit a contribution, please visit 

Call for civil society comments on the preliminary draft outline of the UN CESCR General Comment on drug policy

CEBU, Philippines – The words "shoot to kill" never leaves Johann “Panki” Nadela’s mind as he works day and night to provide health services to young people with substance abuse disorders (SUD) and those that use drugs to cope with life. Nadela made it his life’s mission to fight for a “better answer” to the war on drugs. That better alternative is harm reduction—a concept that consists of providing healthcare services, social reintegration, legal assistance, and psychosocial support for all persons who use drugs (PWUDs).

Before Duterte, Nadela worked for several outreach programs focused on case-finding and service-delivery for people who inject drugs (PWID) and persons at risk of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

In 2015, the outreach worker became a community organizer and co-founded IDU Care—a community-led organization of PWUDs that actively advocates compassionate and realistic methods in solving the country’s drug problem.

IDU Care currently manages a community drop-in center in Cebu City that provides paralegal assistance, counseling, medical treatments and therapy, and resources for peer education programs on safe practices for persons living with drugs.

According to Nadela, the drug war heavily impacted operations at IDU Care’s community drop-in center, forcing them to integrate precautionary measures in their outreach activities and services. Nadela shared that at least two members of the organization were victims of extrajudicial killings during Duterte’s drug war.

One of them, the community organizer said, was 

 who was an active member of IDU Care and an activist who advocated for workers’ rights in Cebu. Kaloy was shot dead as he stepped down from a tricycle on his way home in Consolacion town in 2017. 

Nadela told Rappler that he dreams of seeing a comprehensive harm reduction policy being used by the national government to address the needs of PWUDs in the country. In recent years, IDU Care has collaborated with civil service organizations, local government units, and international organizations like the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) for programs aimed at harm reduction.

For Gloria Lai, IDPC Asia Regional Director, harm reduction involves health-based approaches that put value on treatment rather than actions that reinforce the stigma associated with drug use.

“When we talk about harm reduction, the focus is usually on HIV and treatment but a lot of that is impacted by the surrounding environment and that comes down to drug laws and policies,” Lai said in a phone call interview with Rappler.

The harm reduction advocate explained that changing drug policies from a punitive framework to a health-based framework can provide an enabling and rehabilitative environment for PWUDs.

Philippines: Before and after Duterte, Cebu group banners ‘better answer’ to drug war

Japan has passed a bill to legalize cannabis-based medicines in a landmark revision of its stringent drug laws, while toughening its ban on recreational use of marijuana. This is a win for patient groups that have campaigned for access to these medicines.

However the changes amount to a tightening of Japan's already tough cannabis policy. Marijuana consumption was criminalized, closing a loophole that officials partly blame for a recent rise in cannabis-related arrests. Prior to the revisions, inhaling marijuana had been technically legal, as opposed to a jail term of up to five years for possession. Under the revised laws, those caught using or possessing marijuana can face a prison sentence of up to seven years.

Still, decades of a strident government crusade against illegal drugs, synonymous with the mantra of "dame zettai" (absolutely not), have led to marijuana being heavily stigmatized in Japan. Just 1.4 percent of people in Japan say they have tried marijuana, compared to more than 40 percent in France and around half in the United States, data compiled by the health ministry show.

Japan's tough anti-cannabis laws have ensnared international stars including Beatle Paul McCartney, who spent nine days in detention in 1980 after the drug was found in his baggage.

Japan to legalize cannabis-based medicines

 proposing to amend the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) by expanding the existing listings of the fentanyl precursor 4-piperidone and its salts to include its derivatives and analogues under the CDSA.

This boils down to criminalizing the possession and distribution of such compounds—in effect, an expansion of police and border control powers to search and seize shipments. Health Canada’s apparent intent is clear: to reduce the access of illegal fentanyl producers to the ingredients they need to make fentanyl and its analogues.

Health Canada consulted law enforcement and pharmaceutical researchers and companies, along with “interested members of the public.” As far as we know, they did not invite people who use drugs, people who produce or distribute drugs, or anyone at the frontline of the drug toxicity crisis (aside from police) to determine what impacts the scheduling of additional fentanyl precursors might have.

 of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition was paying attention and prepared a statement for submission to Health Canada. In it, Boyce outlines the harms that could arise from this perpetuation of drug war mindset through increased fentanyl criminalization. This article adapts Nick’s submission—an important read for understanding the life support system of the drug war in Canada: the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA).

Under Health Canada’s proposal, the existing listing for 4-piperidone and its salts would be expanded to include its derivatives and analogues, including 1-boc-4-piperidone, 3-methyl-4-piperidone, and 1-benzyl-4-piperidone. Health Canada claims that these substances are being imported into Canada and/or detected in clandestine laboratories and being used to synthesize fentanyl and fentanyl analogues. (Drug Data Decoded has 

 the size and frequency of major drug busts at production labs in Canada, including a sizeable shipment from Vancouver that arrived on Australian shores.)

The current regulatory environment and persistent and growing scheduling of substances and precursors does not achieve the intended outcome of reducing the use of substances and has unintended health and societal risks, especially for people who use drugs. In Canada, in the last decade, we have seen an exponential rise in drug deaths and hospitalizations, primarily as a result of heroin being almost entirely replaced by numerous fentanyl analogues. But fentanyl may not have proliferated had we sensibly regulated, instead of prohibited, heroin.

Health Canada’s Drug Analysis Service data

 (DAS) and Cannabis Laboratory (CL) operates laboratories across Canada that analyze suspected illicit substances seized by Canadian law enforcement agencies. DAS data demonstrates the unintended consequences of scheduling substances: new and different substances continually emerge such as novel synthetic opioids (different fentanyl analogues and nitazene compounds) and other depressant type drugs such as a range of illicit benzodiazepines.

From July to September 2023, a total of 28,666 samples (including Cannabis) were submitted for 

There was a total of 6,819 identifications of opioids where 75% were fentanyl or fentanyl analogues (Fentanyl; Para-fluorofentanyl; Bromofentanyl; 4-anilino-n-phenethylpiperidine; Acetyl Fentanyl; Methoxyacetyl Fentanyl; Para-chlorofentanyl). From all samples containing heroin, 20% also contained fentanyl.

There was a total of 2,798 identifications of benzodiazepines during that period, which represents a 36% increase over the same period last year.

There was a total of 242 identifications of nitazenes during that period, which represents a 44% increase over the same period last year.

Newly identified depressant class substances included: Ethyleneoxynitazene; N-boc fluroro Norfentanyl.

That fentanyl first appeared in the illegal drug market at least as early as 1989 is well documented by people who use drugs, who referred to fentanyl-containing opioid supply as China White. Academic studies even referred to it in the 

Previous efforts to schedule and prohibit fentanyl and fentanyl precursors have not stopped people using substances. Instead, they have expanded the number of fentanyl analogues and other novel opioid or depressant-type contaminants in the drug supply. This has increased the volatility, danger, and toxicity of the unregulated drug supply. Over the last several years there has been an exponential increase in fatal and non-fatal overdoses, hospitalizations, and the attendant need for emergency health responses such as naloxone distribution, supervised consumption spaces, safe supply initiatives. In addition, scheduling substances further complicates law enforcement efforts.

Toxic drug deaths are primarily from the unregulated supply

Health Canada’s Notice of Intent to control the derivatives and analogues of the fentanyl precursor 4-piperidone and its salts under the CDSA notes:

“Between January 2016 and March 2023, there were a total of 38,514 apparent opioid toxicity deaths in Canada. Fentanyl and fentanyl analogues continue to be major drivers of the opioid overdose crisis, with 81% of all accidental apparent opioid toxicity deaths from January to March 2023 involving fentanyl.”

Of all accidental apparent opioid toxicity deaths so far in 2023 (January-March), 81% involved fentanyl. This percentage has increased by 42% since 2016 when national surveillance began but appears to have stabilized in recent years.

Of all accidental apparent opioid toxicity deaths so far in 2023 (January-March), 77% involved opioids that were only non-pharmaceutical. This percentage has increased by 17% since 2018 when national surveillance began but appears to have stabilized in recent years.

There was a total of 37,697 opioid-related and 16,231 stimulant-related poisoning hospitalizations from January 2016 to March 2023 in Canada (excluding Quebec)

A total of 1,309 opioid-related poisoning hospitalizations occurred so far in 2023 (January-March). This is an average of 15 hospitalizations per day.

Governments at all levels and their institutional representatives continue to hint at their discomfort with the status quo—moving beyond talking points will require focused and persistent public pressure.

The harms of drugs versus the harms of prohibition

It is important to note that fentanyl is not inherently dangerous – it is used widely in human medicine (Trade names Abstral®, Duragesic®, Onsolis®). However, in the unregulated market, dosage and purity are never assured - prohibition and unregulated drugs are killing people.

People are now unknowingly consuming drugs that contain multiple substances. Fentanyl analogues, novel opioids, and nitazine and benzodiazepine-type compounds widely contaminate the supply, increasing toxicity. Beyond the deaths, there are thousands of hospitalizations, a growing cohort of people surviving with brain damage after non-fatal overdoses, and traditional opioid therapies, such as methadone, are less effective due to increased drug tolerance.

unprecedented mortality, negative health outcomes and social impacts

, creating an untenable situation. Solutions to Canada’s toxic drug crisis require a shift away from these harms of prohibition.

Making certain drugs illegal does not stop people from using substances. Criminalization of substance use further 

 people who use drugs, making it more difficult to engage them in health care, 

 many of the factors that negatively impact health and wellbeing, and negatively impacts educational, employment, travel and other prospects of individuals convicted for drug charges. Criminalization also fosters social marginalization and encourages high-risk behaviours, such as injecting in unhygienic, unsupervised environments, poly-drug use, and binge use.

 for underground chemists to create new substances that may be even more dangerous. Scheduling each new substance, precursor, or class of substances increases costs related to enforcement strategies and social costs to people who use these drugs. Resources spent on enforcement mean less resources for the provision of health and social supports that would be more effective in reducing drug use.

Banning drugs and relying on enforcement based supply-side approaches to discourage their use has not stemmed drug use or stopped the drug supply. Despite Canada’s significant investment in drug control efforts, drugs or more dangerous substitutes are just as available as ever. There is 

 among international experts that drug prohibition has failed to deliver its intended outcomes and has been counterproductive.

Rather than reducing the supply of drugs, prohibition abdicates the regulation of drugs to criminal markets. This approach has several negative effects.

Drug policies that prohibit substances eliminate age restrictions on them by abandoning controls to an unregulated market. In addition, when we prohibit rather than regulate substances, it becomes impossible to control the purity and strength of drugs. Illegally produced and supplied drugs are of unknown strength and purity, increasing the risk of overdose, poisoning, and infections.

If the use of one drug is controlled by reducing supply, suppliers and users may move on to another drug with similar psychoactive effects, but less stringent controls. An example of this was emergence and subsequent banning of a novel synthetic cathinone (mephedrone) in the United Kingdom in 2010. People started using (unscheduled) mephedrone because drug enforcement efforts had negatively impacted the availability and quality of other stimulants such as cocaine and MDMA. However, people who used mephedrone before the ban either continued their use or switched back to previously prohibited and unregulated substances after the ban. Research showed that prohibiting mephedrone did not have the intended effect of reducing substance use; rather it 

 drug use to either new substances or older illegal substances of unknown purity or dose.

 also suggests that the ban on mephedrone displaced provision of this substance from internet and “head shop” suppliers to street-level sellers, thus involving more people in illegal activity, and the price increased.

 also demonstrated that law enforcement efforts to disrupt local drug markets by seizing opioids or stimulants are associated with increased spatiotemporal clustering of overdose events in the surrounding geographic area.

Increasing challenges and costs for law enforcement

Consumers face growing challenges from synthetic drugs owing to the unknown pharmacology and harms of the drugs, lack of pharmacological retail markets, as shown by the growing numbers of tranquilizers, including novel benzodiazepines, found in the drug supply.

The toxic drug crisis in North America has not been associated with a sizeable increase in the number of opioid users but driven by overdose deaths, mainly attributed to the use of fentanyls.

On November 18, 2023, the head of the RCMP unit responsible for fighting organized crime was 

 as saying: “Sadly, Canada is a producing country of fentanyl and synthetic opioids. Not only are we a producing country, we're an exporting country. One of the challenges is that a lot of these precursors are not illegal.”

While this may appear to be a challenge from a law enforcement perspective, the unintended consequences of never-ending scheduling and prohibition are a far greater challenge.

On November 26, 2023 the vice-president of intelligence and enforcement at Canadian Border Services Agency was 

 as saying: “CBSA is in a constant game of cat-and-mouse with criminal organizations that are trying to import dangerous narcotics as well as the ingredients for fentanyl—sometimes through ‘creative’ means…It's an ever-evolving game where we're constantly looking at new and different tactics to smuggle drugs into the country or out of the country."

A drug-free world is an unattainable and, for many, undesirable world. It is time to consider a new approach that eliminates the negative effects of drug prohibition, provides a variety of health and social supports and harm reduction services, and avoids criminalizing those who choose to use drugs.

Clearly all drugs, whether legal or illegal, can pose risks. The 

2019 Canadian Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CADS)

 asked about five harms people may have experienced in the past 12 months due to alcohol consumption. Types of harm include being unable to stop drinking once started, failing to do what was normally expected from you because of drinking, needing a first drink in the morning to get yourself going after a heavy drinking session, being unable to remember what happened the night before because of your drinking, or having a feeling of guilt or remorse after drinking.

Of those who reported past-year alcohol use, 21% (4.8 million) experienced at least one alcohol-related harm in the past year due to alcohol use. These data demonstrate that alcohol, a regulated substance, can still be harmful. However, alcohol is subject to regulatory controls, including pricing, age restrictions and dose that help to contain the negative public health and public safety effects while avoiding the negative effects of complete prohibition. As a result, people do not die from a toxic alcohol supply.

Regulation, not prohibition, of all substances would ensure they are manufactured under safe and sanitary conditions and can be subject to penalties for sale in adulterated and/or unlabeled forms. A key benefit of regulation is that it allows appropriate controls to be put in place over price and availability (location, times of opening and age restrictions) as well as controls over advertising and promotion. It is precisely because unregulated drugs pose risks that they need to be appropriately regulated to ensure that dosing and conditions of manufacture protect the safety and health of Canadians. Allowing people reasonable access to substances of known quality and purity would:

Significantly reduce unintentional fatal and non-fatal overdose or poisoning.

Remove the control of drugs from the criminal market and its associated corruption and violence.

Reduce criminal market incentives to produce new or novel substances to skirt scheduling and enforcement.

Free-up resources wasted on ineffective and harmful prohibition and law enforcement that could be directed to myriad health and social programs.

Stopping the endless and harmful cycle of scheduling and prohibition and to follow recommendations and calls found in:

The August 2023 Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 

Human rights challenges in addressing and countering all aspects of the world drug problem

, specifically recommendations: (a) Adopt alternatives to criminalization, “zero tolerance” and elimination of drugs, by considering decriminalization of usage; and take control of illegal drug markets through responsible regulation, to eliminate profits from illegal trafficking, criminality and violence; (c) Consider developing a regulatory system for legal access to all controlled substances;

The Global Commission on Drug Policy 2021 report, 

The Global Commission argues that options for legal regulation should be explored for all psychoactive substances. Regulation means not only protecting the health and safety of the end-consumer, but also creating a supply chain with strict controls for potency, quality and access. Regulation ultimately requires the boldness to build a world that does not yet exist.

Consider different models of legal regulation such as those outlined by the UK’s 

Canada: Net-widening the 'war on drugs'

Experts – and editorials – have recently claimed that no one has been imprisoned for drug use for years, long before Measure 110 was approved in 2020. But that is not accurate.

You don’t have to be sent to prison to be incarcerated for drug use. I know. Between 2013 to 2014, I was jailed for 65 days for drug possession.

From 2018 to 2019, more than 3,100 Multnomah County residents were charged with drug possession, according to the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission. Many of those people ended up in jail. Traditionally, the graduation rates for drug courts are low. So, while billed as an “alternative to incarceration,” many of those who opt for them end up being jailed and given a criminal record anyway.

Diversion will inevitably result in incarceration for those who do not stop using drugs, even absent any other crime and alongside earnest treatment attempts. Once someone is terminated from diversion, they’re placed on probation where they often end up back in jail.

Addiction is defined as the continued use of a substance despite repeated negative consequences. The consequences I faced – such as the destruction of my interpersonal relationships, financial ruin and write-ups for being late to work as I waited for a drug dealer that never came – were not enough to force me to quit, and imposing more consequences such as jail was not enough to silence the siren song of opioids that had gripped me for so long. 

US: Recriminalizing drugs would be a bad choice for Oregon

 has proven to be a complete failure in achieving a drug-free world and reducing the size and power of illegal drug markets. Instead, punitive policies have led to human rights violations, harmed the health of millions, and undermined global security, economy, and social fabric. This punitive approach restricts access to essential pain relief medications and prevents drug users from accessing basic healthcare services. Here we are in the 21st century, and an alarming 80% of the world’s population does not have access to essential pain medications.

In 2019, the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs convened in Vienna and issued a 

 for the next 10 years to strengthen actions at all levels and accelerate the implementation of joint commitments to address the world drug problem. A “midterm” review of the declaration is set for 2024 to evaluate the progress made and ensure ongoing alignment with the objectives.

Nearly five years later, the results are brutally discouraging, which is why this review is so important. To move forward, we need a transparent and evidence-based analysis of reality. We should also assess the recent progress made by U.N. organisms like the General Assembly, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Human Rights Council. The midterm review in 2024 is an opportunity to define a drug policy aligned with the 2030 sustainable development goals and consistent with human rights, the right to health, and the right to economic, social, cultural and political development.

Throughout my career as a lawyer, judge of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Peruvian government minister, and human rights expert, I have personally witnessed how 

 in Latin America and around the world have driven violence and mass incarceration. This impact is especially harsh on women, racial and ethnic minorities, and people living in poverty. Moreover, drug prohibition has eroded the traditional, cultural, and ancestral rights of Indigenous peoples, especially in 

 on December 5 with an evaluation of the outcomes of the 2019 ministerial declaration. The forceful report presents solid evidence that drug policies have failed to effectively prohibit and eradicate illegal drug markets, and their connection to citizen 

, I am proud to contribute to the IDPC’s work on drug policy.

Deeply flawed drug policies need urgent reassessment

We were very glad to welcome the Correlation European Harm Reduction Network’s Expert Meeting in Budapest, on the 4-6 of December 2023. We produced a short summary video of the network’s 2023 activities, and live streamed several sessions, that you can watch now!

C-EHRN was established in 2004 in Amsterdam as a European civil society network and centre of expertise in the field of drug use, harm reduction and social inclusion. C-EHRN is hosted by Foundation De Regenboog Groep (FRG) – a non-governmental low-threshold service organisation in Amsterdam, providing harm reduction services to people who use drugs and other individuals and communities that are affected by social and health inequalities. Drugreporter is a long time partner of the network. The summary film of the 2023 activities of C-EHRN, which we produced during the meeting, can be watched here:

Péter Sárosi, director of the Rights Reporter Foundation and editor of the Drugreporter website, gave the keynote speech at the opening ceremony. he spoke about the situation of drug policy and harm reduction in Hungary. Harm reductionists face different political and cultural realities in different geographical regions of Europe. In some countries in the West the question today is mainstreaming and innovation. But in other countries, mostly in the East, even basic harm reduction programs are confronted with a more existential question: that of mere survival. There is a growing populism and shrinking space for civil society. On top of this, the drug scene is changing and constantly challenges us to find new methods, to reach out to new groups and to redefine what harm reduction means. The keynote speech addressed the challenges and highlighted some opportunities ahead of the harm reduction movement in Europe.

We live streamed several sessions, you can access them below. We divided the video to chapters on YouTube, so you can easily find the specific parts.

Moderator: Tony Duffin (Ana Liffey Drug Project) Speakers: Gabor Kerpel-Fronius; Deputy Mayor (on video) of Budapest & Katrin Schiffer, C-EHRN Director.

 This session included welcome words and an introduction to C-EHRN activities and results.

Keynote Speech – Drug Policy and Harm Reduction in Hungary

Moderator: Tony Duffin (Ana Liffey Drug Project) Panel Members: Ákos Topolánszky (European Social and Economic Committee / Hungarian Federation of the Drug Therapy Institutions), Róbert Csák (Hungarian Association on Addiction), Anna Tarján, Péter Sárosi (Rights Reporter Foundation)

 According to its last national drug strategy, Hungary was supposed to become “drug-free” by 2020. Despite this ambitious goal, the government failed to eliminate drug use – it only succeeded in nearly eliminating funding for treatment and harm reduction programs. Several key programs had to close down and the philosophy and practice of harm reduction became a taboo. Panellists in the policy dialogue outlined the current drug policy situation in Hungary, addressed the ethical dilemmas of civil society in a hostile political climate and presented some survival strategies.

Civil Society Monitoring & Data Collection

Moderator: Rafaela Rigoni (C-EHRN) Speakers: Iga Jeziorska (C-EHRN) – Harm Reduction Essential Services, Tuukka Tammi (THL) – Hepatitis C, Daan van der Gouwe (Trimbos)- New Drug Trends, Guy Jones (TEDI) – New Drug Trends via TEDI, Laoise Darragh (C-EHRN) – Mental Health, Rafaela Rigoni (C-EHRN) – City Reports.

 The session briefly presented the different publications for the C-EHRN Civil Society-led Monitoring in Europe 2023. These focus on 1) The state of implementation of harm reduction essential services in the cities covered by C-EHRN Focal Points, 2) The state of implementation of the continuum of care for Hepatitis C for people who use drugs in the same cities, 3) New Drug Trends captured by harm reduction providers and trends captured by drug checking services members of the TEDI network, 4) Mental Health of harm reduction staff, and 5) Emergent issues and harm reduction innovations in five European cities. Short presentations focusing on key messages will be provided by the authors, followed by a Q&A session.

C-EHRN activities: Civil Society Involvement Case Studies, Harm Reduction in Prison, Advocacy, Drug Consumption Rooms, Harm Reduction and Gender

Moderator: Tony Duffin (Ana Liffey Drug Project) Speakers: Péter Sárosi (Rights Reporter Foundation), Graham Shaw (Consultant), Beatrix Vas (UNITE), Roberto Perez Gayo (C-EHRN).

 This session highlighted different C-EHRN activities, which were carried out in 2023. Short presentations were provided by C-EHRN experts, followed by a Q&A session.

Civil Society Involvement & Advocacy workshop

Moderator: Péter Sárosi (Rights Reporter Foundation)

 This session focused on the meaningful involvement of civil society in the field of drug policy. We presented the findings of a qualitative research, carried out by C-EHRN in 2023. The study consisted of focus group discussions, both with decision-makers and civil society representatives in four countries, including Finland, Ireland, Hungary and Greece. After the presentation of the findings, we discussed the potential impact and follow-up activities.

The plenary sessions on Wednesday the 6th of December included:

 The SEMID-EU project focuses on marginalised migrants who use drugs in the EU. The aim of the project is to see into the needs and (harm reduction) service access of various groups with a migration background. During this plenary, we will present the results from a literature research and Delphi round, from a community-led participatory research (100 interviews + focus groups across the cities of Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin and Paris) and a series of policy documents and fact sheets. A panel will discuss the implications of the project and will look for opportunities to improve the health and rights of migrants who use drugs in the EU.

Moderators: Tony Duffin (Ana Liffey Drug Project) Speakers: Katrin Schiffer (C-EHRN), Péter Sárosi (Rights Reporter Foundation) & Marta Pinto (University of Porto)

 This session summarised and wrapped up the outcomes of the Member and Expert Meeting 2023.

Support, inform, share and act: Video report from C-EHRN's expert meeting

BRATISLAVA, Dec 5 2023 (IPS) - A major advocacy group has demanded an overhaul of global drug policies as a landmark report is released showing how governments’ complacency has perpetuated a failed ‘war on drugs’ despite its devastating consequences for millions of people around the world.

Using wide-ranging data from UN, government, academic, and civil society sources, ‘Off track: Shadow Report for the mid-term review of the 2019 Ministerial Declaration on Drugs’ released today (December 5) by the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) illustrates the collapse of the UN drug control regime, its authors say.

It shows how, despite billions spent every year to curb drug markets and availability, in the last four years, the number of people who use drugs has risen to historic levels, overdose deaths are surging, executions for drug offences have soared, and millions have continued to be imprisoned for drug offences. And this is all while access to treatment for drug dependency remains low and shockingly unequal in different parts of the world.

But at the same time, the group claims, the long-held consensus behind global prohibition is fracturing, and since 2019, the number of people who can legally access internationally controlled drugs for non-medical use has more than doubled to over 294 million.

“There has often been an attitude [at policy level] that drugs are wrong and that the approach to drug use should be a punitive one. But recently there has been a growing recognition, on the ground and at grassroots level but also at some policymaking level, that this approach is not working. That recognition is accelerating as we reach a breaking point on this,” Marie Nougier, Head of Research and Communications at IDPC and one of the main authors of the report, told IPS.

'War on drugs' failed and policies need major overhaul – Report

VPEP / Geneva - Switzerland - The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom, announced to the Vice-President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Jilata David Choquehuanca, that the organisation has initiated official procedures to carry out a critical review of the current classification of the coca leaf in Schedule 1 of the 1961 Convention on Narcotic Drugs. The meeting took place in Geneva, Switzerland on Thursday.

"A very important meeting was held between the Vice President of Bolivia and the Director General of the WHO in which the issue of the critical review of the coca leaf was addressed and it was officially announced by the Director General that the procedures have been initiated after receiving the notification from the Secretary General of the United Nations," explained Juan Carlos Alurralde, Secretary General of the Vice Presidency.

It should be recalled that Vice-President Choquehuanca, during his speech last March at the plenary of the 66th session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, demanded respect for the legitimate right of peoples to make "traditional, nutritional, therapeutic, ritual, industrial and commercial use of the coca leaf in its natural state".



Tedros Adhanom explained that the WHO will soon call for the formation of a committee of international experts in different fields. "An evaluation will be made of the coca leaf in terms of chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, natural medicine and traditional uses, the latter areas have been proposed by Bolivia, by our Vice-President, and experts in this area will also be taken into account and sought," Alurralde remarked.

The WHO Director also expressed his willingness to speed up the processes and to make sustained progress in this important critical review so that the results of the studies will be available in a timely manner.

WHO officially launches procedures for critical review of coca leaf

Ohio voters have approved a ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana, making it the 24th state to embrace legalization in a push that’s expanding into more conservative parts of the country.

The "yes" vote on Issue 2 means people age 21 and over in the state will be able to use, grow or sell marijuana under a regulation-and-tax program imposed by the state. The measure takes effect in 30 days. Supporters of the measure campaigned on the premise of regulating marijuana "like alcohol."

Possessing marijuana is still a federal crime, but President Joe Biden has announced pardons for prior offenses of simple marijuana possession, and the Justice Department is taking a hands-off approach in states that have legalized its use.

The Department of Health and Human Services also recently recommended that the Drug Enforcement Administration "reschedule" marijuana, reducing restrictions on its use.

United States: Ohio votes to legalise marijuana for recreational use

 by the people of Jamaica, particularly traditional ganja farmers. The amendment to the Dangerous Drugs Act meant that a local market remains prohibited, with only possession decriminalised.

Due to Jamaica’s reliance on international order, the CLA has struggled to take further action, creating tension with traditional farmers in Jamaica who have grown frustrated at the lack of a legal market to sell their product. Canadian cannabis companies are now 

exporting cannabis back into Jamaica and undercutting the local market.

 Due to economic and legal restrictions faced by local farmers in Jamaica, they cannot export their own product into Canada. Therefore, the legal market is inaccessible, forcing Jamaicans to rely on the illicit cannabis trade, perpetuating the criminal divide between those that can afford to access the legal market, and those that cannot.

Western policies dictating international regulations are not new within the Americas and the Caribbean. When policy is implemented without addressing this history, Western interests tend to dominate. As Vicki Hanson, a member of the 

changes were first introduced and established on premises of discrimination and prejudice toward certain culture and people on a colonial basis.”

And so, how do we go about breaking this cycle? The move towards legalisation may seem ideal, but in practice legal reform risks perpetuating racial capitalism and inequalities created by the global economy rather 

than strengthening the advancement of reparative racial justice.

 Within Jamaica, the government has attempted to widen the market for the inclusion of tradition farmers. This includes 

 and eased security requirements needed for legal cultivations.

2020 review of the International Drug Treaty,

 Jamaica openly advocated for further cannabis reform, stating: 

“the current international drug control architecture does not allow to address national realities and unique circumstances, but it is also at the core of discussions on criminal justice reforms and human rights, in particular freedom of religion is here.”

 However, this alone is not enough, as policies introduced for drug reform must construct a new world rather than solely address the damage created by the current one. Unless reparative justice is at the core of drug policy, we risk advancing racial disparity instead of counteracting it.

We must also question why Western drug policies, which are not fit for purpose for countries with traditional or indigenous use of controlled drugs, are enforced upon communities with long-standing connections with cannabis. Take for example, profitable Western security measures, such as the required implementation of 

 are consistently prioritised over factors more beneficial to local farmers, such as the importance of community cohesion and geographical location. Why is cannabis policy measured on the “global politics of ganja”, when those who view the drug as a traditional sacrament to their beliefs are given no voice?

To move forward in a manner that challenges these racial hierarchies, we must rethink how to implement drug policy: transitioning from if to how. We must make an active effort to correct the historical wrongs perpetuated by the War on Drugs, understanding the 

 that the global drugs industry has brought together, and the laws and policies that have kept this in place.

Jamaican cannabis struggles to integrate traditional growers

Statement delivered by Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the 

8th Brandenburg Forum on Drugs and Development Policies

, organised by the Global Partnership on Drug Policies and Development (GPDPD) (commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development - BMZ, and implemented under political patronage of the Commissioner of the Federal Government for Drug and Addiction Policy) and co-hosted by the Government of the Netherlands, the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services, the Transnational Institute (TNI), and the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC).

From deaths and ruined lives to violent crime and mass incarceration, the toll of the global trade in illegal narcotics is unbearable. Drug use has taken many lives.

But so have poorly constructed drug control policies.

Punishing people who use drugs with jail and criminal records adds to their suffering. It results in stigma and social exclusion; makes it more difficult for drug users to function in the legal economy; and drives them deeper underground – beyond the reach of help.

 underground, where they may connect with networks trading arms and trafficking people. This fuels far greater criminality.

My Office recently issued a report on human rights challenges related to the world drug problem. It found that the persistence of 

 creates serious challenges to human dignity and contradicts international human rights standards.

punitive drug control laws and law enforcement practices

 are among the main obstacles preventing people from entering drug treatment programmes when they need to. In 2021, only one in five people suffering from drug-related disorders was in treatment for drug use globally, with huge disparities in access to treatment around the world.

Criminalization and the so called ‘war on drugs’ approach have failed to curb drug use. And they have not deterred drug-related crime. Instead, the so-called ‘war on drugs’ has 

, with sharply escalating use of lethal force in drug-related law enforcement in several countries – alongside evidence of multiple and serious human rights violations in some cases. These range from unnecessary and disproportionate use of force, to arbitrary detentions and even extrajudicial killings.

The so called ‘war on drugs’ has been accompanied by 

 for drug-related convictions worldwide, contrary to international human rights law. The recorded number of people executed for drug-related offences more than doubled in 2022 compared to 2021 – and this does not include countries which keep the number of people whom they execute a secret.

 – disproportionately people from minority communities, and young people from poor backgrounds.

Morally and practically, as our report demonstrated, the ‘war on drugs’ approach has failed. The world drug situation remains very concerning, but 

treating people who use drugs as criminals is not the solution

The report's recommendations aim to inspire action in view of next year's midterm review of the 2019 Ministerial Declaration on persistent and emerging challenges related to the world drug problem.

That mid-term review is a key moment. As we look back, to take stock of results to date, we will also be looking forward – planning what needs to be covered by 2029, and how that can be done. It is also an occasion for States to renew the Ministerial Declaration's strong commitment to human rights, as part of transformative change to address the global drug situation.

At the core of addiction is often the gnawing feeling that one’s life is unbearable. We need to address the underlying social and economic factors of ever increased drug use, by tackling social inequalities, and promoting social justice.

We need measures that can take control of illegal drug markets, such as responsible regulation that can eliminate profits from illegal trafficking, criminality and violence.

We need inclusive policies that ensure access to medical care and to harm reduction services, with measures that address the specific needs of women. All forms of treatment for drug use disorder must be voluntary, and discrimination by law enforcement against people of African descent, Indigenous Peoples and other marginalized populations must be ended.

I also strongly encourage all authorities to engage with people who use drugs, and affected communities, to ensure that drug policies are based on evidence, and that they are properly implemented to improve the lives of the millions of people who are affected.

The Brandenburg Forum is a leading force in the global movement to ensure that drug policies promote more effective solutions, by focusing on people and their rights.

I applaud your initiatives to advance cross-national dialogue focusing on public health; on human rights; and on inclusive and sustainable development – in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, an ambitious, detailed and very necessary human rights-based commitment.

Several countries have begun to approach drug usage as a public health and human rights issue – applying evidence-based and gender-sensitive harm reduction approaches, and decriminalizing the use of some drugs.

 countries to take decisive steps in this direction, by ensuring that their drug policies focus on support – not coercion and fear.

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