In spite of being both inhumane and ineffective, in Cambodia there are 17 compulsory drug treatment centres which are due to be phased out as voluntary treatment centres are built.
The war on drugs has devastating human and economic costs, fuels macroeconomic illicit markets, and has not suppressed illicit demand for controlled substances, time has come for a new approach to drug policy.
Marlene Mortler, the German government's drug commissioner, had lobbied for the decision to allow patients to buy cannabis from their local pharmacy with a doctor's prescription.
Dainius Pūras, UN special rapporteur on the right to health, and Julie Hannah, co-director of the BMJ, call for the end of drug prohibition and criminalisation.
The new Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, pushed for decriminalisation of use of all drugs for personal consumption when he was Prime Minister of Portugal. Could he introduce his comprehensive strategy to reduce drug-related harm on the international stage?
Ontario’s health minister says “more can be done” to tackle the opioid crisis and has committed to funding three supervised safe injection sites in Toronto at an estimated annual cost of about $1.6 million and an initial cost of $400,000.
Despite methamphetamine seizures quadrupling between 2008 and 2013, Asia’s harsh anti-drug policies are falling out of step with the rest of the world and are filling prisons with low-level offenders, driving corruption, and fueling black markets.
Melbourne pharmacist Joshua Donelly and Prof David Penington are spearheading a new discussion around legalising ecstasy in Australia to provide users with access to a safer, pure drug supply.
Recent protests and violence at mandatory “drug rehabilitation” centres in Vietnam highlight the importance of the government’s decision to transform such facilities into community-based voluntary centres.
