Former President of Switzerland, Ruth Dreifuss, and former President of the Portuguese Republic, Jorge Sampaio, call for nations to set up a new international drug strategy for the twenty-first century.
Several Canadian cities are looking to expand the use of a medication that has been shown to save lives by countering the effects of a life-threatening prescription drug overdose.
In 2010, after a two-year boom of legal highs businesses on Polish high streets, the government decided to crack down on this trade. However, despite their efforts, the imposed ban has had little effect.
Uruguay, which recently passed a law making it the first country to legalize the production and sale of cannabis, will also allow doctors to prescribe the drug to treat certain medical conditions.
Jamaica will decriminalise the possession of small amounts of marijuana, and allow possession for some medical and scientific purposes and for religious purposes.
In a surprise move in late May, the Peruvian President fired Peru’s top drug official, Carmen Macias, replacing her with a longtime confidant, former Defense Minister Luis Alberto Otarola.
In Hungary, despite the first HIV transmissions among drug users, the largest Hungarian needle and syringe program has been forced to shut down, because of political attacks.
Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, made a speech on the human rights violations which continue to occur in the implementation of States' drug control policies.
While dozens of activist groups withdrew, others met to try and develop a regional strategy to counter Russian influence over opioid substitution therapies.