Needle vending machines could be rolled out for the first time in Victoria this year as part of trial to reduce infection rates among drug users.

Yarra Drug and Health Forum has been investigating a trial as an addition to existing needle exchange programs across Melbourne. The machines are unmarked and contain one-use sterile equipment and disposal bins. Syringes are either provided free or for a small fee such as $2.

Yarra Drug and Health Forum chief executive Greg Denham said restrictive opening hours of programs left a dangerous gap in which users could not access clean equipment.

Most needle exchange programs in Melbourne operate weekdays and between business hours.

''It's a logical next step to make sure we make clean syringes available when they're needed, such as weekends,'' he said.

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Needle vending machines trial proposed for Melbourne, Australia

People who use drugs, often comit small crimes to obtain money for the substance. In Bulgaria there are about 2,000 drug users in prison, about 20% of all prisoners. Society expects that the prison "will do" - will punish and correct unwanted behavior. But drug dependence should be treated as a health issue. Could the drug-crime cycle be interrupted if these people had the chance to receive treatment instead of prison? "

Initiative for Health Foundation video

Injecting drug use among adolescents has been largely overlooked in responses to HIV. At Harm Reduction International we have undertaken the first global snapshot of available data on this issue – copies are available outside (And online at http://www.ihra.net/contents/1431 )

National population size estimates are exceptionally rare for this age group. Under 18s are often not included behavioural surveillance. Specific research is quite rare. A lot of what is available is isolated, one off or old. In other words most countries don’t know their epidemic

Early onset of injecting, and having recently begun injecting, have been associated with increased risks of HIV and hepatitis C transmission.

Low ages of initiation are clear across regions. In Nepal, for example,it is estimated that 20% of people who inject may be under 18.

A third of young people who inject reported starting under the age of 15 in Albania – a quarter in Romania. In Indonesia adolescents are almost twice as likely to share needles than older counterparts. They are less likely to test for HIV

In Ukraine it has been estimated that there are just over 50,000 adolescents injecting drugs. According to data from harm reduction services, about 800 were reached last year.

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

Injecting drug use among adolescents has been largely overlooked in responses to HIV.

At Harm Reduction International we have undertaken the first global snapshot of available data on this issue – copies are available outside (And online at http://www.ihra.net/contents/1431 )

National population size estimates are exceptionally rare for this age group.

Under 18s are often not included behavioural surveillance. Specific research is quite rare. A lot of what is available is isolated, one off or old. In other words most countries don’t know their epidemic

A third of young people who inject reported starting under the age of 15 in Albania – a quarter in Romania.

In Indonesia adolescents are almost twice as likely to share needles than older counterparts. They are less likely to test for HIV

- See more at: http://unaidspcbngo.org/?p=20779#sthash.5xlyNcQg.dpuf

Harm Reduction International’s intervention on youth thematic segment

AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW) has become a network of independent local organisations working in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The new status of AFEW is effective as of November 2013. At the moment, the AFEW Network consists of six members operating in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Netherlands, Russia, Tajikistan and Ukraine; with AFEW in the Netherlands serving as the international secretariat of the Network. The local organizations are a follow up of AFEW’s representative branches that existed until the structural change, and therefore they ensure the continuation of the same high quality project implementation and staff expertise.

With the new organisational structure, AFEW Network has expanded its mission and field of engagement. The Steering Committee met in November in Amsterdam and agreed to prioritise the issues of access to quality health care and the fight against stigma and discrimination.

AFEW Network will continue to promote health and increased access to prevention, treatment and care forpublic health concerns such as HIV, TB, viral hepatitis and sexual reproductive health and rights. The focus and objectives of the members of AFEW Network also have been updated to reflect the local conditions and the needs of the local societies:

Capacity building of local NGOs and governmental organizations;

Development of informational and educational materials and events to inform the target population;

Serving as an effective liaison and partnership with community and governmental structure;

Piloting and expanding innovative approaches to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.

“This change in structure will allow each member of the Network to independently make programmatic decisions in response to the changing epidemiological and social environment in the countries,” - said Anke van Dam, executive director of AFEW Network. “Additionally, the new structure will make local organisations eligible to compete for national HIV programme funds.”
The new organisational structure will retain AFEW’s highest standards of transparency and accountability by carrying out regular internal and external audits and each network member having a local board of trustees. Lastly, AFEW Network will continue providing good governance to secure success in project implementation.

AIDS foundation website will be fully launched in January 2014.

AIDS Foundation East-West becomes a network of independent local organisations

At the end of each calendar year, Youth RISE brings together a new group of young harm reduction and drug policy activists, drug users and young people affected by drug policy from around the world to join our International Working Group (IWG). The IWG play a vital role in the work of Youth RISE delivering vital elements of organisations work to ensure Youth RISE is effectively representing young people who use drugs and that the organisation is communicating the needs of young people who use drugs from around the world.

The IWG members, along with the coordinators, take major decisions regarding work plans, advocacy, and strategic planning for the network. The IWG also provide regional representation, experience, guidance and support to Youth RISE enabling it to achieve its goals as well as helping develop the infrastructure needed for the sustainability of the Youth RISE network.

If you would like to be an IWG member for 2014, please read the the terms of reference carefully and see if the role is suited to you.

Click here to have access to more information.

Join Youth RISE's International Working Group for 2014

As the open drugs market in Geneva causes loss of control over a part of the public space and is the main cause of unsafety, a Group composed of different political parties represented in the Senior Committee, meet to make some proposals. Informal meetings have held since summer 2012 and the outcomes are in presented in this document.

The cannabis market represents the main part of this open market. It generates numerous small law offenses that spoil the lives of the citizen of Geneva. This market represents 1 Billion Swiss Francs. The consumption of cannabis has been or will be legalized in many countries. Not only is consumption common in Switzerland but the sentence regarding this offence is just a fine.

After a detailed study of the different solutions experimented and implemented abroad, the Group’s proposal is to test a mock-project in Geneva and to allow the growth, the delivery and the consumption of cannabis and derivatives products like hashish and cannabis oil during three years. This framework would operate through organizations like Social Clubs in Spain and France.

Neither drug consumption nor the number of drug users has increase since the legalized cannabis consumption models have been experimented abroad. In Switzerland, we estimate that there are about 500,000 cannabis users, which represents between 6.25 % and 8.5 % of the population. In the Netherlands, where cannabis consumption is legalized, the proportion of cannabis users is 5.75%.

This solution, which will be combined with an increasing prohibition of the street market, aims at curbing the crime generated by the open market, staying as close as possible to drug users – who are confidentially registered members of cannabis social clubs - , monitoring THC, the active substance of cannabis, and being sure that the produced quantities don’t exceed individual needs. A tax will be implemented.

The Group proposes to launch this pilot project in Geneva – and if possible in cooperation with other major Swiss cities – allowing Bale’s and Zurich’s initiatives to become real, even though they have not proposed a concrete content yet. At this point, the undersigned consider that it’s necessary to make this project public in order to draft a detailed plan and to give the opportunity to political parties and civil society to discuss it.

The Group is aware that the project is limited: cannabis and its derivatives are just a part of the drug market. Undoubtedly, cocaine and heroin consumption has to be severely sentenced and healthcare facilities for drug users should be maintained. This policy will enable the police to be more efficient: they will target just cocaine and heroin. The group is also aware that alcohol consumption abuse is dangerous.

"We" are convinced that troubles regarding this issue deserve a study which is independent from the usual political game. That’s the reason why we have worked on our own behalf and according to the principles of our political parties. We hope that all this will help to launch a sound and constructive debate.

Interparty Party Group of the Geneva Canton (2013) – the cannabis social club: a model effective of regulation of access the cannabis for more of security in the city.

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Interparty Party Group of the Geneva Canton (2013) – the cannabis social club: a model effective of regulation of access the cannabis for more of security in the city

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has just released their data set on injecting drug use and HIV, for comments and review.

Please see below two spreadsheets: one with the estimates for IDU and HIV, and one with data on service access. These data will be published in the World Drug Report 2014. As you may know, there are widespread concerns about the data published in the World Drug Report 2013, and how these have been interpreted - particularly any suggestions of declines in HIV prevalence among people who inject drugs. For more information, please read this informative "Advisory Note" from Harm Reduction International on the topic.

UNODC is inviting comments and data challenges from all stakeholders - so please let them know if you disagree with the data presented for your country, or if there is more recent data available that they have missed.

Please provide comments directly to Phil Davis, from the UNODC Statistics and Surveys Section.

 Review of estimates for the 2014 UNODC world drug report

The MENAHRA conference took place on 12-15 November 2013 in Beirut, Lebanon. The objective of the conference was to present the strategies of harm reduction and advocate for their adoption to stakeholders, implementers and activists in the region. Following the success of the First Conference that was held in 2009, MENAHRA strives to create a platform once again where professionals, activists and researchers from the region may gather and exchange experiences and latest developments in the field of harm reduction.

Please click here to access the presentations from the conference.

2nd MENAHRA regional conference on harm reduction: Presentations

Montreal will soon be home to four supervised injection sites for intravenous drug users. While the service is expected to cost $2.7 million annually, the Public Health Department said the health care system will ultimately come out the winner.

Richard Massé, the director of Montreal Public Health, argues that while the the experiment may seem expensive, the quality of life will improve for the people who live near the sites, and for the drug users.

Massé said the social gains will surpass the cost if people consider the complications associated with injection drug use — hepatitis C, HIV and overdoses, among others — and the risk of contamination associated with dirty needles left lying around.

"You gain more with these services than leaving people to deal with their health problems, not to mention the social costs for the population living nearby," said Massé.

Montreal to get 4 supervised injection sites

The LSE IDEAS International Drug Policy Project is a large scale multidisciplinary and cross-regional research undertaking. It has been created to produce a deep strategic re-evaluation of the international drug control system through rigorous academic research and policy analysis.

The current strategy originated in 1909 with aim of eradicating the use of certain drugs by controlling their supply. It was solidified in the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and subsequent treaties. It’s execution is currently governed through the UN drug control system and is led by a number of core states.

Click here to access the project's website

LSE Ideas International Drug Policy Project launches new website

Uruguay has become the first state to regulate cannabis use instead of criminalising users. This infographic explains why they took this pioneering step and how the regulations will work.

Uruguay’s historic cannabis regulation explained

Uruguay’s senate voted today (10 December) to approve the world’s first national legal framework regulating the cultivation, trade and consumption of cannabis for medical, industrial as well as recreational purposes.

The historical vote is expected to inspire and spread cannabis reform initiatives around the world and to have a major impact on upcoming UN-level drug policy evaluations.

“The approval of regulation under state control in Uruguay marks a tipping point in the failed war against drugs. The trend is becoming irreversible: the era of a globally enforced cannabis prohibition regime is drawing to a close,” says Martin Jelsma, Coordinator of the Drugs & Democracy Programme at the Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute (TNI).

“Uruguay is part of an overall trend of alternative drug policies that have emerged in Colorado and Washington states, in countries like Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic and The Netherlands, and in discussions throughout Latin America. It is clear that the drug policy debate is growing in breadth and sophistication, and will not easily be reduced again to false choices and empty slogans,” says TNI researcher Tom Blickman.

TNI is a policy research institute based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Since 1996, its Drugs and Democracy Programme has analysed trends in the illegal drugs economy and the global drugs control regime and examined the causes and effects on the economy, conflict situations and democracy. A major study on cannabis and the international drug control regime will be released in January contributing to global policy reviews scheduled for 2014 and 2016.

More in-depth analysis of Uruguay’s drug policy reform process can be found on TNI’s Drug Law Reform website.

Read the open letter signed by 114 NGOs in support for the reform.

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