Marijuana legalization ballot initiatives in Washington, Oregon and Colorado are gaining momentum as the presidential election nears. Recent polls of prospective voters shows 57% support in Washington, 37% support in Oregon (with 22% undecided), and 51% support in Colorado, respectively.
The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Prisoners with HIV/AIDS Support Action Network (PASAN), CATIE, the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN) and Steven Simons, a former federal prisoner, launched a lawsuit against the Government of Canada on September 25th over its failure to protect the health of people in prison.
Javier Sicilia’s Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity finished its month-long trek across the United States on, in Washington DC on September 12th. During the final leg of the trip, the caravan was joined by various drug policy groups and supporters, including the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition), Drug Policy Alliance, Latin American Working Group, Global Exchange and many others.
APDIC has now established a dedicated area within its website to provide reports and information on the Compulsory Centres for Drug Users (CCDU) Roundtables it undertakes with the UNODC, ESCAP & UNAIDS, and with the support of AusAID.
Mexico has agreed to host a liaison office of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime that will provide training and share resources with the authorities. The Liaison and Partnership Office (LPO) would offer specialized training, trend analysis, and research related to drugs and citizen security.
UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov launch a joint initiative in Rome between UNODC and Italy's Department for Anti-Drug Policies entitled "Prevention Strategy and Policymakers". The initiative will provide access to UNODC international standards on drug use prevention, which are to be launched at a later date, as well as support evidence-based national drug prevention systems.
On Sunday, France's Socialist Minister of Education, Vincent Peillon, spoke in favour of the decriminalization of cannabis, principally as a means of combating drug trafficking in French cities.
The study found that despite concerted efforts by the international community to raise the profile of civil society engagement in the health policy process, the Global Fund’s financing of advocacy by civil society organisations (CSOs) in the former Soviet Union has been limited.
Starting in 2012 Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN) has undertaken a 3-year project “Strengthening the response of non-state actors to growing needs of women who use drugs” funded by the European Commission.
In Nepal, it is harder for women and girls to recover from dependence. This centre led by former female dependent users seeks to help these women recover.
Harm Reduction International (HRI) is seeking a consultant to lead on the research and drafting of a new Harm Reduction International (HRI) report exploring the intersections between sex work and drug use.
