A key element of Britain’s self-identity is that we are a nation of innovation. As far back as the early 17th century, the philosopher and poet John Milton declared: “Let not England forget her precedence of teaching nations how to live”. Since then, the image of Britain as a world leader – always at the cutting-edge of history, always providing the legal, economic and cultural templates for others to follow – has become a sacred national truism, repeatedly reiterated by politicians from Tony Blair to Theresa May.

But when one considers Britain’s regressive drug policy, this self-assessment couldn’t be further from the truth – a fact that Germany’s recent announcement about its new drug policy reforms has made even clearer.

Last week, Germany’s incoming government – a coalition of Social Democrats, Greens and the centre-right Free Democrat party – confirmed it plans to legalise the sale of recreational cannabis. With this decision, Germany is following the likes of Uruguay, Canada, Mexico, South Africa and a plethora of states in the US, which have made similar reforms since 2012.

When it comes to drug laws, Britain is a world loser

By Ian Tennant, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC)

In a series of recent meetings, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs identified state challenges in tackling drug trafficking, but glossed over the broader issues shaping the global drug economy and how to foster a more coordinated and multi-stakeholder response through the UN system.

Between 19 and 21 October, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) met at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna to discuss issues of transnational organized crime, specifically the links between drug trafficking and other crimes, challenges in tracking and seizing the proceeds of crime and online drug trafficking. Notably, the meetings marked a return to an in-person format, albeit with masks, social distancing and COVID-19 access requirements.

With such face-to-face meetings a rarity since her January 2020 appointment, UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly duly seized the chance to address the opening session. Calling upon her organization’s accredited ambassadors and diplomats ‘to reflect on the big picture [and] how this Commission can help target the criminal structures that sustain drug trafficking,’ the executive director clearly wanted member states to rectify the lack of analysis of illicit drug markets that marked this year’s main CND meeting in May, during which the committee had instead focused on the health impacts of drugs and the ongoing political debate around cannabis classification.

But her call fell on deaf ears. Throughout the October meetings, there was little analysis of the criminal economy around drug markets, while the bigger picture of how illicit drug economies thrive was not addressed in any detail. Instead, the presentations and discussions were state-centric, focusing on the latest research and perspectives from the UNODC and some member states, the challenges states face in law enforcement and criminal justice responses and the need for more effective international cooperation between states to address these challenges.

There was little discussion around how to explore joint efforts with other parts of the UNODC mandate, or indeed the wider UN system, despite Waly’s argument that the meeting represented a ‘unique opportunity to explore joint and complementary efforts in the substantive work’ of the CND and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), the CND’s sister commission, which will hold its first meeting on 10–12 November.

Neither was there much recognition among member states over the need to enhance cooperation between states and civil society, although several civil society panellists were vocal on the issue. Tariq Khosa, director of the Centre for Governance Reform (Pakistan) and a former senior law enforcement official, made a strong case for greater civil society involvement and the importance of community resilience in countering organized crime:

I represented the Government of Pakistan as Head of Delegation to the CND in Vienna in 2010 as the Federal Secretary of Narcotics Control…. Working within the government, we strongly felt that without developing community resilience and making civil society as active partner, the state alone cannot combat the menace of illicit drug trade, corruption and associated organized crimes…. So, the first lesson that we have drawn is for the society and state to forge an effective partnership in tackling the challenges of organized crimes.

Khosa’s call for civil society engagement was subsequently supported by the Ambassador of Mexico and the delegation of Canada in ensuing discussions, showing some member state support for this position.

Another civil society intervention came from John Collins, Director of Academic Engagement at the GI-TOC, who highlighted the big picture impacts of illicit financial flows in the Western Balkans and East and southern Africa (two regions on which the GI-TOC has published research) and concomitant need for civil society inclusion:

Our regional examples are illustrative of the global and local effects on development and security of illicit financial flows related to the drugs trade – poverty, violence, drug addiction and health impacts, and a general breakdown in good governance. The response not only lies in the seizure of drugs and money, but a holistic response including the prioritization of urban security, support for community resilience and including civil society voices at all stages.

All in all, the CND sessions were a useful platform for exchange between states and civil society, and a welcome return to more in-person engagements, which can facilitate better international cooperation. Civil society played their role in providing some alternative viewpoints and new perspectives, and therefore added value to the proceedings.

But while the discussions succeeded in identifying key issues and challenges for states in mobilizing their responses, states once again avoided analysis of the criminal economy of drug markets. As such, Waly’s stated hope for the meeting – that ‘the Commission can foster political momentum [to] address the criminal economy that surrounds the illicit drug market’ – looks likely to remain unfulfilled.

Thinking inside the box: CND thematic sessions

The United States’ opioid epidemic worsened significantly during the pandemic, with overdose deaths recorded in the 12 months leading up to April 2021 up 28.5% from the year before, show data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.1

Health systems across the country reported 97 990 overdose deaths during that period. Accounting for reporting delays, the CDC estimated that the final figure will be 100 306 lives lost to overdoses, of which 75 673 were opioid overdoses.

Of these, 64 178 deaths involved synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, a drug which has flooded the country in recent years.

A record 100 000 people in the United States died from overdoses in 12 months of the pandemic, says CDC

The NZ Drug Foundation is celebrating the passing of the Drug and Substance Checking Legislation Bill (No 2) today, which provides a new permanent legal framework for drug checking services at festivals and clinics.

Executive Director, Sarah Helm, says it is a huge moment in the history of preventing drug harm in New Zealand.

“This is truly a moment to celebrate. It has been over three decades since the last significant gain was made, the creation of the needle exchanges in the late 1980s,” says Helm.

“For years, pioneering drug checking provider KnowYourStuff has been delivering this service with our support, working in the margins of the law at great risk to themselves to prevent harm to others. Today, it’s important we acknowledge the tireless and brave work of these volunteers, particularly Wendy Allison.

Helm says drug checking has proven to be a hugely effective harm reduction tool that saves lives by providing people with accurate information to make safer decisions. She is keen to see access expanded beyond festivalgoers.

“This new law provides a great opportunity to expand availability of services to more vulnerable communities,” she says.

New Zealand: Passage of drug checking law a moment to celebrate

By István Gábor Takács / Rights Reporter Foundation

Organisations in Lebanon providing Opioid Agonist Treatment ask for international help to maintain the programs. Watch our short video and take action!

OAT, Opioid Agonist Treatment Program was legalized and launched in Lebanon in 2012 within the Harm Reduction Program, after years of advocacy from harm reduction actors in the country.

In light of the compounded and ongoing crises that have hit Lebanon since 2019, today organisations are facing the risk of yet another health crisis with the imminent shortage of Opioid Agonist Treatment medication. Organizations providing the treatment in Lebanon have learnt of the upcoming shortage of OAT medication which leaves the lives of over 1200 individuals hanging in the balance.

Watch this short video with Elie Aaraj, Executive Director of the Middle East and North Africa Harm Reduction Association, explaining the problem:

Opioid agonist treatment shortage in Lebanon – Call for support!

The leaders of Germany’s incoming governing parties announced on Wednesday that they have a formal agreement to legalize marijuana and promote broader drug policy harm reduction measures when they take power.

News of a tentative agreement on cannabis first broke last week, but the coalition pact has now been made official.

“We are introducing the controlled supply of cannabis to adults for consumption in licensed stores,” the parties said in a new 118-page agreement, according to a translation. “This controls the quality [of marijuana], prevents the transfer of contaminated substances and guarantees the protection of minors.”

Germany will legalise marijuana and promote drug harm reduction, governing party coalition officially announces

Vitaly Milonov, a Russian government politician notorious for anti-gay and antisemitic remarks, has found a new enemy: The Andrey Rylkov Foundation, a harm reduction organisation in Moscow.

Vitaly Milonov, a representative of Putin’s United Russia party in the State Duma, and the chairman of its Committee on Family, Women, and Children, said in an interview with Gazeta.ru that he was ready to personally intervene to jail the staff members of the Andrey Rylkov Foundation (ARF). His remarks were made after ARF announced the launch of its new project to organise a support group for sex workers in Moscow.

“This is the first step towards imprisoning the staff of this foundation. This is not a foundation, as it calls itself, but a gang, a gang. A group of persons united by the commission of criminal activity, as it is actually described by Article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Therefore, I strongly recommend that these foreign agents finish this activity. Because I will personally take care of putting them all to hell. The organisation of prostitution is a criminal offence, if they openly say that they are going to organise and participate in prostitution, then they hang themselves through prostitution of an organised criminal group,” said the deputy.

The Andrey Rylkov Foundation was established in 2009 and has been one of the few organisations providing harm reduction services for people who use drugs in Moscow. They have so far reached around 3000-4000 injecting drug users with a van on the streets. Amongst other things, they provide clean needles and Naloxone kits. The organisation was listed as a “foreign agent” by the Russian government in 2016, a label they fought at the Moscow City Court. Drugreporter has produced a video about the organisation previously, please watch it below!

Russian politician threatens harm reduction activists with imprisonment

This resource is intended for people who use new psychoactive substances (NPS) and the organizations that help them. It contains useful information on the prevention of HIV infection and other drug-related diseases, on various substances, including synthetic psychostimulants, examples of responses to the challenges of NPS.

Useful information for people who use stimulant drugs - Videos

By Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse (CRISM)

Canada is experiencing an overdose emergency, which killed over 21,000 people between 2016 and 2020. Supervised Consumption Services (SCS) are a core component of Canada’s overdose response.

Supervised consumption services (SCS) are health facilities where people consume drugs and are monitored by staff who provide education on harm reduction and provide emergency medical care for overdose.

SCS also distribute sterile drug use equipment and can act as a pathway to other health services. SCS are authorized by federal or provincial authorities, which protects staff and participants from being charged with possession of illegal drugs while on site.

WHY SCS is a project of the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse (CRISM). The WHY SCS team works with substance use researchers, people with lived and/or living experience of substance use, and healthcare providers to provide accurate information about supervised consumption services (SCS) in Canada.

As a result of the national overdose emergency, Canada has seen rapid scale-up of supervised consumption services (SCS) in the past four years, and the country is now home to 36 federally sanctioned services, with additional sites pending approval. Little research has examined the features or context of emerging SCS models. Additionally, despite concerns about overdose and other drug-related harm across Canada, implementation of SCS to date has been limited to just 5/13 provincial/territorial jurisdictions. The present implementation science project was designed to support further implementation and evaluation of SCS in Canada.

Our study includes four specific initiatives:

The development of a national evidence-based guidance document with companion plain language resources targeting communities and service providers considering implementing SCS.

The development of in-depth, mixed-method case studies of innovative service models.

The creation and distribution of a national-level survey of SCS operators to characterize variation in SCS implementation across Canada.

The collection of mixed-method data to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on SCS use patterns and care provision to people who use drugs.

Outputs of these initiatives will provide prospective SCS operators with access to both technical guidance and knowledge translation products designed to enhance public and policymaker understanding of these services. In addition, this project will produce new knowledge on the state of SCS in Canada.

Why SCS? Information about supervised consumption services in Canada

The Rights Reporter Foundation (Drugreporter) organises two free trainings on Media engagement and Video advocacy. You can apply for both or to each one individually. The deadline for applications is 22 November 2021. For more information, read on!

Working with the media is a must for NGOs in the drugs field. However, very few activists and professionals have the necessary communication skills to do it effectively. With the help of this practical capacity building training, participants will be able to use the traditional methods of communicating with the print and broadcast media, such as writing press releases, organising press conferences, giving television interviews. The first part of the training gives an introduction to the basics of media communication from the perspective of civil society activists/professionals. It refutes some common myths and false preconceptions about the media, outlines the structure, length and content of press releases and press conferences, and explains to participants how to organise communication within an organisation. Useful tips are given about television interviews, trainers and students discuss ethical issues and methods to evaluate communication. In the second, more practical part of the workshop participants can practice what they have learnt. They break up into smaller groups which have to build a media campaign concept, write a press release and give test TV interviews. In the third, plenary part of the workshop we analyse the campaign plans, press releases and TV interviews together and discuss lessons learned.

The RRF is ready to train 15 drug policy and harm reduction activists from around the world, who would like to enhance their capacity for media engagement. The applicant must work in the field of harm reduction and drug policy reform advocacy, or be closely affiliated with such an organisation.

Fill out this online application form by November 22, 2021 for the media training.

Video as a tool for change is becoming more and more popular among activists. Since 2007, the video advocacy team of the Rights Reporter Foundation has been producing online advocacy videos that translate the often-complicated issues of human rights, drug policy reform, and harm reduction into easily understandable and interesting video pieces. These videos not only inform, but motivate and mobilise for direct action for change.

It is our strategic goal to train and enable activists to effectively communicate in the language of video, to influence people’s thinking and public policies, and to build vibrant and tolerant communities that value human rights. Since 2009, we have held video advocacy training for more than a hundred activists around the world. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have decided to hold our next training online.

The RRF is ready to train 15 activists from around the world, who would like to use video in their harm reduction and drug policy reform advocacy work. The applicant must work in the field of harm reduction and drug policy reform advocacy, or be closely affiliated with such an organisation, and the person applying must meet the following requirements:

Understanding of harm reduction/drug policy reform and its human rights dimensions;

Time/capacity to produce videos (preferably not executives or senior staff members who have no time/capacity to make movies);

Good communication skills (ability to make reports, interviews);

Good working relationship with harm reduction/drug policy organisations from the country;

Commitment to make videos about drug policy/harm reduction in the longer term.

Participants should also have some sort of video recording device that they will use at the training. It can be a photo or video camera or even a smartphone.

Fill out this online application form by November 22, 2021 for the video advocacy training.

The training is being offered free of charge for participants, thanks to the support of the “Harm Reduction Consortium”, financed by the Robert Carr Fund for civil society networks. This training is organised by the Rights Reporter Foundation (RFF), in close cooperation with the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC).

Call for applications - 2x training opportunities: Media engagement and Video advocacy

The Global Drug Policy Index is the first tool of its kind to document, measure and compare countries’ drug policies worldwide. The Index assesses both policies on the books and implementation on the ground. Countries are scored on the basis of transparent, up-to-date and reliable data. The higher the score, the more drug policy in that country aligns with the United Nations Common Position on drug policy. The Index's official launch is Monday, 8 November (00:01 Central European Time) at: www.GlobalDrugPolicyIndex.net The Global Drug Policy Index is a project of the Harm Reduction Consortium, which includes the following partners: the European Network of People Who Use Drugs (EuroNPUD), the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA), the Eurasian Network of People who Use Drugs (ENPUD), the Global Drug Policy Observatory (GDPO) / Swansea University, Harm Reduction International (HRI), the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), the Middle East and North Africa Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA), the West African Drug Policy Network (WADPN), the Women and Harm Reduction International Network (WHRIN), and Youth RISE. 

 (English / Spanish)
GDPI Media Relations
Mob. +34 655 792 699
Email: michael.kessler@intoon-media.com
Twitter: @mickessler

Launch of the Global Drug Policy Index

 Harm Reduction International (HRI), the International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD) and the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), alongside 27 organisations and networks, urge the Singaporean Government to immediately halt the impending execution of Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam; and call on UN entities, the European Union, and all relevant stakeholders to take urgent action.

Nagaenthran, a 32 years’ old Malaysian citizen, was arrested in 2009, and sentenced to death in 2011 for importing with intent of trafficking 42.72 grams of diamorphine. The Singapore Court of Appeal upheld the sentence in November 2011, and further re-sentencing applications were dismissed. On 26th October, Nagaenthran’s family was informed that he would be executed on 10th November, and was advised to start making travel and funeral arrangements.
Nagaenthran, who was reportedly pushed to import drugs in exchange of RM 500 (USD 120) needed to pay for his father’s upcoming heart surgery, also experiences mental health issues and has an intellectual disability: he was diagnosed with mild ADHD, his I.Q. of 69 meets the international standard for intellectual disability, and his functioning skills (including verbal fluency, abstract reasoning, and problem solving) are impaired. Nevertheless, judges concluded that his impairment was not sufficient to grant re-sentencing, and in 2017 upheld his death sentence.

Nagaenthran’s siblings and mother live in Malaysia, and - in addition to the extraordinary mental and emotional toll – are facing significant financial and logistical challenges to travel to Singapore, particularly in light of COVID-19 requirements and restrictions. Once in the country, they will have to comply with the Stay-Home-Notice (SHN) and are strictly prohibited from using public transportation. If they test negative for COVID-19, they will be granted an exception to the SHN to travel to and from the prison, although it is unclear whether they will be able to have any physical contact with Nagaenthran. If the test comes back positive, they will be barred from visiting Nagaenthran, and may be confined to a medical facility.

The use of the death penalty for drug offences is a clear violation of international human rights as well as drug control standards, as reiterated by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human Rights Council, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). Contrary to the Government’s claims, there is no proof that the death penalty has a unique deterrent effect on drug use or trafficking. Like many capital drug defendants, Nagaenthran was evidently at the low end of the drug supply chain, was tricked – if not coerced – to carry drugs, and did not stand to make a sizeable profit in return for the incredibly high risk activity of carrying drugs across international borders. Rather, the use of death penalty, and punitive drug policies more generally, work to deepen stigma and discrimination against people who use drugs and entrench cycles of poverty and marginalisation. As more countries move away from using the death penalty as a tool of drug control, research by Harm Reduction International shows Singapore is one of few countries that regularly sentence individuals to death for drug offences.

In addition, the imposition of capital punishment against persons with mental or intellectual disabilities is prohibited by international law and a violation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Singapore ratified.

We call on the Government of Singapore to halt Nagaenthran’s execution and to commute his sentence, as a first step towards abolition of the death penalty, and towards drug policies which centre health and human rights – 

Adrian & Adrian, Abogados Consultores (Venezuela)

Anti Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) (Global)

Capital Punishment Justice Project (Australia)

Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation (Canada)

Centro de Convivência É de Lei (Brazil)

Corporación Acción Técnica Social (Colombia)

Drug Policy Network South East Europe (Serbia)

Eleos Justice, Monash University (Australia)

Ensemble Contre le Peine de Mort (ECPM) (Global)

Episteme, Investigación y Acción Social (Spain)

International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Service (ICEERS) (Spain)

Mexico Unido Contra la Delincuencia (Mexico)

RESET - Política de Drogas y Derechos Humanos (Argentina)

Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign (Singapore)