Extraordinary measures are being taken by the UK government to tackle Covid-19 which, by its own admission, would not normally be expected outside of wartime. As the Chancellor of the Exchequer has acknowledged, ‘this is not a time for ideology and orthodoxy’. Emergency measures are rightly being taken to prioritise protecting health and saving lives.

Prisons pose a particular risk in light of a global pandemic. In the UK, prisons are extremely overcrowded and often unhygienic, and there is concern that Covid-19 may ‘spread like wildfire’ among prisoners and staff alike. A great number of particularly vulnerable people are detained in UK prisons: prisoners are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease, and there is an ageing prison population. The virus has already been detected in UK prisons and it has been estimated that an outbreak could lead to 800 avoidable deaths. Without action, prisons will become a death trap. Emergency measures are being taken to restrict the risk of the virus spreading, including the suspension of prison visits on 24th March. Limited measures have also been taken to extend access to an early release scheme where individuals are subject to electronic tagging and a curfew. But much more needs to be done, and experts are calling for the considered, managed release of vulnerable and non-violent offenders as a matter of urgency. Other countries have already facilitated this en masse, including Iran and Turkey, while US states are also beginning to release prisoners. The Justice Secretary has indicated that he is looking ‘very carefully’ at whether or not 50 pregnant prisoners could be released, as well as the transfer of some prisoners held on remand to bail hostels. Such calls cannot ignore the fact that prisons in the UK are already at breaking point, in part, due to the huge number of individuals detained there for drug offences. In England and Wales, these make up 15% of the convicted prison population and 18% of those held on remand (a problem made worse when courts are on the verge of closure). In its March 2020 briefing paper, Penal Reform International recommended that ‘individuals convicted for minor or non-violent offenses, especially those sentenced for drug-related offenses or for socio-economic offenses, should be immediately considered for release.’ Many may only have a short time on their sentences remaining, and should not be forced to serve this in prison where it only places themselves and others at risk. In an emergency, policy choices must focus on what is necessary. The safe release of particularly vulnerable individuals — including older prisoners, immuno-compromised individuals, and pregnant women — must of course be considered as a matter of urgency, but wider additional measures need to be taken to ease strain on the prison system as a whole. If the government is looking for the right pressure valve to release, then it must start by looking at individuals detained for non-violent drug and drug related offences, a population whose continued detention has long swelled the UK prison system past breaking point. As the Chancellor has acknowledged, this is not a time for ideology. There is a strong argument that detention of non-violent drug offenders is unnecessary and counterproductive even in normal times. In the midst of the Covid-19 crisis it is unambiguously contributing to serious danger in the prison system. There are other risks. In 2019, 17% of random mandatory drug tests in prisons in England and Wales were positive. Last week, it was reported that almost 1,000 prison officers were in self-isolation, and emergency service provision unfolding in UK prisons includes the cessation of cell searches and drug tests. On 24th March, the Justice Secretary told the House of Commons Justice Committee that 3,500 prison officers (around 10% of the workforce) were now self-isolating. With reduced access to treatment, support and oversight, people who use drugs in prison are left at a heightened risk of harm. In Italy, shortly after an emergency decree suspending prison visits highly similar to that issued in the UK on 24th March, 12 inmates died during riots, mostly as a result of overdoses from drugs taken from the medical room. There are obvious challenges. We need clear policy guidelines to govern release, as well as carefully implemented procedures to ensure safety. This includes actions to minimise the risk of Covid-19 being spread from prisons back into the wider community, as well as ensuring support is available for prisoners to reintegrate them safely — even within a lockdown environment. For individuals with problematic drug use, this includes ensuring they have housing secured in advance, and increasing the availability of treatment provision and harm reduction services in the community. This includes lower threshold access to opioid substitution treatment and naloxone, given that recently released prisoners are at significantly greater risk of overdose. However, without action, UK prisons are a death trap. We know that this is not a time for orthodoxy. There needs to be considered, managed release of individuals from the UK prison system and when doing this, the government must question the necessity of detaining non-violent drug offenders.

Without managed release of prisoners, UK prisons will become a coronavirus death trap

Harm Reduction International, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA), the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), the International Network of People who use Drugs (INPUD), LBH Masyarakat, Release, and Rights Reporter Foundation welcome the joint statement by the Special Rapporteur and other Special Procedures on the adoption of emergency measures to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, urging states to “remain steadfast in maintaining a human rights-based approach to regulating this pandemic.”

The COVID-19 emergency poses unprecedented challenges, creating new vulnerabilities and exacerbating existing ones. In this context, people who use drugs have unique needs and face unique risks due to criminalisation, stigma, underlying health issues, social marginalisation and higher economic and social vulnerabilities, including a lack of access to adequate housing and healthcare.

HRI joined leaders in harm reduction to call on the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health to provide guidance to states on how to promote and protect the right to health of people who use drugs in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Call to action COVID-19 - Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health

The department of correctional services should prioritise the release of elderly detainees, especially those with underlying health conditions, as well as people serving short sentences for non-violent crimes.

This is according to Sonke Gender Justice, commenting on the health and wellbeing of those incarcerated and working within the prisons during Covid-19.

“Once the state deprives a person of their liberty, it is obliged to provide a duty of care,” the group said in a statement.

It cited the Nelson Mandela Rules, which state: “Prisoners should enjoy the same standards of health care that are available in the community, and should have access to necessary health care services free of charge, without discrimination on the grounds of their legal status.”

Social distancing and handwashing are measures that are practically impossible to follow in prison, said Sonke. “Not only are almost all of our prisons overcrowded, many of them also lack sufficient running water and hygiene materials.”

Halting visits to prisoners, which government has announced as a Covid-19 precaution, is an insufficient measure, it said.

Release prisoners in South Africa to meet health mandate: Covid-19 appeal

The New South Wales government has passed emergency legislation providing the Corrections Commissioner with powers to release some of the state’s 14,034 prisoners.

This legislation was introduced in the wake of the global release of prisoners to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, the United States has begun to release thousands of prisoners across four states.

Legislation to release prisoners in NSW was drafted amid the growing number of cases of COVID-19 infections in prison populations, including staff. The overcrowding and poor sanitation and health conditions in prisons make them ripe for the rapid spread of disease.

Long Bay jail in Sydney was locked down this week when two prison staff tested positive for COVID-19 and several inmates displayed symptoms. The higher incidence of chronic health conditions among inmates predisposes them to suffer serious and critical outcomes from the virus.

Explainer: How will the emergency release of New South Wales prisoners due to coronavirus work?

In response to the protest organized on 21 March by people deprived of their liberty in several Colombian prisons, who were calling for efficient measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which resulted in at least 23 deaths and 83 people being injured in Bogota’s “La Modelo” Medium Security Prison and Penitentiary, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said:

“In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic that confronts us, there are growing concerns about the precarious situation of people deprived of their liberty across the Americas. In Colombia, overcrowded prisons make it impossible to isolate people who may have contracted the virus. In addition, limited access to health services and hygiene products, and the lack of constant water supplies, increase the risks of exposure to infection and affect recovery conditions.”

“We must leave no one behind in the face of this pandemic. The Colombian government must immediately implement a strategy for the prevention of infection among the prison population, including a strategy to reduce overcrowding. To this end, it should consider the release of people in provisional detention and the early or conditional release of prisoners at risk. Likewise, the authorities must carry out a thorough, impartial and independent investigation into the use of force during the control of the protest and the reasons that left multiple people dead and injured in order to guarantee access to truth, justice and reparation for the victims and their families.”

Colombia: State must take appropriate measures to protect prison population from COVID-19 pandemic

British Columbia is moving to provide drug users with a take-home supply of regulated substances as part of its COVID-19 pandemic response strategy for vulnerable populations.

The City of Vancouver and drug policy experts have called for “safe supply” for some time, but reluctance from regulatory bodies and the province restricted the provision of drugs such as hydromorphone and methadone to clinical settings that require witnessed daily ingestion.

As the new coronavirus swept the globe, health officials issued directives for people to restrict their movements, stay home and self-isolate when necessary, presenting a major obstacle to people with chronic substance use disorders who are unable to stockpile their prescription medications.

In B.C., the extraordinary circumstance of having two active public health emergencies – COVID-19 and an overdose crisis caused by a toxic supply of drugs – made safe supply a reality.

Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry said the move is particularly aimed at supporting people in places such as Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

“These guidelines enable us to provide a safe supply for people and to ensure that they’re able to comply with our public health advice around isolation or quarantine, should that be required," she said.

The move is made possible by recent changes to the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and provincial prescribing guidelines. Together, they allow prescribers and pharmacists to prescribe individualized take-home supplies of drugs, colloquially called “carries,” and pharmacists to deliver medications and extend or refill prescriptions over the phone.

Pandemic pushes British Columbia to move forward on safe take-home drug supply strategy

NEW YORK CITY: Flaviano Villanueva was in tears last Thursday. It was day five of the “enhanced community quarantine” in Metro Manila, where the priest runs a homeless centre.

The sprawling Philippine capital of 13 million people had been sealed off, and police and army troopers were guarding municipal boundaries to prevent entry and exit. Businesses were shuttered, and public transport was scarce.

Early that morning, dozens of homeless people lined up on the street outside the Kalinga (Care) Centre, waiting for the doors to open. They stood 1.5 metres apart, in line with the government’s guidance for the quarantine at that time.

But the head of the barangay, or village council, who had not been happy having the centre there, ordered it shut and drove the homeless away.

“The barangay captain said they were just following the law, no mass gatherings,” Villanueva said. “But the first law is to save lives. These are among the first people who are going to die.”

Commentary: Still reeling from Duterte’s war on drugs, Manila’s poor hit hardest by COVID-19

Pessoas que usam drogas (PUD) podem ser consideradas como um grupo de risco na epidemia do COVID-19. Elas costumam viver às margens da sociedade, com pouco ou nenhum acesso a moradia, emprego, recursos financeiros, assistência social e de saúde e enfrentam discriminação e criminalização sistemáticas na maioria dos países. Muitos PUD têm vários problemas de saúde, o que pode aumentar o risco (fatal) de infecção por COVID-19 (incluindo doenças de longo prazo, como DPOC- doença de obstrução pulmonar crônica, HIV, TB, câncer e outras condições que reduzem o sistema imunológico). Os serviços de redução de danos costumam ser o único ponto de contato para as PUD acessarem o serviço de saúde. Eles fornecem serviços sociais e de saúde e suporte básico, e funcionam como um link essencial para outros serviços que salvam vidas.

A redução de danos deve continuar: Posição das redes europeias de redução de danos com relação ao covid-19

Петер Шарози / Наркоторговец

Людей, употребляющих наркотики (ЛУН), можно рассматривать в качестве группы риска в отношении эпидемии COVID-19. Они часто живут на обочине общества, не имея или почти не имея доступа к жилью, трудоустройству, финансовым ресурсам, социальным и медицинским услугам, а также сталкиваются с систематической дискриминацией и криминализацией в большинстве стран. Многие из них имеют множественные проблемы со здоровьем, которые могут увеличить риск (фатальной) инфекции COVID-19, включая хронические и продолжительные заболевания, такие как хроническая обструктивная болезнь легких, ВИЧ, туберкулез, рак и другие состояния, ослабляющие иммунную систему. Услуги по снижению вреда часто являются единственной контактной точкой для ЛУН, благодаря которой они могут получить доступ к медицинским услугам. Снижение вреда предоставляет медицинские и социальные услуги, другую базовую поддержку и функционирует как важное связующее звено с другими службами, спасающими жизнь людей.

ПОЗИЦИЯ CORRELATION-ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЙ СЕТИ СНИЖЕНИЯ ВРЕДА И ЕВРАЗИЙСКОЙ АССОЦИАЦИИ СНИЖЕНИЯ ВРЕДА О НЕПРЕРЫВНОСТИ УСЛУГ ПО СНИЖЕНИЮ ВРЕДА ВО ВРЕМЯ КРИЗИСА, СВЯЗАННОГО С COVID-19

The Correlation European Harm Reduction Network and the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association published a joint position on the continuity of harm reduction services during the COVID-19 crisis.

People Who Use Drugs (PWUDs) can be considered as a risk group in the COVID-19 epidemic. They often live in the margins of society with low or no access to housing, employment,
financial resources, social and health care, and face systematic discrimination and criminalisation in majority of countries. Many of them have multiple health problems, which can increase the risk of a (fatal) COVID-19 infection (including long-term diseases such as COPD, HIV, TB, cancer, and other conditions which reduce the immune system). Harm reduction services are often the one and only contact point for PWUDs to access the health service. They provide health and social services as well as other basic support, and function as an essential link to other live-saving services.

Harm reduction must go on: Position of European harm reduction networks on COVID-19

As we stare into the face of a sixth mass extinction, plant teachers and the ancestral knowledge systems that surround them are helping humanity to wake up and remember what it truly means to be human and to choose the path of regeneration, of hope, and to be the ancestors our great-grandchildren need us to be.

Indigenous and non-indigenous people who work with these plants − such as ayahuasca, iboga, mushrooms, coca, and others − are being prosecuted for their roles as facilitators, ayahuasceros, healers, and teachers. They've been arrested in Spain, the United States, Chile, Russia, and 24 other countries.

We need to create policies and norms where plants are treated with respect and where the original peoples who have stewarded them for generations receive the acknowledgement and support that is needed now more than ever.

Liberate plant teachers: Help grow the Ayahuasca Defense Fund

In January 2018 EHRA together with Canadian HIV/AIDS legal network and Charitable Fund Ukrainian Network of People who Use Drugs VOLNA submitted the report to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the disproportional sentencing of people who use drugs and their access to health and social services in Ukraine.

In February representative of VOLNA Yanina Stemkovska and EHRA’s senior program specialist Maria Plotko presented the report during the 67th session of the Committee. The consideration of the report with the state party took place on February 20-21.

The following questions were discussed during the session. (Day one, Day two)

On March 6, 2020 the Committee published its concluding observations. On the issue of drug use the Committee concluded:

“42. While recognizing the State party’s evidence based policies to address drug abuse, such as opioid substitution therapy and harm reduction programmes, the Committee is concerned at the criminalization of possession of very small amounts of drugs, which prevents drug users from gaining access to the necessary treatment or harm reduction programmes for fear of criminalization. It is further concerned at the high prevalence of HIV and hepatitis C infections among those who inject drugs, at the restricted access by prisoners to opioid substitution therapy and harm reduction programmes, and at the persistent social stigmatization of drug users. Lastly, it notes with concern the lack of information requested on the privatization of certain opioid substitution therapy programmes and the authorities’ oversight of these programmes (art. 12).

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