IDPC reflects on a year of resilience and change, driving decriminalisation, harm reduction, responsible regulation, and international drug policy reform while defending civil society and rights amid funding cuts and political turmoil.
White et al. argue that scientific, cultural and legal evidence clearly distinguishes coca from cocaine — and that global drug policy must correct this long-standing misclassification rooted in colonial bias.
This collection examines Europe’s harm reduction journey, including early successes, uneven implementation, securitisation, stigma and medicalisation; and proposes a reframed, people-led approach centring wellbeing, acknowledging drug-use benefits, and advancing rights-based reforms.
Traditional coca leaf producers and consumers from Peru reject their government’s stance before the WHO, urging the organisation to deschedule coca, recognise its cultural and medicinal uses, and support research and rights-based policies
The New Zealand Drug Foundation urges reform of outdated drug laws, calling for decriminalisation, Māori-led health approaches and investment in harm reduction to build safer, fairer, evidence-based policies for Aotearoa New Zealand.
Sjöland et al. find that limited funding and access to harm reduction and treatment services and high opioid availability cause persistently high overdose rates among people who inject drugs in Myanmar, with disproportionate impacts on migrant populations.
The HIV Legal Network argues that laws criminalising simple possession and drug trafficking entrench racism and stigma, deepen inequality, and endanger health and safety by pushing drug use into isolation and heightening the risk of overdose.
WHO underscores opioid agonist maintenance treatment (OAMT) as an essential, lifesaving health service, providing practical strategies to prevent and manage disruptions, safeguard access to methadone and buprenorphine, and ensure continuity of care during crises and instability.
IDPC calls on the European Commission to ensure the next Strategy is balanced, evidence-based, and rights-centred, prioritising harm reduction, civil society participation, and policy innovation over punitive approaches.
UNSG António Guterres proposes a restructuring of drugs, development, human rights, and HIV bodies, raising questions about oversight, civil society participation, and programme continuity.
C-EHRN highlights how European cities are responding to evolving drug trends through pragmatic, rights-based harm reduction, while fragmented governance and unstable funding continue to undermine capacity.
EHRA, alongside C-EHRN, EuroNPUD and DPNSEE, state that the exclusion, fragmentation, and underfunding of harm reduction and essential health services within Universal Health Coverage systems cause people who use drugs to experience disproportionately poor health outcomes across Europe.
