The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) will host a civil society hearing for the INCB board members in the margins of the 140th session. The hearing will be on the topic of "

scenarios and possible responses to the rapid expansion of synthetic drug manufacture, trafficking, marketing and consumption

" and will take place online in the period between 20-31 May 2024. The exact date and time will be communicated as soon as possible.

Up to 8 NGOs will have the possibility to present their work and positioning on this issue during the two hour meeting. In order to ensure an inclusive, comprehensive and meaningful civil society participation, the VNGOC will once again coordinate and select contributions from around the world. The VNGOC will follow our 

Each speaker will have 5-7 minutes to present their work on the topic of 

"scenarios and possible responses to the rapid expansion of synthetic drug manufacture, trafficking, marketing and consumption"

. Selected speakers will be asked to send in their statements or videos including transcripts before the hearing. All abstracts have to be submitted in English.

In order to apply for a speaking slot, please fill out

efore 3 May 2024, 11.45pm CEST (Vienna time)

. Please make sure that your abstract is relevant to the topic of the event, and clearly describes what you will be presenting about. Selected candidates will be notified as soon as possible.

INCB civil society hearing 2024 (Theme: Synthetic drugs - Scenarios and responses)

The seventeenth annual meeting of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP) will be held in 

 at the University of Montreal Health Centre (CHUM).

There have been significant shifts in drug policy in recent years. Much of this has been catalysed by the North American drug overdose crisis, which has seen the rise of a multitude of harm reduction responses including trials of drug decriminalisation; various models and legislative frameworks for supervised drug consumption; and the rise of safer supply programs. The crisis has also, in some places, seen the application of drug-induced homicide laws and harsher sentencing for those supplying drugs to someone who has fatally overdosed. These opioid-related shifts have occurred alongside changes in responses to the supply and use of cannabis and some psychedelics, including the Government of Canada’s decision in October 2018 to became the second country to legalise and regulate the production, distribution, sale and possession of cannabis for non-medical purposes. Globally, policy scholars are laying bare the colonial origins and disproportionate impacts of drug policies on Indigenous, racialised and minoritized communities, and seeking new approaches to redress these harms. ISSDP 2024 will be an opportunity to draw together these strands of research and explore issues in evaluating the impacts of policy change in highly dynamic policy environments.

ISSDP calls for abstracts of studies examining the data, methods, implementation, evaluation, or historical underpinning of drug policies as well as studies seeking to understand how drug markets are currently working.

 For this year’s conference, we particularly encourage contributions that address the following conference themes:

Harm reduction policy-making and evidence

Inclusion of people with lived and living experience of illicit drug use in drug policy

Regional and global drug policy challenges

Transformations in drug legislative frameworks, e.g. decriminalisation, legalisation and regulation

Collisions between drug policy and medical use of drugs regulated under the UN Drug Control Conventions

Methodological advances in the study of drug policy

Papers in other areas are also welcome. The term “drugs” should be interpreted broadly to include any intoxicating substance used recreationally or extra-medically, as well as the diversion of chemicals used in drug production.

Papers can be submitted as oral presentations or posters. It is possible to indicate that you wish your paper to be considered as part of a panel.

Abstract submission closes December 13 2023.

Abstracts should be 200-250 words and should be structured including (as appropriate) background, objectives, methods, results and implications.

The conference is multi-disciplinary, as befits the study of drug policy and supports qualitative and quantitative papers. ISSDP supports submission of written papers in advance of the conference. Discussants are used at each conference session, as a means to encourage debate and identify common themes, challenges and issues. 

For more information on the ISSDP conference style

The conference will be held in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal, Canada on the traditional territory of the Kanien’kehà:ka, a place which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst many First Nations including the Kanien’kehá:ka of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Huron/Wendat, Abenaki, and Anishinaabeg. We recognize and respect the Kanien’kehà:ka as the traditional custodians of the lands and waters where we will meet.

A striking union of European charm and North American attitude, Montréal seduces visitors with a harmonious pairing of the historic and the new, from exquisite architecture to fine dining. It merits the moniker ‘international’ city, a cosmopolitan centre with proud roots in the past that enthusiastically embraces the future. 

For more information on Tiohtià:ke/Montréal.

The conference will take place at the Amphithéâtre Pierre-Péladeau, located at the Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, 1050 Saint Denis St, Montreal, Quebec H2X 3J4. The venue is close to Montréal’s historic Old Port, less than 5 minutes walk from Champ de Mars metro station (Orange line) and 10 minutes walk from Berri-UQAM metro station (Green, Orange and Yellow lines).

Accommodation information will be available soon.

17th Annual Conference of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP)

 campaign has resourced a global, decentralised network of change-makers in drug policy reform and harm reduction to reduce stigma, end violent and neglectful policies and practices against our communities, and ensure redress for all.

Ahead of the next Global Day of Action (26 June 2024), let us once more mobilise in transnational solidarity to reclaim power and rights for our communities, nurture our growing movement, and demand accountability and redress.

Should you need inspiration, consider checking out:

The Bank of Ideas for Mobilisation under COVID-19

Together, we are building sustainable alternatives to the ‘war on drugs’!

Please, fill this ‘Call for expressions of interest’ to let us know about your planned activities for the 2024 Global Day of Action and to help us identify how best to support you within our capacities.

The deadline to submit a response requesting financial support through the Small Grants Programme of the Global Day of Action is Friday, 26 April 2024. After this date, the Call will remain open to receive information about plans for the Global Day of Action, but financial support will not be available.

To avoid connection issues, please consider filling the application offline and then adding your responses online.

A preview of the application form is available here.

If you cannot access the online form or have any other questions, please get in touch with us via email.

Support. Don't Punish Global Day of Action 2024

AIDS 2024 will convene thousands of people living with, affected by and working on HIV to share knowledge, best practices and lessons learnt from the HIV response over the past 40 years, as well as from the responses to COVID-19, mpox and other public health threats. AIDS 2024 in Munich, Germany, and virtually will provide a powerful platform to strategically align around a unified and equitable response to the pandemic. It will signal to the world that the HIV response is united behind an evidence-based approach that puts people first.

AIDS2024 - 25th International AIDS Conference

INHSU is the world’s leading conference for people interested in the health and well-being of people who use drugs. Abstracts that focus on health issues among people who use drugs beyond hepatitis C are not only welcomed but highly encouraged.

Abstract Submission Deadline: 11:59PM (EET) Sunday 3 March 2024

Download the below guidelines and template and submit via our online portal.

INHSU 2024 Abstract Submission Guidelines

Epidemiology, Public Health and Clinical Research Template

Social Science and Policy Research-Based Template

Models of Care and Programs Abstract Template

 Contact conference@inhsu.org to be connected to one of our members who can assist you. 

We are pleased to announce scholarship opportunities will be available for the 12th International Conference on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users. We will be offering a number of full or partial scholarships for researchers, community members, practitioners, program workers, and policymakers.

The deadline for applications is 11:59pm (EET) Sunday 3 March 2024

Please note that those who have not previously received a scholarship will be prioritised.

A full scholarship will include conference registration, return economy class flights and accommodation and a partial scholarship will include just the conference registration. Before applying please ensure you have read the selection criteria.

12th International Conference on Health and Hepatitis Care in Substance Users - INHSU 2024

From the outset, the European Conference on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies has been about stimulating and promoting high-quality scientific debate, showcasing leading European addiction research in the specialist areas of illicit drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gambling and other addictive behaviours. Lisbon Addictions is a multidisciplinary conference that provides a forum for networking across the addictions field.

The event is organised by: the Portuguese 

General-Directorate for Intervention on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies (SICAD)

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)

journal Addiction/Society for the Study of Addiction (Addiction/SSA)

International Society of Addiction Journal Editors (ISAJE)

The next European Conference on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies will take place in Lisbon on 23-25 October 2024 under the overarching theme ‘Empowering the workforce of the future’.

Potential contributors are invited to submit abstracts in the following main thematic tracks:

Prevention of risky and harmful behaviours

Alcohol: risks, clinical considerations, treatments, and outcomes

Hepatitis C, other infectious diseases, and drug-related harms

Drug policy: latest developments and new challenges

For more information about abstract submission, click 

Lisbon Addictions 2024

The AWID Forum is the world’s largest event that wholeheartedly centers feminist and gender justice movements in all their diversity. It is a transformative space created by and for the movements - where Global South feminists and historically marginalized communities take centerstage, strategize to shift power, and connect with allied movements, funders and policy-makers.

And so it is with full and fiery hearts that we share…

The 15th AWID International Forum will take place from December 2-5, 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand! 

We hope to gather 2,500 in-person and 3,000 online/hybrid participants.


When thousands of feminists come together, we create a sweeping force of solidarity that has the power to change the world! We’re excited, and we know you’re excited too - so stay tuned for more details, including registration and our plans for a program full of feminist magic.

We will gather at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC). Later in 2023 we will be announcing many different ways to actively participate in shaping the content and the various spaces of the Forum, hang tight! Registration will start early 2024. We will announce the exact registration date and registration fee soon. Registration will include participation in the Forum, plus lunch and snacks (breakfast to be provided at the hotels), and one onsite dinner.

AWID International Forum 2024

The conference will present the latest harm reduction developments and innovative practices and discuss drug policy and its implications on people who use drugs and other marginalised groups. It intends to discuss different perspectives on harm reduction, social inclusion and related topics. EHRC provides a platform to create links and synergies between national and European stakeholders. You can read about the previous editions 

6th European Harm Reduction Conference

The Harm Reduction International Conference 2025 (HR25) will be held in Bogotá, Colombia on 27-30 April 2025.

In October 2023, Colombia’s new government announced a bold new drug policy that broke away from the war on drugs. It focussed on opportunity and justice.

Among other things the new policy looked to: prevent deforestation linked to drug trafficking; help transition small farmers to the legal economy; and tackle drug use with a focus on public health and human rights.

The Harm Reduction International Conference is going to Colombia to support a country that is taking the leap towards a new paradigm and to learn from the country and region.