In the U.S. a slew of recent bills have been introduced or laws have been passed that improve access to naloxone. Naloxone is a safe, highly effective chemical compound that reverses the effects of opiates such as heroin. The US FDA first approved it in 1971. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist that blocks the brain cell receptors activated by heroin and other opioids, temporarily restoring normal breathing within two to three minutes of administration.

Naloxone works by taking up opioid receptor sites in the brain; it has a higher affinity for the opioid receptor sites and stays bound longer than the opioid activators that bind and release rapidly. It “tricks” the brain into thinking there are no opiates in the body. If someone is overdosing on an opiate, administering naloxone can speed up their breathing and temporarily bring them out of an overdose. Currently 8 states have naloxone access laws including Washington, California, Connecticut, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Illinois, and Rhode Island and bills are pending in Colorado, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont and West Virginia.

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Good Samaritan overdose prevention laws map

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse in conjunction with the National Advisory Council on Prescription Drug Misuse recently released a strategy on prescription drug misuse that calls for action to address the increasing harms associated with prescription medication use.

The strategy focuses on opioids, sedative-hypnotics (i.e. diazepam) and stimulants and makes a series of recommendations to government to ameliorate the harms of these substances.

The strategy also attempts to address the harms of prescription drug use while acknowledging their beneficial medical purposes especially for the relief of pain. The strategy includes 58 recommendations focused on prevention, treatment, education, monitoring and surveillance (data collection).

Release of unauthorised prescription opioid use strategy in Canada

72% of respondents in a recent poll say the US Federal Government’s Efforts Against Marijuana "Cost More Than They are Worth". For the first time in more than four decades of polling by the Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans supports the legal regulation of marijuana.

According to the nationwide poll of 1,500 Americans, 52% back marijuana legalization, reflecting majorities of Democrats, independents and liberal and moderate Republicans almost uniformly across every region of the country. Majorities of Americans no longer consider marijuana consumption immoral, nor do they consider marijuana to represent a “gateway” to other illicit substances.

Breakthrough pew poll: Marijuana legalization wins majority support nationwide

In early April, the BC Provincial Health Officer released a report that warns that recent changes to sentencing and other justice practices brought about by the enactment of the Canadian Safe Streets and Communities Act (SSCA) will have very negative effects on the health of Aboriginal people – changes brought about by the SSCA like mandatory minimum sentences will put more Aboriginal people in prison.

This report also notes that the SSCA appears to conflict with other federal programs aimed at reducing prison time, specifically section 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code, which requires sentencing judges to consider all options other than incarceration.

The imposition of mandatory minimum sentences flies in the face of evidence of their ineffectiveness. Convicting people of drug-related offences does not reduce the problems associated with drug use, nor do these sentences deter crime.

Aboriginal people in Canada will bear the brunt of Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Drug Crimes

Several cities in Canada are planning for the implementation of safer consumption services in their communities. That was the conclusion of the speakers at a lively event on feasibility of scaling up supervised consumption services in Canada held at the recent Canadian Association of HIV Care (CAHR) conference in Vancouver.

Sponsored by the Dr. Peter Centre, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, this half-day workshop brought together speakers from Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver to discuss their plans for the scale up of these services across the country. This work builds on the two existing sites in Canada: Insite and the Dr. Peter Centre, both in Vancouver, BC.

Safer consumption services – Plans are underway for more than two

By R. Gil Kerlikowske, Director, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy

The president has outlined his vision of an America built to last -- where an educated, skilled workforce has the knowledge, energy and expertise to compete in the global marketplace. Yet -- for far too many Americans -- that vision is limited by drug use, which not only diminishes the potential of the individual, but jeopardizes families, communities and neighborhoods.

The economic costs of drug use are enormous: In 2007 alone, illicit drug use cost taxpayers more than $193 billion in lost productivity, healthcare, and criminal justice costs. But the human costs are worse. Nationwide, drug-induced overdose deaths now surpass homicides and car crashes as the leading cause of injury death in America.

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Drug policy reform in USA in Action: A 21st century approach 

With the help of Viva Rio, the Brazilian Commission on Drugs and Democracy and a set of partner organizations, seven ministers of justice that served under the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Fernando Henrique Cardoso governments signed a manifest attesting the unconstitutionality of the criminalization of the penal repression of drug possession for personal use. The document was presented last Thursday, April 16th, by the ex-minister of Justice José Gregori to the minister of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF), Gilmar Mendes.

Gregori said that these ministers were dissatisfied with the drug policies in effect during their administrations and that Brazil is now ready to discuss the issue. “The fact that criminal statistics are so high shows that we have to reevaluate certain policies, such as drug laws, which are without a doubt violence sensitive”.

This event marks an important step in the future drug law changes that our campaign and organization hopes to see implemented in Brazil. Moreover, revealing the impact and success of the proposal, media outlets widely published articles claiming the importance and positive repercussion of the manifest.

The manifest that the seven ex-ministers presented to the minister of the Supreme Federal Court is available below.

Manifest presented to Brazil's minister of the Supreme Federal Court

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) elected Professor Sri Suryawati (Indonesia) as a member of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).

The election by secret ballot was held at the organizational session of ECOSOC in New York on 25 April 2013 to fill the vacancy for the remaining period of the five year term of Professor Hamid Ghodse, member of the Board, who passed away on 27 December 2012.

In line with the provisions of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, Professor Suryawati was elected from among three candidates nominated by the World Health Organization (WHO) to fill the remainder of the term until 1 March 2017.

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