While repressive drug policies have weaponised the state against communities of colour, it is sadly crucial to remember it was in part designed to do just that.
As prisons in South East Asia are dangerously overcrowded, the release of prisoners incarcerated for drug offences in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic is a matter of life and death.
Tandon recounts how India's decision to impose a lockdown, forcing people who use drugs to go through withdrawals without treatment, can result in tragic deaths, highlighting the need for a policy change.
The INCB holds three sessions a year, typically in February, May, and November of each year. The dates and agenda of each session can be consulted here.
The INCB's annual report analyses the state of the global drug control regime and makes recommendations to member states, including on better aligning drug policy and human rights.
We must ask ourselves: How realistic can the AIDS Free Africa agenda be if we leave behind a whole key population? People who use drugs are being relegated to the margins.
This powerful account of women's life stories sheds light on the shared patterns of abuse that women who use drugs experience throughout their lives, and most violently, through their time in treatment and rehabilitation centres in Mexico.