The intergovernmental expert group meeting on international challenges posed by the non-medical use of synthetic opioids will be convened from 3 to 4 December 2018 at the Vienna International Centre, immediately preceding the reconvened sixty-first session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, which will be held from 5 to 7 December 2018.

Intergovernmental expert group meeting on international challenges posed by the non-medical use of synthetic opioids

The CND reconvened 60th session will take place on 5-7th December.

The Commission on Narcotic Drugs, at its second intersessional meeting of 25 June 2018, decided to convene an additional day during the reconvened 61st session devoted to preparations for the ministerial segment to be held during the sixty-second session of the Commission in March 2019.

Hence, the Commission will hold on 5 December 2018 a special segment entitled “Preparations for the ministerial segment to be held during the sixty-second session of the Commission, in 2019”.

In its decision 2011/259, the Economic and Social Council decided, inter alia, that the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice shall hold joint meetings during their reconvened sessions for the purpose of considering agenda items included in the operational segment of the agendas of both Commissions, with a view to providing integrated policy directives to UNODC on administrative, budgetary and strategic management issues. Two joint meetings of the Commissions will be held on 6 December, and one separate meeting of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs will be held on 7 December.

During October 2018, the Civil Society Task Force held a global consultation to elicit the views of nearly 500 NGOs as a key input for the 2019 Ministerial Segment. Please join us for this special lunchtime event to present the survey results and recommendations from civil society.

: Wednesday 5th December, 13:30 – 14:30


: Conference Room C-1, 2nd Floor, Building C, Vienna International Centre
Refreshments will be provided after the event

Side event | Voices from the left behind: Protecting the human rights of women who use drugs

As member states are delineating the way forward for global drug policy beyond 2019, this side event will evaluate the key challenges for women who use drugs to access health services, including in political environments where drug use remains heavily criminalised. The event will also be an opportunity to provide a space for affected women to have their voice heard, to highlight examples of good practice, and to offer recommendations with regards to women who use drugs for the post-2019 global drug strategy.

: Mozart Room, Vienna International Centre
Breakfast will be served

High Level Expert Panel on the implementation of the joint commitment of States to effectively address and counter the world drug problem from a human rights perspective

: Thursday 6th December, 13:00 – 15:00


: Conference Room C-3, 7th Floor, Vienna International Centre

CND reconvened 61st session

Side event organised at the Reconvened 61st Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, by the International Drug Policy Consortium, the International Network of People Who Use Drugs, the Women and Harm Reduction International Network, Canada, Mexico, Norway and Uruguay.

Location: Mozart Room, Vienna International Centre (breakfast will be served)

At the UNGASS, member states committed to ‘ensure that women, including detained women, have access to adequate health services and counselling, including those particularly needed during pregnancy’, to ‘identify and address protective and risk factors, as well as the conditions that continue to make women and girls vulnerable to exploitation and participation in drug trafficking’, and to ‘mainstream a gender perspective’ into drug policy.

As member states are delineating the way forward for global drug policy beyond 2019, this side event will evaluate the key challenges for women who use drugs to access health services, including in political environments where drug use remains heavily criminalised. The event will also be an opportunity to provide a space for affected women to have their voice heard, to highlight examples of good practice, and to offer recommendations with regards to women who use drugs for the post-2019 global drug strategy.

H.E. Ambassador Kjersti E. Andersen, Permanent Mission of Norway to the International Organisations in Vienna

Louise Beale-Vincent, International Network of People Who Use Drugs

Putri Tanjung, Asian Network of People who Use Drugs

Marie Nougier, International Drug Policy Consortium

 H.E. Ambassador Alicia Buenrostro Massieu, Permanent Mission of Mexico to the International Organisations in Vienna

Voices from the left behind: Protecting the human rights of women who use drugs

Five years after the approval of the first comprehensive cannabis regulation law in the world, Monitor Cannabis Uruguay and the School of Social Science of Universidad de la República are convening an academic discussion on the various aspects that arise from the implementation and results of a law of this kind. The analysis of the Uruguayan case and the experience of other countries will allow us to draw lessons and learnings for the ongoing reform processes and their impacts on peoples’s welfare.

With this congress, Monitor Cannabis Uruguay intends to improve the flow of evidence-based information on cannabis regulation policy, as well as to disseminate and facilitate scientific research linked to cannabis in Uruguay, the region and the world.

 will be held from Monday 10 to Wednesday 12 December 2018, at the School of Social Science of Universidad de la República (Montevideo, Uruguay).

The event will feature four types of activities: panels, roundtables, lectures and posters.

The call for abstracts is open for research papers under the following thematic areas:

Regulation of cannabis in Uruguay: implementation, results, opportunities and challenges. Works that explore the different access routes to legal cannabis for adult / recreational use: domestic cultivation, cannabis social clubs and pharmacy dispensing.

Cannabis and society. Works that explore cultural aspects, use practices, daily life, social aspects, public opinion, gender, political debate, involved actors and productive aspects.

Drugs, education and public health. Works linked to risk management strategies and harm reduction, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation.

Relationship between drugs and crime. Research exploring the link between drugs and crime, drug trafficking organization and the link between drug markets and legal economies, the application of justice to drug crimes and its biases.

Cannabis regulation in the world Research exploring the international political discussion and multilateral organizations, as well as comparative and case studies on the different models of prohibition and regulation that exist in the world.

Regulation of medical cannabis: learnings and challenges. Research on experiences in medical cannabis regulation in the world, the medical uses of cannabis, and access barriers to products and treatments.


THE CALL FOR PAPERS TO BE PRESENTED AT PANELS IS OPEN UNTIL SEPTEMBER 15.

Discussion roundtables will feature key actors in the implementation of cannabis regulation in different thematic areas. The main research findings presented at the panels will be retaken and the relevance of the evidence for policymaking will be discussed.

Dissertations by international keynote speakers elaborating on the most significant aspects of cannabis regulation.

Visual summaries of research linked to diverse aspects of the field of cannabis studies in Uruguay. The call for posters will be available soon.

Registration until 11/10/2018 – 1,000 UYU

Registration after 11/10/2018 – 1,500 UYU

UdelaR undergraduate students – 500 UYU

Queries can be sent through the contact form.

“Five Years of Cannabis Regulation” Congress

The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) has since 2012 held Annual National Conferences with a view to providing a platform for stakeholders to share their experiences in addressing the enormous challenge of alcohol and drug abuse. This year, NACADA is partnering with the Ministry of Interior & Coordination of National Government, International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP), African Union and US Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) in undertaking the first ever International Conference on drug demand reduction in Kenya. The International Society of Substance Use Professionals is an international platform of addiction professionals that provides opportunity for information sharing on evidence-based treatment and prevention interventions as well as emerging issues in the management of persons with Substance Use Disorders.

The Conference will take place on 10th – 14th December 2018 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Nairobi – Kenya.

The Conference will include: - i) Plenary Sessions - Presentation by renowned professionals and experts on drug demand reduction ii) Breakaway Sessions - Presentation of selected papers on five thematic areas: Prevention & Advocacy, Policy, Legal & Enforcement, Treatment and Rehabilitation, Research & Training and Partnerships & Community Initiatives iii) Training – Parallel trainings on Universal Prevention and Treatment Courses iv) Youth Forum – Parallel meeting with the youth from across the globe v) ICUDDR Forum – Parallel meeting for Universities providing or interested in providing addiction education vi) Exhibitions – Partners have an opportunity to showcase their work on drug demand reduction

NACADA-ISSUP International conference on drug demand reduction

This seminar will be based on research drawn from my recently published book ‘White drug cultures and regulation in London, 1916-1960’. It focuses on the 1930s, when a group composed of wealthy bohemian youth, formerly part of what the newspapers termed ‘The Bright Young People’, formed a network of morphine, heroin and cocaine use in Chelsea.

Seminar: Rich girls on dope

When: Thursday December 13th, from 5:00- 7:00 pm

Where: Salt 110, Paul Webley Building, Senate House, SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London, WC1H 0XG.

RSVP (by November 30th): Axel Klein, axelcklein@yahoo.co.uk Blaine Stothard, blaine@healthed.org.uk

The book describes the events, activities and negotiations leading up to the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session on international drug policy. A range of respected authors from international institutions, academia and civil society organisations detail the background to the negotiations and the outcome; and possible future scenarios for continued reform and change at the High Level Review in 2019. The chapters include consideration of the positions taken by blocs and nation-states at all points on the prohibition-reform continuum.

Events