Do we listen to experts? Do we lack evidence in our policy making? Join LEAP UK for the Stop and Search podcast as they take a look at the interplay between politics and science - with guests:

Professor David Nutt - as a senior adviser to the Government, Professor Nutt was sacked in a high profile case. Professor Nutt went on to found the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs

Chris Coltrane - comedian and satirist, Chris hosts the monthly Lolitics podcast where he and his guests dissect politics quirky

Elle Wadsworth – Elle is a Research Assistant in the Addictions Department at King’s College London. Elle and her co-hosts produce a podcast called What’s the Crack

Come along and bring your questions and opinions. Does science need to play a bigger part in policy making? Are we officially afraid and distrusting of experts?

This is a live recording for the Distraction Pieces Network's Stop and Search, produced in association with LEAP UK

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert

Thumbnail: podcast CC Smithsonian Institution Li

Podcast: Fear of experts

On April 4-5, 2017 over 200 academics, policymakers, and community leaders gathered in Ottawa at Canada’s Drug Futures Forum to document priorities for Canadian drug policy in the coming decade.

On Friday, July 14 from 1-2pm Eastern Time an online launch of the Forum's Summary of Proceedings and Final Recommendations will air for viewing. The webinar will include a presentation of the report highlights, comments from respondents, and an opportunity for attendees to ask questions and discuss next steps.

A poster for the webinar is available for download 

After the launch, copies of the report in both English and French will be available on 

, where you can also find more information about Canada's Drug Futures Forum.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.

Online launch of the Canada Drug Futures Forum 2017's Summary of proceedings and Final recommendations 

The ECPR Standing Group on Organised Crime, in cooperation with the Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies at the University of Bath, invites you to the 2nd General Conference of the Standing Group on Organised Crime. The Conference will take place at the University of Bath from 7 to 8 July 2017. Its main theme is 

‘Organised crime today: networks, routes and criminal partnerships’

The study of serious and organised crime has allowed a better understanding of many illicit activities including, drug trafficking, smuggling, political corruption, and extortion, as well as improving social-economic policies and policing responses. By developing case studies, research methods, and theoretical frameworks we are closer to tackling these social problems that are challenging democratic institutions in many different ways and levels. However, despite the advances over the last 30 years, we are also starting to realise that we need to go beyond our traditional and well established frameworks to un-package the complex and silent features of serious and organised crime. The reason is simple: criminal networks do not operate in isolation. They exist in a multiplex networked world where changes in one layer of the social or economic fabric enables new structures and activities at another layer, and vice versa. Identifying the overlapping relationships of outwardly disconnected spheres of social interaction is a major research puzzle this conference wishes to address.

Submission of paper and panel abstracts: 1 March 2017

Email Contact: ecprsgocbath2017@gmail.com

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.

2nd General Conference: ECPR's Standing Group on Organised Crime

New Zealanders show no sign of a reduced appetite for drugs. Although patterns of supply and demand are constantly evolving, drug use carries on unabated. Yet New Zealand's drug laws have stood still.

The current law hinges on people being punished out of drug use. This failed approach is over 40 years old. In 2011 the NZ Law Commission recommended a fundamental overhaul, but still the law remains the same.

The human toll of this punitive approach is very high. Many people’s lives have been ruined by drug laws that are not fit for purpose. A conviction for a minor drug offence has a lifelong impact, and those already suffering socio-economic hardship and racial prejudice bear the brunt.

To move ahead, the speakers at the 2017 Parliamentary Drug Policy Symposium will share health-based approaches to drug policy that are rolling out in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Aotearoa New Zealand. The symposium will look at legislative options and practical initiatives, as well as evidence for change.

Join the conversation about how to shift to healthy approaches to drug law in New Zealand.

2017 Parliamentary Drug Law Symposium

Theorising the Drug War: Unpacking the ideologies that generated and continue to sustain the ‘war on drugs, 

will be held at the University of Essex on the 29th and 30th of June (2017). The conference brings together activists and researchers specialised in the area of drug policy, critical theory, and human rights. By bringing together these different fields of expertise, the aim of this event is to expand the scope of research into drug policy by viewing drug prohibition as a contemporary example of the role that ideology continues to play in questions of the law. Speakers include:

, Senior Director at Drug Policy Alliance and author of 

, Professor of Media and Culture, University of Lincoln, author of 

Culture On Drugs: Narco-cultural Studies of High Modernity

 (Manchester University Press, 2006), among others.

Executive Director, Release. Niamh, also a barrister, has co-authored Release’s two most recent policy papers ‘The Numbers in Black And White: Ethnic Disparities In The Policing And Prosecution Of Drug Offences In England And Wales’ and has also co-authored and edited a number of Release’s advice booklets including ‘Drugs and the Law’ and ‘Sex Workers and the Law’.

 Executive Director, Harm Reduction International and member of the Strategic Advisory Group to the UN on Injecting Drug Use and HIV and of the Global Fund Human Rights Reference Group; co-author of 

Drug Control and Human Rights in International Law 

, Reader in Law, Birkbeck College, University of London, author of various publications, including 

Being Against the World: Rebellion and Constitution

 Thursday 29 – Friday 30 June 2017 | Day 1: 09:00 – 17:00, Day 2: 10:00 – 17:00 | EBS.2.2 (Essex Business School) Organised by 

 (Lecturer, Kent Law School) and the International Centre on Human Rights and Drug Policy, with support from the Open Society Foundations Global Drug Policy Programme. Please note, the conference is free to attend, and spaces are limited. Tickets are reserved on a first come, first served basis. 


Conference: Theorising the drug war

Following the success of ICPP1 (Grenoble 2013) and ICPP2 (Milan 2015), the International Public Policy Association (IPPA) is pleased to invite you to the 3rd International Conference on Public Policy which will take place at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (NUS), Singapore from Wednesday 28th June to Friday 30th June 2017. This conference is organised in conjunction with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

As a part of the conference, a panel is being organised on drug policy analysis.

Panel: Drug policy analysis: definition, concepts, and methodology

 Luis Rivera-Velez - luis.riveravelez@sciencespo.fr

 Anne Philibert - anne.philibert@unige.ch

This panel aims to review the conceptualization of drug policy with a more systematic understanding of its analysis. We are looking for papers based on case studies that develop concepts and measuring tools that increase the operability of drug policy analysis.

The main themes of the panel are the following:

1. Drug policy definition. With the increasing diversity of drug policies, we are interested in studying the continuity or change of paradigms and ideas towards drugs inside the policies. As some countries have introduced a new approach to drug policy weakening the sanctions for drug policy offenders, others are reinforcing the old paradigm of strong repression. The current divergence calls into question the idea of a monolithic drug policy, and researchers ability to make meaningful comparisons.

2. Drug policies and the state. With the diversification of actors and levels of governance, we want to explore the role of consultants, think-tanks, interest groups, civil society, etc., in the production of knowledge for drug policy, the circulation of ideas, policy transfers and the multiplication of policy management. Although international organizations still have a nominal supremacy given by the conventions, authority over drug policymaking and outcomes is increasingly distributed among different organizations and actors.

3. Drug policy evaluation. Being a politicized issue, there are meaningful questions about the accuracy of existing measures of drug use, drug trafficking and drug policies. We encourage papers that question the metrics used to date, and which develop new ways to evaluate drug related issues, whether intended to supply input when developing policies or measure policy outcomes.

These themes are not mutually exclusive and we encourage papers that present a comparative perspective and that take into account approaches from other disciplines. The panel seeks to enhance the understanding and study of drug policy so originality is strongly encouraged.

To submit a paper, please log-in to your account (or create one if you haven’t done so previously), click on "Submit a paper" and complete the online form with the following information

1. The email(s) of any other co-authors (all co-authors must also have an account in the system),

) explaining your paper project, your research question, your methodology and how it fits with the panel topic chosen.

The selection of the papers for each panel will occur after the end of the call for papers (15th January) and notice will be sent to you after 

If your proposal is selected, full papers are to be uploaded to the conference website no later than 1st June.

3rd International conference on public policy

The University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE–IUL) and the EMCDDA are happy to announce the sixth European drugs summer school (EDSS) on ‘Illicit drugs in Europe: demand, supply and public policies’, which will take place from the 26 June to the 7 July 2017.

This year the registration opens very early to allow foreign students to apply well in advance for VISA. You can register from today, 17 October. Candidates who enrol in the first phase (before 3 February) get a reduction of 100 EUR (total fee 700 EUR). The registration phase will then continue until the 2 June. The programme fee includes tuition, canteen vouchers and a welcome reception. Scholarships are available for eligible students.

The EDSS will take place in Lisbon. During the two-week programme, renowned keynote speakers, EMCDDA scientific experts, university professors and policymakers will give participants the information they need in order to meet the complex policy challenges occurring in this field.

6th European Drugs Summer School - Illicit drugs in Europe: demand, supply and public policies

The current upheavals in the global drug system have made Geneva an international forum for policy dialogue on psychoactive substances. In this context, GREA and the University of Geneva are launching a platform for exchanges on health and human rights, which aims to strengthen links in the global ecosystem but also to stimulate synergies with local resources.

This event will take place on June 26th at 17.30 at the Biotech Campus in Geneva as part of the international campaign "Support Don't Punish".

After an official party with representatives of the UN, the Global Commission, the IDPC and the Geneva addiction network, a film will be screened: "A day in the life" on drug use in the world. "A day in the life" will be broadcast in Geneva. Produced by the Drug Reporter team, a foundation that promotes risk reduction and drug policy reform, the documentary portrays eight users in their everyday lives. Destigmatising and touching, it shows their difficulties on a daily basis, the setting in which they evolve and against which they collide, the eyes of others. The film disintegrates myths and prejudices that one may have of people who consume while privileging the humanist approach. It can be ordered from GREA (celestine.perissinotto@grea.ch) for any distribution desired in the French-speaking institutions (subtitled in French).

A new chapter for International Geneva: Drug policy

The central objective of this annual training programme is to enhance the skills of participants in applying Human Rights Based Approaches to Justice Sector Reform. It will facilitate the development of knowledge and skills regarding:

The legal principles and practice underpinning human rights based approaches to justice sector reform

The inter-linkages between justice sector actors (law enforcement, judicial, corrections, etc)

The relationship between the justice sector and related sectors ('security sector'), and concepts 'rule of law', 'good governance'

Human Rights Based needs assessment, programme design, implementation, monitoring & evaluation

Programming tools (including Human Rights Based benchmarks and indicators)

Case studies from national contexts and international field missions (conflict and post-conflict)

Teamwork, advocacy and strategic partnerships

The Programme uses a variety of pedagogical techniques; including presentations, plenary discussions, group work and role-plays, case studies, etc. The programme is highly participatory and emphasises cross-learning among participants, based upon advance reflection. Advance reading provides participants with a common grounding in the international legal framework governing justice sector reform and human rights based approaches.

An indicative programme is available here, and will be up-dated in light of the profiles of confirmed 2017 participants.

Reflecting the multi-disciplinary nature of human rights based justice sector reform, the programme is aimed at individuals from a range of disciplines (law and other social sciences, project management, etc), with experience in developing and industrialised countries, as well as international field missions: government officials; regulatory bodies (e.g prison/police inspectors; national human rights institutions; Bar Councils etc); international civil servants (UN agencies, AU, EC, OSCE, OAS etc); non-state actor as well as policy advisors/project managers. The programme is of particular relevance to consultants providing technical assistance services to bi- and multi-lateral donors (see IHRN Expert Database)

 Please complete the application form below. Any queries can be address ed to pharney@ihrnetwork.org with 'OJIR17' in the subject line.

The programme is non-residential. Participants will be provided with a range of accommodation options to choose from, including on-campus.

The programme fee is 1175 euro for payments received by 24 February 2017 - covering tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments during the programme. The fee after that date is 1475 euro.

Justice sector reform: Applying human rights based approaches

26th June 2017 will be the 5th Day of Action organised so far. In 2013, 41 cities from around the world took part in the first ever Global Day of Action. In 2014, 100 cities around the world held a huge variety of different actions. In 2015, 160 cities joined forces to call for drug policy reform, and in 2016, activists in 125 cities participated.

26th June is the United Nations’ International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking – a day that on which many governments celebrate their contributions to the global ‘war on drugs’. In the past, some governments have even commemorated this day by holding public executions or beatings of drug offenders.

By taking part in the Global Day of Action, you can help to “reclaim” the message on this important day.

26th June is also the United Nations’ International Day in Support of Victims of Torture – an ironic coincidence given the widespread torture and abuse suffered in the name of the war on drugs.

The aim for the Global Day of Action is to produce high-profile and visually symbolic local actions. It is your choice to decide what these actions are – and this decision depends on what is feasible and affordable, what works best in the local context, and what you think will have the greatest impact. The numbers involved can range from 10 or 20 people, to more than 100 people in some cities – and we hope that the examples from other cities can serve as inspiration as well. One of the greatest impacts that the campaign can have is through attracting positive media attention and raising awareness of the campaign issues. We recommend that local partners engage with the local media ahead of 26th June.

The only requirement we ask is that these actions are connected to the global campaign by using the SUPPORT. DON’T PUNISH logo. This could be on t-shirts, banners, posters, reports or other materials.

This allows us to tie together the local actions and to demonstrate that they are all part of a coordinated global effort. In many cities, you may also decide to use the Support. Don’t Punish logo alongside that of your organisation, your partners, and other campaigns.

If you are looking for inspiration about what to do, have a look at the actions that took place in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016!

We are currently collecting information about who wants to organise an action in their city, where and with whom. If you are interested, please email us at campaign@idpc.net.

Support. Don't Punish Global Day of Action 2017

The World Health Organization (WHO) Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse organizes, for the first time, the global Forum on alcohol, drugs and addictive behaviours (FADAB) with a primary goal to enhance public health actions in these areas by strengthening partnerships and collaboration among public health oriented organizations, networks and institutions in the era of Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDG 2030).

The Forum will provide an opportunity for a diverse group of stakeholders to build new and develop existing partnerships, networks and collaborative projects as well as discuss a variety of topics. (Learn more here)

Should you wish to participate please send your details to info@vngoc.org or directly to WHO at msb@who.int.

2017 WHO Forum on Alcohol, Drugs and Addictive Behaviours

Club Health Dublin 2017 is the 10th International Conference on Nightlife, Substance Use and Related Health Issues. The event marks 20 years of Club Health conferences.

The very first Club Health conference took place in Liverpool, UK in 1997 and was held in the world famous Cream nightclub. Following the success of that conference, it became bi-annual and international with the next Club Health conference held in Amsterdam in 1999. Club Health conferences have since been hosted in Australia, North America and throughout Europe. The 10th International Conference on Nightlife, Substance Use and Related Health Issues will be held in Dublin, Ireland in May 2017.

Dublin was chosen because of its acclaimed and varied nightlife, the dedicated Organising Committee and the enthusiastic response to the initial proposal of the conference being held in the city by a wide range of key relevant stakeholders within Ireland. Given recent public and political debate on proposed harm reduction measures such as pill/drug-testing and decriminalization, pending legislative measures to reduce alcohol consumption, emerging challenges in relation to sexual health and the forthcoming Irish national drugs strategy, Dublin is exceptionally poised to both host and benefit from the Club Health Conference in 2017.