Law Enforcement Action Partnership

Suzanne Sharkey used to arrest drug users, then she became one. She worked as an undercover officer for Northumbria Police in the 1990s, and was "very happy" locking up users and dealers. "I joined the police because of what they stood for - reducing crime, protecting communities and locking up 'the baddies'," she said.

"But I ended up a 24/7 alcoholic and I used drugs. I was in recovery and I looked around at the people there with me, and one of the biggest barriers I saw to their recovery were drug laws. The criminalisation closed so many doors for them that they couldn't move on with their lives."

Now she is one of those calling for drug policy reform as co-executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, an activist group made up of current and former justice sector workers.

Britain's Misuse of Drugs Act turns 50 with reform calls

The war on drugs has failed – drug related deaths in many countries are at record levels, and the global drug market continues to increase in size. Without the burden of ideology framing its aims in terms of a moral impetus, any other field of public policy similarly marred by failure would be swiftly overhauled. Propagation of punitive drug policy may be driven directly by policymakers, or indirectly by the electorate as politicians try to avoid being seen as being ‘soft on drugs’.

The session will start with the launch and partial screening of the short film Putting UK Drug Policy into Focus, produced by public health physician, Dr Adam Holland, which highlights the problems with UK drug policy as an example of a criminal justice approach to drugs. The film features contributions from UK and international experts.

Following this we will be joined by panellists who have experience engaging with policymakers and the public to discuss previous challenges and how best to move forward in the future with an opportunity for attendees to pose questions.


Dr Adam Holland and Dr Emily Crick (University of Bristol)


Professor David Nutt – Imperial College London
Ann Fordham – International Drug Policy Consortium
Dr Magdalena Harris – London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Neil Woods – Law Enforcement Action Partnership
Dr Nuno Capaz – Lisbon Dissuasion Commission
Dr Prun Bijral – Change Grow Live

See the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCxXLmMPt6Y

Engaging with policymakers and the public to promote ethical drug policy

Part 1 of a series on Psychedelic Community & Racial Justice.

The killing of George Floyd has once again put the spotlight on the ongoing systemic issues of racial injustice, police violence, and criminalization of marginalized BIPOC communities. The psychedelic community must stand in solidarity with wider activism for collective liberation, including and extending far beyond ending the war on drugs.

Where do we go from here? How do we build a better, more equitable and caring future?

First we'll look at the history to understand how we got to this moment and how we can advocate for policy that repairs the harms of the past, from colonization to the drug war and modern policing.

Camille Barton (they/them) is an artist, writer and somatic educator, working on the intersections of wellness, drug policy and transformative justice.

 is Executive Director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP, formerly Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) and a retired Major of the Maryland State and Baltimore City Police Departments. Following the tragic murder of his close friend, Corporal Ed Toatley, while making an undercover drug buy, Neill resolved to reform failed drug war policies.

 (they/them) is an Outreach Coordinator for DanceSafe, President of New York DanceSafe, and the Technical Program Manager at NEXT Distro.

 is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and the Founder of the Psychedelic Society of Western New York, out of which he developed a local psychedelic harm reduction organization.

 History of the drug war, colonization & racism

LONDON [27 JUNE 2019] – Harm Reduction International and almost 120 human rights organisations from around the world – including Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists – published open letters today calling on the United Nations’ major drug control bodies to intervene and help stop Sri Lanka’s move to resume executions after 43 years.

President Maithripala Sirisena signed the execution warrants this week for four people convicted of drug-related offences.

The letters – sent to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) – underscore that the death penalty for drug offences violates international human rights law. The signatories state that “Remaining silent as Sri Lanka puts an end to a 43-year de facto moratorium on executions would strike a blow to the INCB’s and UNODC’s commitments to human rights compliance as a core principle of international drug policy.”

Giada Girelli, human rights analyst at Harm Reduction International, said: “There is simply no evidence that the death penalty is an effective deterrent against the drug trade. President Sirisena’s move is a gross violation of human rights – UN bodies must urge authorities in Sri Lanka to reverse this and work to consign the death penalty to the history books.”

Harm Reduction International’s latest research shows that global executions for drug offences fell by almost 90% from 2015-18, in large part because of judicial reforms in Iran. Of the 35 countries that retain the death penalty for drug offences, only four carried out executions in 2018 (China, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Singapore).

Over 100 human rights groups urge UN to demand Sri Lanka halt executions of drug offenders

No mês de abril de 2019, o presidente do Brasil, Jair Bolsonaro, decretou o fim das políticas públicas de Redução de Danos no país, reforçando a guerra as drogas

. A guerra as drogas é sempre uma guerra contra as pessoas, contra a saúde, contra direitos e contra a ciência.

A decisão do atual presidente potencializa a estigmatização das pessoas que usam drogas e fomenta a militarização dos territórios compostos pela população mais vulnerável, autorizando uma verdadeira chacina de pobres e negros das periferias das cidades brasileiras.

A delegação brasileira presente a 26 edição da Conferência Internacional de Redução de Danos, realizada em Portugal, na cidade do Porto, pede o apoio da comunidade internacional para assegurar a manutenção das políticas de redução de danos no Brasil e as conquistas que essas políticas produziram ao longo dos últimos trinta anos.

1. Acción Semilla, Bolívia
2. Acción Andina, Bolívia
3. Acción Técnica Social (ATS), Colombia
4. Andean Information Network, Bolivia
5. Asociación Costarricense para el Estudio e Intervención en Drogas (ACEID), Costa Rica
6. Baltimore County Health Department in the Harm Reduction Program Syringe Services Program, EUA
7. CAFAC y Cultura Joven A.C., México
8. Campaña por la Descriminalización de las Personas Usuarias de Drogas en Bolivia
9. Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales, Argentina
10. Centro de Orientación e Investigación Integral (COIN), República Dominicana
11. Comisión Mexicana de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos
12. Corporación Humanas, Colombia
13. Drug Policy Alliance, EUA
14. Ecuador Cannábico, Equador
15. Elementa DDHH, Colombia
16. Enlace, Espanha
17. Estudiantes por una Política Sensata de Drogas (EPSD), Bolivia
18. Federación Andaluza ENLACE
19. Frontline AIDS
20. Harm Reduction Coalition, EUA
21. Hawaii Health & Harm Reduction Center in Honolulu, HI, EUA
22. International Harm Reduction Association, Inglaterra
23. Instituto RIA (Mexico)
24. Intercambios Asociacion Civil, Argentina
25. Intercambios, Porto Rico
26. Latinoamérica Reforma, Chile
27. Law Enforcement Action Partnership, EUA
28. MUCD, Mexico
29. Observatorio de Cultivos y Cultivadores Declarados ilícitos (OCCDI), Colômbia
30. Open Aid Alliance's, EUA
31. Programa Libertas, Bolívia
32. Temblores ONG, Colombia
33. The Association for Humane Drug Policy, Noruega
34. Transnational Institute - Drugs & Democracy Programme, Holanda
35. Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), EUA

Declaração das organizações da sociedade civil sobre Brasil em HR19

In April 2019, the president Jair Bolsonaro declared the end of Harm Reduction public policies in Brazil, reinforcing the War on Drugs. The War on Drugs HAS ALWAYS BEEN a war against people, against Public Health, against Human Rights and against Science.

This decision worsens the stigmatization of people who use drugs. It also fosters the militarization of neighbourhoods composed of the most vulnerable populations; authorizing murder and imprisonment of poor and black people from the favelas and other marginalized regions of our cities.

The Brazilian delegation, present at the 26th International Conference on Harm Reduction held in Portugal in the city of Porto, requests the support of the international community to ensure the continuation of harm reduction policies in Brazil and the recognition of the achievements these policies have made over the last thirty years.

Brazil Statement at HR19

Police tactics may disrupt drug supplies, but they cause more crime and even contribute to the use of children as a go-between in county lines, undermining Peel’s principles, says former Detective Sergeant and Chair of LEAP UK Neil Woods who argues it’s time for drugs laws to be reformed.

Skewed approach: UK drugs policy is undermining Peel’s principles of policing

LEAP UK’s Stop and Search Podcast presents this rare opportunity to delve in Southeast Asia and The Philippines; how much do we really know about President Duterte and his all out ‘war on drugs’? How do the organised crime networks of the region interact and impact civilians? Join our esteemed panel to discuss:

Jonathan Miller is the award winning journalist and the Asia correspondent for Channel 4 news. Author of ‘Duterte Harry’, a disrobing profile of The Philippines president who has hit the headlines for ordering extrajudicial killings of those suspected of drug dealing, Jonathan’s book is a rare insight into this polarising president.

Livvy Haydock is a documentary producer, presenter and journalist who has been seen on the BBC, Panorama, and Channel 4. Livvy’s film ‘The Deadliest Place to Deal’ is an eye-opening documentary on what actually takes place on the streets of The Philippines under President Duterte’s rule.

Avinash Tharoor is the Policy and Communications Officer for Release, a drugs and human rights charity based in London and founded in 1967. Avinash is also the editor of 

, an online publication where he has written about the Philippines and President Duterte's quite literal 'war on drugs'.

LEAP UK presents Duterte Harry: The Philippines and the new 'war on drugs'

Let's talk about women and addiction on our latest Stop and Search podcast.

Join journalist and author, Jenny Valentish, as she travels over from Australia to talk about her new book Woman of Substances, a journey into drugs and alcohol treatment, a fascinating book which has been highly recommended and critically acclaimed.

We’re also joined by Milly Chowles, reporter and producer for BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. Having recently produced the series The Fix: Woman and Addiction, Milly is certainly a valued member of the panel.

So what are we talking about? We’ll be chatting about the many overlapping factors of addiction, including mental health, social pressures, as well as talking about the media, the treatment sector, and what part gender may play in this broad conversation.

Tickets are limited so please do book now to avoid losing your place. Please do bring your questions and opinions!

The podcast Stop and Search is a two-time British Podcast Awards nominee, produced in association with LEAP UK, brought to you by the Distraction Pieces Network.