Youth R.I.S.E is a youth-led international network established to reduce the risks and harms associated with substance use and drug policy amongst young people and provide a platform for young people to be engaged in the policies that affect their lives.

Youth R.I.S.E es una red internacional dirigida por jóvenes que fue establecida para reducir los riesgos y los daños asociados al consumo de drogas y a las políticas de drogas entre los jóvenes. Youth R.I.S.E proporciona una plataforma de dialogo para que personas jóvenes puedan participar a las políticas que afectan a su vida.

Youth R.I.S.E. est un réseau international dirigé par des jeunes désirant réduire les risques et dommages subis par la jeunesse à cause de l’usage de drogues et de politiques de drogues inefficaces. Le réseau offre un espace permettant aux jeunes de s’impliquer dans les politiques qui touchent leur vie de tous les jours.

Youth RISE

This project aimed to improve leadership transitions, institutional memory, and long-term strategy in the participating organisations through the development and implementation of a youth-work Sustainability Framework designed with best practices from both the youth-work sector and the drug policy/harm reduction sector. The key results include The Development of the Framework, The Implementation of the Framework, and the increased stability of the participating organisations in the European Union (EU).

“Youth In Power” (YIP) was and is intended to continually improve the overall sustainability stability of three participating youth-led organisations, SSDP International, Young Wave, RISE, by addressing key areas: 1. Leadership transitions, 2. Institutional knowledge/memory, 3. Long-term strategy. The goal incorporate tools best practices from both youth work sector drug policy/harm reduction develop implement a Sustainability Framework that addresses these issues. To achieve our improving organisational through its implementation, we organised 3-day strategy meeting. This will also be shared utilised across allow for benefits this applied on wider scale ensure sustained robust policy sector.

'Youth in power': Addressing sustainability of youth-led drug related organisations

The UNDOC 2023 World Drug Report provides insights into the prevalence of opioid use among individuals aged 15-65 in different regions. In Africa, the prevalence stands at 1.24%, which represents 9,670,000 people. Europe has 3,790,000 users, revealing a prevalence of 0.78%. The Americas reports 11,940,000 people who use opioids and a prevalence rate of 1.74%. Meanwhile, in East and Southeast Asia, 2,780,000 people experience opioid use, representing a prevalence of 0.17% (UNDOC, 2023).

The response to opioid use among young people remains a public health concern in every region of the cohort. Addressing the specific needs of young people who use opioids (YPWUO) demands a profound commitment to elevate their voices and support them to lead this urgent discussion. Furthermore, it is essential to acknowledge the role of harm reduction in responding to their needs and challenges.

The objective of this article is to present the results and recommendations from a discussion held by a cohort consisting of young people who are using opioids, harm reduction practitioners, or, in some cases, both, based in various regions worldwide. The discussion was divided into a series of conversations centered on understanding the needs and challenges faced by young people who use opioids (YPWUO) and harm reduction practitioners.

The article is organized into a total of five divisions. The initial division offers a concise elucidation of the employed methodology.Subsequently, the second division encompasses the political backdrop surrounding drug use and the availability of harm reduction services (HRS) in each respective setting where the collaborators are situated. The third division presents the prominent themes that emerged from online discussions regarding the barriers to access to harm reduction and health services and the needs of young individuals who consume opioids and harm reduction professionals. The fourth division expounds upon recommendations that aim to effectively address the necessities and challenges encountered by this particular group of young people who use opioids and harm reduction professionals. The fifth division concludes the article by providing some final remarks.

Catalysts for change: Youth-driven insights in opioid harm reduction

We, the undersigned organisations, are deeply concerned about the drastic intensification of anti- drug operations in Sri Lanka leading to significant human rights violations.

On 17 December 2023 the Acting Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennekoon, with the endorsement of Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles, spearheaded an operation titled “Yukthiya”, with the stated aim of controlling “the drug menace”. The operation is ongoing as of 10 January 2024, with at least one thousand persons arrested daily.

This operation is unfolding in a context of already severe repression against persons who use or are suspected of using drugs, who suffer discrimination and stigma within the Sri Lankan criminal justice system and society.

Alongside the Sri Lankan police, members of the armed forces have been supporting this operation, during which several human rights violations have been reported. These violations include alleged arbitrary arrests, primarily against individuals from marginalised socio-economic communities; searches conducted without warrants or reasonable suspicion; and degrading treatment including strip searches in public as well as cavity searches. The searches and arrests have been televised, in violation not only of the right to privacy (and of basic human dignity) but also of a person’s right to be presumed innocent. According to lawyers, persons are being arrested even when no drugs are found in their possession, simply for having been arrested for drug offences or having been sent to compulsory rehabilitation in the past. The arrests of main livelihood earners and mothers have adversely impacted the ability of families to meet their basic needs during a time of economic crisis in Sri Lanka, and the wellbeing of children.

Persons are being arrested primarily under Section 54A of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, an offence which is non-bailable. As a result, those arrested are bound to spend time (sometimes months) in pretrial detention, thereby exacerbating already poor conditions of imprisonment in an overburdened prison system. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has previously stated that the existing prison conditions and treatment of incarcerated persons are “inhumane and degrading.”At present, as per statistics issued by the Department of Prisons, the level of overcrowding of the prison system is at nearly 200% - with punitive drug policies playing a significant role: as of 2022, 63% of convicted persons were sentenced for drug-related offences.

The total reported number of arrests pursuant to operation Yukthiya has exceeded 29,000 as of 9 January 2024, while nearly 1,500 people are in administrative detention in police custody for further investigation.  At least 1,600 more persons have been sent for compulsory drug rehabilitation, in violation of several fundamental rights; including the right to the highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to consent to and withdraw from medical treatment. “Drug treatment” in these centres is abstinence-based, essential harm reduction services are not available, and persons undergo severe withdrawal symptoms without any medical assistance while in detention. The use of violence to discipline and punish has been reported in at least two compulsory drug rehabilitation centres which are within the purview of the Bureau of the Commissioner General for Rehabilitation and are operated by the military, which is in itself a violation of international standards.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in its statement at the conclusion of its visit to Sri Lanka in 2017 expressed concern regarding the involvement of military personnel in drug treatment and rehabilitation, the fact that strenuous physical exercise was the core component of compulsory drug treatment, and at the lack of trained professionals to monitor the health of people in detention. Furthermore, the statement highlighted the irregularities in the judicial process by which persons were sent to drug rehabilitation centres without a medical assessment.

More broadly, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has highlighted that by denying persons access to substitution therapies, states are subjecting “a large group of people to severe physical pain, suffering and humiliation, effectively punishing them for using drugs and trying to coerce them into abstinence.” The Special Rapporteur has further stated “forcible testing of people who use drugs without respecting their autonomy and their right to informed consent may constitute degrading treatment, especially in detention settings. States are obliged to respect the enjoyment of the right to health, including by refraining from using coercive medical treatment. The requirement of informed consent, including the right to refuse treatment, should be observed in administering any treatment for drug dependence.”

Since the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session on drugs, there is international consensus on pursuing a holistic and health and human rights-based approach to drugs, which encompasses supply and demand reduction as well as harm reduction. The 2019 Ministerial Declaration on drugs – the current global drug policy document - as well as multiple resolutions of the UN General Assembly, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, and the UN Human Rights Council reiterate and recommend a similar approach.

A punitive and militarised approach to drug control contravenes recognised international human rights standards and guidelines, is ineffective to protect individual and public health, and ultimately fails to make communities safer.

Africa Network of People Who Use Drugs (AfricaNPUD) (Africa)

Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) (Asia)

Association for Humane Drug Policy (Norway)

Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation (CDPE) (Canada)

Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) (Argentina)

Corporación Acción Técnica Social (Colombia)

Correlation - European Harm Reduction Network (Europe)

Drug Harm Reduction Advocacy Network Nigeria (Nigeria)

Foreningen Tryggere Ruspolitikk /Safer Drug Policies (Norway)

GREA - Groupement Romand d'Etudes des Addictions (Switzerland)

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Poland)

International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)

International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) (Global)

International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD) (Global)

Skoun, Lebanese Addictions Centre (Lebanon)

Zimbabwe Civil Liberties and Drug Network (Zimbabwe)

Sri Lanka: Stop abusive anti-drug operation and release those arbitrarily detained

Within the frameworks of the Paradigma Coalition, Youth RISE and Students for Sensible Drug Policy International have partnered up once again to provide a Youth Response to the UNODC's World Drug Report. 

This response is written by youth advocates from across the world. As young people we hold keen insights into youth drug use and as advocates, we represent youth perspectives on drug policies. 

 to learn about our reflections on the 2023 World Drug Report and our recommendations for future publications of this report. 

Also watch out for the release of this Youth Response on Monday 21st August, a week before this launch event and come with your questions and comments! 

Youth Response to the UNODC World Drug Report 2023

As organisations that work in drug policy and harm reduction, we welcome the evidence-based proposals in the new report published by the Scottish Government proposing a road map for the future of drug policy and law in Scotland. We share the view of the report that drug policy based on health and human rights achieves better outcomes for individuals, their families, communities and wider society.

In recognition of the damaging global impact of criminalisation, the United Nations 

 a legal and policy position that promotes the reduction of harm and the decriminalisation of people who use drugs. We welcome this report as a step towards the UN’s position, and the development of effective policy and services in Scotland.

Ending criminal sanctions for people in possession of drugs for personal use; the provision of a full range of harm reduction services and support; and improvement in the accessibility and acceptability of treatment services for people who experience drug dependency are all required to address the public health emergency that Scotland has been in for some years.

Scotland has made progress on all these fronts, and yet the prevalence of people experiencing drug dependence, and the number of drug related deaths remain very high by international standards, underpinned by persistent broader health inequalities. Further innovation and investment is clearly required.

We further support the proposed evidence-led review into how the use of drugs, their production and supply could be regulated. This review would inform a debate around wider reforms to drugs legislation.

We welcome the recognition of the harmful role that criminalisation, poverty and stigma, play in the lives of so many. People who use drugs, especially those who experience dependence, face discrimination every day, and the Scottish Government’s desire to end the exclusion of this group from equality legislation is to be commended.

We also welcome the Scottish Government’s acknowledgment and commitment to centring those with living and lived experience in policy making and implementation.

UK legislation and regulations, especially the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, serve as an impediment to many of the urgently needed evidence-based reforms highlighted in the report, including the decriminalisation of drug possession; the provision of supervised drug consumption facilities and drug safety checking services; and even heroin assisted treatment.

Scotland has developed innovative responses using its own legal system, police force, healthcare system and civic society. Progress has already been made in terms of the extension of recorded warnings for drug possession, policing arrangements and the legal basis for injecting equipment provision services and its world-leading take home naloxone programme. Scotland must also use these same assets to deliver supervised drug consumption rooms and drug checking services as a matter of urgency.

Drug-related deaths are at an all-time high, in Scotland and across the UK. The UK Government must either work to reform legislation to enable the vital reforms proposed in this report across all four nations, or sufficiently devolve powers to allow each country to enact these policies themselves in order to save lives, and support communities.

INPUD – International Network of People who Use Drugs

EuroNPUD – European Network of People who Use Drugs

Jason Kew, Senior Innovative Practice Officer,

IDPC joins NGO coalition's response to Scottish Government's report on drug policy reform

Returning from the 23rd iteration of Harm Reduction International’s global conference felt like waking up from a dream. In the dozens of hours travelling back from H23, which took place in Melbourne and was paused since the start of the global pandemic, I had a chance to reflect on the sheer amount of stories and emotions I lived and shared with passionate advocates from all over the world. 

A true melting pot of harm reductionists, state partners and rogue activists, HR23 felt like a unique space in the international conference circuit – one where people didn’t have to defend the basis of harm reduction or the need to centre drug-related solutions on people and communities, unlike other addiction-focused conferences. While colleagues presented fascinating research from across the globe, the truly impactful moments were the relationships made in between talks and presentations, where we connected with other passionate advocates working towards a common goal: defending the rights of people who use drugs.

“A melting pot of harm reductionists”: Reflections on the Harm Reduction International conference

Tuesday, 27 February 2024 / 14:00 (London) - 

This ninth edition of the IDPC webinar on the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) focuses on its 

 (including the mid-term review of the 2019 Ministerial Declaration), which will take place in Vienna from 14-22 March 2022.

The webinar will shed light the key issues that are likely to structure the debates, discuss tabled resolutions and opportunities for engagement, and showcase the experience of IDPC network members in navigating and leveraging this forum for political advocacy.

This event will be available in English, Spanish and French.

 (International Drug Policy Consortium - IDPC).

CND 67: Key issues and opportunities

This project intends to increase the capacity of youth-led organizations that engage in drug policy reform and young people to advocate at the European Union level. As the protection of young people is often sighted as one of the primary goals of drug policies, it is of the utmost importance that the youth voice is present in drug policy creation and implementation processes. Young people who use drugs are also a particularly vulnerable population as they are often dependent on families or the government for financial stability, housing, and education. As a highly vulnerable group, policies that are created to protect youth must be influenced by the insights that youth hold about drug use. 

To achieve our goal of increasing the capacity of youth-led organizations and young people to engage with EU drug policy, we organized a training series that equipped young people with the necessary knowledge, skills, connections, and strategy to be able to engage with the EU Drug Policy Creation process and create a youth-led dialogue around EU drug policies. 

This project intends to increase the capacity of youth-led organizations that engage in drug policy reform and young people to advocate at the European Union level. As the protection of young people is often sighted as one of the primary goals of drug policies, it is of the utmost importance that the youth voice is present in drug policy creation and implementation processes. Young people who use drugs are also a particularly vulnerable population as they are often dependent on families or the government for financial stability, housing, and education. 

As a highly vulnerable group, policies that are created to protect youth must be influenced by the insights that youth hold about drug use. 

This training has had a dual outcome of increasing the capacity of individuals and organizations to meaningfully engage with EU Drug Policy.

EU drug policy training & strategy series - Final report

We would like to invite you to join SSDP International and YouthRISE in launching the Project Report and Consortium Strategy for our 2022 ERASMUS+ Project this Thursday, February 2nd at 6 pm CET. 

Since early 2022, SSDP International and YouthRISE have been working with young people passionate about drug policy reform from across Europe to develop the skills, knowledge, network and strategy for young people to engage with drug policy, both nationally and internationally. As a result of this, we have established a consortium of young people and youth organisations dedicated to building drug policies rooted in human rights and compassion. 

We invite you to join us as we share the results of our project and walk you through the strategy we built.

Youth RISE

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