The concept of pre-arrest diversion – especially the part where police officers work closely with caseworkers and have a stake in the recovery, not just the capture and punishment of offenders – is new and unusual, but is making waves in criminal justice circles across the US.

It is still a pilot program, but several cities, including Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, Baltimore and Santa Fe, are all now actively exploring exporting similar programs, and a team from New York mayor Bill de Blasio’s office visited Seattle on a fact-finding mission in January.

One of the key figures in the Lead program’s success is Lisa Daugaard. A public defender by trade, and deputy director of the Seattle Public Defender Association, she makes no secret of the belligerence which often exists between defenders like herself and prosecutors and law enforcement.

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

Seattle's sensible approach puts drug offenders into treatment, not jail

For many, antidepressants are a way of life — both essential to normal human functioning and still not quite good enough. But, a new wave of research suggests that psychedelic drugs, unlike traditional antidepressants, may be able to provide long-lasting relief quickly for those dealing with some of our most common mental illnesses.

For patients looking at a lifetime's worth of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (or SSRIs) and the side effects that come with them, a one-and-done session with LSD may seem pretty appealing. But, without doctors able to prescribe these substances, people are turning to illegal means to self-medicate, creating a possibly unsafe situation for the already mentally ill.

According to the most recent available statistics, around one in 10 Americans over the age of 12 takes an antidepressant — most for over two years. Some of the mostcommonly-prescribed drugs are SSRIs such as Zoloft and Prozac. Dennis McKenna, PhD, explains that SSRIs work by blocking the serotonin transporter, keeping the serotonin that’s released in the synapse. Serotonin is involved in a myriad of biological processes, so interfering with its signaling can, understandably, cause a lot of side effects — from short-term nausea or dizziness to long-term weight gain, agitation, insomnia, and reduced sexual drive.

Now, several teams of researchers are exploring alternatives. Some might say the resurgence of research into the therapeutic potentials of controlled substances started with MDMA, which works on the same serotonin transporter that SSRIs target. But, instead of blocking the reuptake of serotonin, it holds the door wide open, causing a flood of serotonin into the synapse, explains Dr. McKenna. Now, there are large-scale investigations into MDMA’s potential for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These studies have found that therapy sessions — with the assistance of MDMA — can be the perfect catalyst to work through the paranoia and anxiety characteristic of PTSD.

Of all the controlled substances that could help treat anxiety and depression, the one that's farthest along is ketamine. A recent slew of research suggests that ketamine infusions can act as a quick intervention — reducing depression symptoms often within hours — especially inchronically depressed patients who haven't responded to traditional medication.

How ketamine, psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA are treating mental illness 

Health Canada has granted Vancouver’s Insite supervised drug injection site an exemption to operate for another year, Vancouver Coastal Health announced in a statement today.

Health Minister Terry Lake thanked Health Canada for its “compassionate decision,” saying North America’s only legal drug injection facility is “an important component of our response to substance use and addiction and we continue to support supervised injection along with other harm reduction services.”

Dr. Patricia Daly, the chief medical health officer for Vancouver Coastal Health, said Insite has “drastically improved” health outcomes for clients and the community since it opened in September 2003.

“We know Insite works,” Daly said in the statement. “Thousands of overdose deaths have been prevented, the spread of infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis C have been reduced and clients can more easily connect to health services like detox and primary health care.”

Since September 2011, the health authority has been required to apply for an annual exemption from Health Canada to operate, despite an earlier B.C. Supreme Court decision saying the facility could operate indefinitely.

News of the exemption comes as the federal government passed Bill C-2, known as the Respect for Communities Act, yesterday in the House of Commons. Health officials and harm reduction advocates have described the bill as setting out an onerous list of criteria that makes opening another injection site in Canada very difficult, if not impossible.

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

Health Canada grants exemption to Insite drug injection centre

The Civil Society Task Force (CSTF) was introduced on the occasion of the fourth Civil Society Hearing on 9 March 2015. The CSTF was designed to ensure a balanced and inclusive civil society engagement and coordination in the preparatory process of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the world drug problem in 2016.

The meeting, which took place on the margins of the 58 th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND, 9-17 March 2015), presented the membership of the CSTF. Its roadmap of activities leading up to the UNGASS in April 2016 was also discussed. Regional civil society consultations will be organised to ensure that grassroots organisations worldwide have a chance to make their voices heard.

In addition, a global survey will be launched at the end of March 2015 to measure the level of awareness, knowledge and interest of civil society to actively participate in the preparatory process of UNGASS 2016 at regional and global levels. The results of the survey will provide an overview of the work of NGOs active in the drug field, areas of expertise, key priorities and concerns to be addressed, as well as best practices. For further information related to the survey, please contact info@vngoc.org.

Furthermore, the Civil Society Hearing identified key areas, which civil society considers crucial in the preparatory process of UNGASS 2016. Among them are: a call for an open, inclusive and innovative debate; importance of the international drug control conventions; a public health approach to drug policies; global access to essential medicines; protection of the rights of the child; engagement of drug users, recovered drug users, families and communities; alternative development and proportionality for drug related offences, including the abolition of the death penalty.

The CSTF also nominated one civil society representative for each of the five interactive discussions held during the UNGASS Segment. These panelists were invited to facilitate a debate and an exchange of expertise focused on initiatives implemented and tools developed and to share practical experiences and lessons learned. NGO representatives in the audience also had the opportunity to make contributions.

Civil society engages in UNGASS 2016 preparatory process

March 27, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) took a fundamental step toward ensuring that a human rights perspective is present at the Special Session of the UN General Assembly on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS), to be held in April 2016.

The Council approved by consensus a resolution—co-sponsored by 47 countries from Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Oceania—that convenes a panel of experts to discuss drug policies and their rights impact. It also requests that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights produce a technical report on this issue.

In the debates that gave rise to the resolution, the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS)—along with Latin American and international allies—sustained that the Council, as the top UN human rights body, should participate actively in the UNGASS 2016 and stressed the need for a paradigm shift in drug policies so their central aims are protecting human rights and reducing violence.

The so-called "War on Drugs" has failed in its stated objectives and caused widespread violence. It has also had a severe impact on judicial and security systems and on prisons. State responses have led to a growing militarization that has been used to justify the role of the Armed Forces, the occupation of lands, and the displacement of people.

The UN analyses the human rights impact of drug policies ahead of a global summit

In 2013, a United Nations report estimated that the cocaine trade through West Africa was worth at least $1.25 billion a year. This is higher than the combined government budgets of several countries in the region, which has become an important transhipment point between Latin America producers and consumers in the United States and Europe. This cash flow threatens to corrode the institutions of the state and undermine economic progress and democratic practice in a part of the world that has only recently emerged from several decades of violent conflict and instability.

The region's political and security institutions are struggling to respond to these threats and are not always well equipped to mount adequate preventive measures. The "war on drugs" strategy, which focuses heavily on the suppression of drug shipments, has not enabled West Africa—or indeed other regions of the world—to meet and overcome the drug threat. Experience has shown that force alone cannot reduce the drug supply or the criminality and corruption that it induces.

Governments that focus on drug users and small-time dealers often create an unsustainable burden on their criminal justice systems while ignoring the health and social problems that have emerged with increasing levels of trafficking, consumption, and production, which goes on unabated.

By 2013, the situation had become so alarming that I decided to convene the West Africa Commission on Drugs (WACD), chaired by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, with a membership of distinguished West Africans drawn from diverse sectors of society.

Kofi Annan: The war on drugs has failed in West Africa and around the world

Last week’s Vienna meeting of the UN’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs was an important stepping stone on the road to 2016, when world leaders will come together in New York to discuss drug policy in a special session of the UN General Assembly, also known as the UNGASS.

As dry as these diplomatic gatherings appear, they play a key role in our effort to end the war on drugs; try new approaches to drug policy that reduce harm; end the criminalisation of drug users and keep non-violent drug offenders out of prison; and treat drugs overall as a health issue.

If all goes well, the UNGASS may set the stage for a first-ever, evidence-based review of those devastating policies that have caused so much unnecessary suffering.

Part of the struggle is that many countries shy away from any kind of reform effort, fearful of challenging the status quo and violating the international drug control conventions they signed many years ago. That’s why it is all the more remarkable that some national experiments have gone ahead, anyway. Portugal decriminalised all drug use in 2001, and made serious investment in health services for people who use drugs, with very positive outcomes, particularly when it comes to drug deaths and HIV or Hepatitis infections. Just last year, Uruguay decided to take matters into its own hands and introduced the regulated production and sale of cannabis. And in the US, four states now have legal cannabis markets, with more on the horizon.

Ending the war on drugs, the challenges and opportunities ahead

Researchers and medical cannabis patients met at the Prague Medical Cannabis Conference to discuss the latest developments in the field. On the sidelines, Drugreporter's guest author Iga Jeziorska interviewed two activists who were involved with the recent founding of the International Medical Cannabis Patients' Coalition.

Physicians from various countries and specialisations, pharmacists, activists and patients, met between March 4th and 7th at the international Medical Cannabis Conference in Prague. The discussion and presentation topics were mostly highly specialised in particular branches of medicine, including cancer, tumours, dermatology, and psychiatric disorders, such as PTSD or psychosis.

From the point of view of drug policy reform, it was a positive thing to see professionals supporting the use of cannabis as a medicine, providing scientific evidence of its efficacy in a wide range of diseases, and advocating for policy change.

An important highlight of the event was the establishment of the International Medical Cannabis Patients' Coalition. Drugreporter’s guest author Iga Jeziorska interviewed two of the founders of the Coalition.

Is the European medical cannabis movement gaining in power?

The United Nations' drug conventions were recently discussed in Vienna by the Commission on Drugs and Crime. The results of this convention make it clear that, with regards to international laws regarding cannabis, the United Nations commission on drugs and crime is way behind despite a world-wide shift forwards.

An end to the UN as we know it‏?

This photo album displays some of highlights and key moments at the 58th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Special Segment on the UNGASS 2016. Feel free to use them to illustrate your articles and websites! (Please use the source "IDPC" when using the photos).