This feature zooms into the drug deaths crisis in British Columbia, now the leading cause of death for people aged 10 to 59 in the province. Declared a public health emergency in 2016, this crisis has pushed over 16,000 people into premature death and continues to worsen due to a toxic and unpredictable drug supply.

The short documentary outlines the origins and evolution of the crisis, the challenges with current responses, and difficulties in moving toward decriminalised frameworks.

Advocates, health and legal experts, and bereaved parents highlight the urgent need for a safe supply, expanded access to treatment and policies that are grounded in public health rather than punishment.

Canada: Everything you need to know about B.C.'s toxic drug crisis

In this global sign-on letter, 124 civil society organisations from 47 countries raise the alarm over the ‘war on drugs’ launched by the Hungarian government in March 2025, which has resulted in aggressive police interventions targeting people who use drugs, and a concerning crackdown on harm reduction service providers and civil society organisations promoting human rights-centred drug policies.

Note that our open letter was drafted before the governing party submitted a new bill to the Parliament which, under cover of increasing transparency in public life, seeks to obstruct civil society organisations that are critical of the government. This bill could lead to the 

 of numerous Hungarian organisations active in the field of drug policy and harm reduction, further underscoring the urgent need for intervention by European institutions.

Evidence-based prevention and harm reduction is not a crime. It is care. It is science. And it saves lives.

In March 2025, the Hungarian government launched a 

. It amended the constitution with a prohibition of the use and “promotion” of drugs. The penalties for drug-related offenses were already among the harshest in Europe, but now they are being made even stricter. In parallel, there is political pressure on the police to aggressively enforce drug laws, mostly targeting people who use drugs. Civil society was not consulted as the law was being reviewed – and professional networks in the drug field have strongly criticised the changes. They 

 that the government should create a comprehensive drug strategy and invest in prevention, treatment and harm reduction instead.

However, any criticism of the war on drugs is being condemned by government officials. Critical civil society organisations 

 and “accomplices of drug traffickers”. The pro-government press regularly carries out vicious attacks against professionals and activists who provide pragmatic, compassionate prevention and harm reduction programs. 

Those who provide reality-based education, dare to speak up for harm reduction or drug policy reform have been increasingly scapegoated and threatened in smear campaigns by the Hungarian government for several years. They now risk being censored based on the constitutional ban on “drug promotion”.

Instead of a war on drugs, Hungary needs comprehensive and evidence-based drug policies, elaborated and implemented with the meaningful involvement of civil society

. Harm reduction is one of the most effective, humane, and evidence-based approaches in 

. From providing realistic education, sterile equipment and preventing overdoses, to offering support, dignity, and safety to people who use drugs — harm reduction saves lives! But prevention, treatment and harm reduction services simply cannot be provided in the current climate of fear and repression.

 Pro-harm reduction organizations and individuals are not enemies of the state — they are providing life-saving public health services. Their only "crime" is challenging ideology and stigma with evidence, and providing support to people in need.

 it is not civil society that threatens Hungary — it is the erosion of the rule of law, the silencing of independent voices, and the criminalization of compassion.

A democratic society governed by the rule of law must protect and support — not punish — those who defend human dignity, health, and rights. Targeting NGOs that operate legally, transparently, and in service of the public is not only unjust; 

 — for Hungary but also for Europe and the European Union as a whole.

When EU governments suppress civil society and replace science with ideology,lives are lost, trust is broken, and democracy begins to decay. In such an environment, facts become enemies and critical thinking a subversive act.

We call on the Hungarian government to immediately cease its attacks on prevention and harm reduction organisations and activists who promote drug policy reform

The government must stop its war on drugs and uphold the rule of law and the obligations under international human rights and health frameworks.

A new, comprehensive, evidence-based national drug strategy should be prepared with the meaningful involvement of civil society.

Furthermore, all criminalisation and harassment of professionals and volunteers working in the field of harm reduction must be brought to an end.

We call on the European Union and the international community to stand in solidarity with Hungarian civil society and to defend the fundamental principles of science, compassion, and the rule of law.

We call on the European Union to respect the common framework ruling common agreements and to respect fundamental human rights.

Check out the PDF for a full list of signatories.

Stop the crackdown – Save lives: Defend civil society and the rule of law in Hungary

Read our advocacy note for key recommendations on making the panel effective, inclusive, and truly independent: Repairing the “machinery”: Recommendations and expectations for the independent review of international drug policy commitments

The International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), alongside 182 civil society organisations from 59 countries, strongly encourage you to play a leading role in guiding the upcoming independent review of the UN drug control system to ensure a bold and successful outcome — one that brings long-overdue alignment of global drug policy with the UN pillars of peace and security, human rights, and development, and contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

On 14 March 2025, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) agreed to establish a multidisciplinary panel of 19 independent experts, serving in their personal capacity, to develop clear, action-oriented recommendations aimed at reviewing the UN drug control ‘machinery’ and enhancing the implementation of the three international drug control conventions and other relevant international instruments (including human rights obligations), as well as the achievement of all international drug policy commitments (including those adopted at the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs).

Numerous studies by the UN human rights system, including the latest reports of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, as well as by civil society, have highlighted the devastating impacts of the UN drug control regime on health, human rights, the environment, development and peace and security. As a result, the High Commissioner for Human Rights has repeatedly called for ‘transformative change’ in global drug policy.

This independent expert panel provides a historic, once-in-a-generation opportunity to propose reforms that will further the health and welfare of humankind, social inclusion and social justice, and help to achieve the SDGs.

However, this process is also likely to face political resistance. Your leadership will therefore be critical to ensure that the panel’s work remains transparent and constructive, and that it delivers bold recommendations needed to bring the UN drug control system into alignment with the rest of the UN system.

The CND resolution tasks you with selecting five members of the independent panel, as well as one of the co-chairs for the panel. We urge you to ensure that these nominations are of the highest calibre – individuals with strong human rights and/or health expertise, and a clear commitment to an objective, comprehensive review and reform of the current system. The co-chair should also have the credibility and proven ability to encourage constructive dialogue, facilitate consultations with other stakeholders, maintain the independence of the panel and its work, ensure that the findings are adequately reflected in the conclusions of the panel, and guide the conversation to identify ambitious recommendations for improvement.

In addition to the five panellists you will be nominating, the five regional groups of the CND will select two panellists each, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) will select three, and the World Health Organization (WHO) one. However, other relevant parts of the UN system cannot select panellists. Enhancing UN system-wide coherence in the review process, as reflected in the Chief Executives Board’s UN System Common Position on drugs, will therefore primarily rely on your selection, especially with regard to human rights and development. Therefore, to ensure the appropriate balance on the panel, we recommend that your panellist selections be made after those made by the CND, INCB and WHO, in an effort to respond to any identified gaps from that process.

We also urge you to ensure that the panel includes representatives of the communities most affected by the so-called ‘war on drugs’, including people who use drugs, people involved in the cultivation of crops, Indigenous peoples, and people from ethnic and racial minorities.

Furthermore, to ensure a successful outcome for this critical initiative, we urge you to encourage Member States to provide adequate funding and political support for the expert panel, including its consultations with civil society, Indigenous Peoples, young people and other affected groups.

Last but not least, we call on you to express public support for the panel, encourage its members to deliver bold and actionable recommendations, and ensure the meaningful discussion and implementation of the panel’s eventual recommendations. This could, for instance, be done via your public statement annually released at the occasion of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on 26 June.

We have attached to this letter a copy of IDPC’s latest advocacy note in which we provide detailed recommendations on the review panel, and we also encourage you to read this joint statement delivered at the occasion of the International Harm Reduction Conference that took place in Bogotá, Colombia in April 2025.

As ever, we remain available to support you in these endeavours.

The full list of signatories is available in the PDF version of the letter.

183 civil society groups urge UN Secretary-General to lead historic global drug policy review with a bold, inclusive and transformative vision

The Hungarian government proposed a Russia-style bill that would effectively ban our organisation, the Rights Reporter Foundation.

The new law, introduced by the ruling party on May 14, would blacklist NGOs that the government labels as “foreign agents,” prohibit them from accepting foreign funding, and make it impossible to raise domestic funds. This law threatens the very existence of 

, the project we have dedicated the past 20 years to — a project we have built our lives around. And it wouldn’t stop at NGOs: independent press organisations would also be targeted.

This is not only an existential threat to us and our families. It won’t just destroy the lives we’ve built — it’s 

In poker, “all in” means a player is betting all of their remaining chips on a single hand. This law sends a clear message to the EU from Hungary’s wannabe dictator: 

. I dare to risk everything. I challenge your authority. I challenge your values. Because I can.

We call on EU institutions, member states, donors, and the international community to stop this rampage and support Hungarian civil society in its fight for freedom.

 will survive. They will not silence us. Not only because our servers are hosted abroad, beyond their reach. Not only because we will continue our work from exile if necessary. But because we — the people behind 

We are not afraid. We will fight this madness. 

 was created six years before this regime came to power — and it will still be here long after the regime is gone.

Péter Sárosi and István Gábor Takács

Hungary: Drugreporter will not be silenced

Delivered at the 5th Brandenburg Forum in Geneva : “Expanding the Conversation on the Human Rights Implications of Drug Policy”

Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,
Colleagues,

It can stigmatize and isolate people, or it can help heal connections with others.

More and more, we see that it’s human connection and evidence-based approaches – not punishment – that transform and uplift the lives of people affected by drug use disorders.

Those same policies reinforce social bonds and create healthier, more resilient communities and societies.

I welcome the growing acknowledgement by States that discussions on drug policy must take into account States’ human rights obligations.

This forum is an important part of our efforts to exchange views and best practices, and demonstrate how human rights offer us a path towards a more humane and effective approach to drugs.

Distinguished participants, dear friends,

That new path is desperately needed, because the so-called war on drugs has failed. It has neither reduced drug use, nor the illicit drug trade, nor the production and consumption of a growing range and quantity of illicit substances.

Some 292 million people around the world used narcotic drugs in 2022 – the latest year for which we have figures. That represents a 20 per cent increase over a decade.

New, increasingly potent drugs are emerging in several high-income countries, resulting in an increase in overdose deaths.

Not only has the war on drugs failed; the militarization of drug control continues to lead to many unnecessary deaths, and to the excessive and disproportionate imprisonment of certain groups, including vulnerable people.

Some of those deaths are state-sponsored killings. Thirty-four countries still retain the death penalty for drug offenses, killing hundreds of people every year. More than 40 percent of state executions in 2023 were for offences related to drug offences. This proportion has also risen sharply over the past two years.

Punitive and militarized drug policies are also linked with corruption and illicit financial flows. The profits from drug trafficking may be used to finance violence, terrorism, and armed conflict.

Economies based on illicit drugs are also having a large and growing impact on our climate and environment, from water stress to deforestation and the dumping of toxic waste.

This forum’s focus on the negative impact of drug policy on economic, social and cultural rights is a very important one.

It is increasingly clear and documented that the war on drugs is harming public health, and people who use drugs are not getting the help they need. Though an estimated 64 million people worldwide suffer from drug use disorders, only one in 11 is in treatment.

Women are particularly affected. Only one in 18 women with drug use disorders is in treatment, compared to one in seven men.

Fear of arrest and widespread stigma have deterred people from seeking drug treatment, healthcare and support, including medical care for HIV/AIDS.

Homelessness is both a cause and consequence of drug use, and contributes to poor health among people who use drugs. Programmes such as Housing First that prioritise stable housing as the basis for recovery have proven their value in a number of countries. I encourage States to share their experiences and explore how such initiatives can be established and expanded.

Poorly designed drug policy also harms other human rights. In some countries, evidence of drug use or a criminal record for drug-related crimes can disqualify people from social benefits or restrict access to education or employment.

Blunt, punitive approaches have disproportionately affected some of the most marginalized communities, and perpetuated cycles of exclusion.

For example, States often overpolice Indigenous Peoples who cultivate drug crops to make a living.

The illicit drug economy also undermines the rights of people who are vulnerable to exploitation, including farmers, women, minorities, people of African descent and Indigenous Peoples. As States make efforts to curb the illicit drug trade, they must invest in viable and sustainable economic alternatives, in consultation with those affected. I welcome the recent resolution on alternative development by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs which supports this approach.

Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,

Looking forward, we must continue pursuing humane drug policies that advance all human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights.

This requires concerted action by all – primarily by States, but also civil society, and the United Nations system, among many others.

First, I encourage all States to integrate the International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy into their national laws and policies, including with regard to housing, employment, harm reduction and protecting marginalised communities.

I welcome the decision by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to prepare a new General Comment on States’ legal obligations around drug policy. This should provide important additional guidance.

Second, harm reduction measures, such as needle exchange programmes, safe consumption sites, and access to information and healthcare, are crucial. States need to tackle shame and stigma around treatment for drug use disorders, and remove legal and policy barriers to access these services. We must show that they save and improve lives, for people, communities and societies at large.

Third, decriminalising drug use – accompanied by harm reduction measures and support for social reintegration - is another key element. Criminalizing people with a drug use disorder deters them from seeking treatment and creates further stigma and isolation.

Fourth, there is an urgent need to abolish the death penalty for drug-related offences. Executing people for these offences does not comply with international human rights law, which specifies that the death penalty can only be imposed for the most serious crimes involving intentional killing. The United Nations, as a matter of policy, opposes the death penalty in all circumstances.

Fifth, responsible regulation should aim to take control of illegal drug markets, eliminate profits from illegal trafficking, criminality and violence, and protect the environment.

Sixth, it is essential to include those most affected by drug use disorders in all decisions, policies and laws. The Scottish Charter of Rights for People Affected by Substance Abuse is an example of a policy developed through a multistakeholder process, reflecting the unique needs of different groups, including people who use drugs. I hope it can serve as inspiration to other countries around the world.

My Office and I personally will continue to do everything in our power to ensure coherence across the United Nations system on this issue, which affects hundreds of millions of people around the world.

Together, with your support, we must - and will - keep human rights at the centre of global drug policy, as we work for dignity, justice and equality for all.

'We must continue pursuing humane drug policies that advance all human rights' - UN Human Rights Chief

Thirty-five years since the first International Harm Reduction Conference in Liverpool, United Kingdom, in April 2025 we as a global collective of front-line health workers, academics, advocates, policy-makers, politicians, UN representatives, people who use drugs, sex workers and people working in the criminal legal justice system, gathered in Bogota, Colombia to build momentum towards a more just, fair and rights-based drug policy architecture that protects lives and restores dignity for all. Over four days, we platformed thought leaders, amplified advocacy for change and shone a light on local innovations in harm reduction.

This year’s conference theme ‘Sowing Change to Harvest Justice’ draws inspiration from Colombia’s efforts to reform drug policy and from the region’s shift towards addressing drug-related issues through public health, social justice, and environmental sustainability. HR25 spotlighted the ways in which prohibitionist drug policies drive and are derived from racism, patriarchy and colonial control, whilst elevating Global South leadership and the decolonization of drug policy.

Colombia’s courage in speaking out against a drug policy system that engenders violence and harm has created a fracture in the once seemingly intractable prohibitionist agenda. This, along with its efforts coordinating a 

coalition of member states and civil society organizations that are pushing for a review of the international drug control regime

, has created the conditions for change. On 14th March 2025, Colombia and its allies secured the adoption of an unprecedented resolution at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), initiating the first ever independent external review of the international drug control system. The Independent Expert Panel is tasked with developing a set of recommendations to enhance treaty implementation and international obligations of relevance for drug policy. 

Delegates of HR25, and as part of a global community of harm reduction and drug policy reform advocates and practitioners and of communities most impacted by punitive drug policies:

We recognize this independent review as an historic opportunity to critically assess the impact of current drug policies, that have included devastation and destruction, on people, communities and ecology. Such an opportunity cannot be wasted or left to wither away.

The strong calls from the international community to actively listen to the Colombian experience with the war on drugs, need to be matched with clear commitments and funding for reform opportunities. We request that the Colombian government, in reaffirming its leadership, provide funding for the setup, establishment, and operation of the Independent Expert Panel. We strongly urge other member states to co-sponsor the Panel, which must be fully funded to succeed in its mandate.

We stress the importance of ensuring that the Independent Expert Panel is diverse, transparent, interdisciplinary and technically robust, and that it centres the voices and experiences of the most affected communities, serving as a turning point for global drug policy transformation.

We affirm our commitment, as communities, civil society, academics and researchers, to work productively with the Panel, as well as with member states and other relevant actors, to ensure that the review process is meaningful, transparent, substantive and powerful.

We reaffirm our commitment to fight for a rights- and evidence-based drug policy framework that is fair, equitable and just; for a system that empowers people whose lives include drugs and facilitates innovative harm reduction approaches that are people-centered, respect autonomy, are fit-for-purpose and free from morally driven prejudice and discrimination.

On behalf of HR25, we thank Colombia for its unwavering courage, its commitment to drug policy reform, and for hosting HR25. Let HR25 be a pivotal chapter where words are translated into action, and where we, all together, make the most of this historical, once in a lifetime opportunity to change the course of drug policy: from prohibition to liberation, from enacting harm to restoring justice, from generating destruction to empowerment and community-building.

The Harm Reduction International Conference has come to an end: what happens next?

In 2019, Andrea Siclari was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. Alongside medical treatments, he participated in a LSD-assisted therapy in Switzerland within a clinical trial programme to address his deep anxiety. Andrea’s experience showcases a scenario in which a patient suffering from one of the most commonly known terminal illnesses was able to greatly improve his outlook and quality of life through psychedelic-assisted therapy. LSD has shown great results as a potential treatment for common conditions such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, addiction, and existential distress at the end-of-life. But access remains out of reach for most Europeans. 

 to foster equitable, timely, affordable, safe, and legal access to innovative psychedelic-assisted therapies.

How LSD saved my mind - Andrea's healing story

Harm reduction has long been a cornerstone of European public health, minimising drug use risks like overdose deaths or preventing the spread of infectious diseases. These interventions have been instrumental in improving the health and wellbeing of people who use drugs (PWUD).

However, in the last few years, the financial sustainability of many harm reduction initiatives has been under serious threat. A growing funding crisis, driven by shifting political priorities and a 

 to drug policy within the European Union (EU), is threatening to dismantle decades of progress. 

This shifting landscape in harm reduction funding has hit at a critical time. Europe is facing an increasingly complex drug landscape, with hundreds of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) and synthetic opioids 

Speaking to TalkingDrugs, Alexei Lakhov, Executive Director of the 

European Network for People Who Use Drugs (EuroNPUD)

 highlighted that “this complexity often increases the demand for specialised harm reduction services”, further straining service providers.

European harm reduction has historically been financed through national health funds, international aid and EU-wide grants. Yet, a 

 from Harm Reduction International (HRI) into harm reduction funding has underscored how national and international donors have scaled back many of their financial commitments to harm reduction. European countries, particularly those classified as high or upper-middle income, are 

 for key international funding sources such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS. While understandable, this shift has left critical harm reduction programmes struggling with severe budget shortfalls.

Political shifts toward right-leaning governments across Europe have further amplified this crisis, as policymakers shift their focus to drug-related security concerns and supply side interventions over harm reduction. While the 

 continues to support harm reduction, national concerns around drug-related insecurity have prioritised law enforcement-based approaches, leaving many harm reduction services with reduced resources.

pioneer of European harm reduction since the 1970s

, is one of the many countries facing funding cuts that threaten its services’ stability. For over 35 years, 

 has played a key role in conducting research on harm reduction and providing updated information on drug trends and alerts to PWUD across the Netherlands through their 

. Now, however, they are facing serious cuts.

European harm reduction is facing a funding crisis

Between 24 February and 4 April 2025, the Human Rights Council held its 58th session. This briefing highlights key debates, decisions, and documents in which drug control and its impact on human rights were analysed and addressed.



BIENNIAL HIGH-LEVEL PANEL ON DEATH PENALTY


This high-level panel analysed the contribution of the judiciary to the advancement of human rights and the question of the death penalty. Providing examples of good practices, the panel explored how the judiciary has contributed to reducing the application of the death penalty and discussed how the Council and its mechanisms can support states to abide by their international human rights obligations regarding the death penalty.

There was consensus among the speakers about the incompatibility of the death penalty with human dignity and rights and about the key role that the judiciary can play in limiting the use of the death penalty as a key step towards abolition. In his opening remarks, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, expressed his concern over the surge in executions over the years, largely driven by drug offences, and urged states that have yet to adopt a moratorium on capital punishment to take decisive steps toward its full abolition. Türk also encouraged members of the judiciary to “redouble their efforts towards abolition of the death penalty in practice, by using their discretion to impose alternative sentences.”

Panellist Ramkarpal Singh (member of parliament and former Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department of Malaysia) provided insights into the 2023 legal reform that resorted to judicial discretion in death penalty cases, and the resentencing of people on death row (most of whom were convicted for drug offences). After the reviewing process, 860 out of 936 resentencing applications were approved, including all drug-related cases, with death sentences replaced by imprisonment and whipping.

The panel discussion was followed by an interactive dialogue. The majority of member states recognised the crucial role of the judiciary in upholding human rights and limiting the use of capital punishment. Delegations from Australia, Belgium (on behalf of the Death Penalty Core group), European Union, Iceland (on behalf of Nordic Baltic countries), Sierra Leone, among others, expressed their concern for the use of the death penalty in cases that do not meet the legal threshold of most serious crimes; including drug crimes. Malaysia reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring the implementation of safeguards in capital cases in line with human rights obligations.

Civil society made valuable contributions, including HRI, which emphasised that drug offences are driving executions globally and that drug policy reform is instrumental to achieving total abolition of the death penalty. HRI expressed concern over drug control laws restricting judicial discretion by prescribing mandatory death sentences or legal presumptions; and called for a coordinated international response to halt executions, promote moratoria on capital punishment for drug offenses, and protect civil society’s role in the reform.


58th Human Rights Council: Drug policy highlights

Legal amendments that make cannabis smokers 

 if a neighbour reports them and claims they can smell the drug, have infuriated two NGOs.

"The new cannabis amendments demonstrate a government that has lost all sense of direction and is now a hostage to the cannabinoid industry," ReLeaf Malta and Moviment Graffitti said in a statement on Sunday.

"The violation of privacy and anonymity reduces personal rights and gives fresh impetus to a culture of stigma against thousands of cannabis consumers and cultivators in Malta and Gozo," they added.

The new, stricter regulations against people who smoke and cultivate cannabis were approved by parliament earlier this month.

Malta: NGOs infuriated by new regulations on cannabis smoke that annoys neighbours

“I lost two children. They were shot dead. My family has never been the same.”

The story of Sarah Celiz, who lost her sons in extrajudicial killings (EJKs), resurfaced on the day the former president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested and detained at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague where he now awaits trial for crimes against humanity over his bloody anti-drug campaign.

Recalling how her sons, Almon and Dicklie, were gunned down six months apart in deadly crackdowns in their neighborhood in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City over seven years ago, Celiz broke down during a news conference.

When she tried to file a complaint, the police asked her for evidence.

“My evidence were the bodies of my sons. They were killed without due process,” Celiz declared.

“I want (Duterte’s) family to feel what we felt. I want them to feel the same way I feel about what happened to my sons,” she cried out.

Celiz and other family members of victims of drug war killings had kept vigil in shock and disbelief as they watched on TV and on their phones the arrest as Duterte was hauled off to a chartered plane by police escorts and flown out of the country he once ruled with an iron hand.

“I had tears of sadness because our loved ones are gone, and joy because Duterte is in the place where he belongs”, she said.

In the succeeding weeks, more families came out in the open, with tears of sadness and relief, to demand for accountability and justice for what they suffered during Duterte’s term from June 2016 to June 2022.

“My hope and that of the families of EJK victims is that we find justice so that we can move on with our lives,” Celiz said.

Duterte arrest inspires continuing drive for humane approach to anti-drug campaign

A French law is set to unleash invasive new police surveillance powers.

 Fuelled by absurd rhetoric, the government is proposing what has been dubbed “the worst surveillance law in the EU”. Experts warn that it will fail to achieve its aims. However, the broad scope of the law means the powers can be used against migrants, their supporters, and to crack down on dissent. As official reports have made clear, dealing with drug use and trafficking requires long-term, low-tech policies – not high-tech police surveillance powers.

The French government is stepping up its war on drugs, combining absurd rhetoric (with smoking a joint compared to shooting a child in the head) and new legislation.

This repressive approach is similar to that favoured in many other countries around the world, where it has also failed to reduce drug trafficking or use.

The French government’s proposal includes some particularly invasive surveillance measures, including:

remote activation of phones by the police; and

mass surveillance of internet and telecoms traffic.

The broad scope of the law means these powers can also be used against irregular migrants, those providing them with aid or support, and political dissidents.

There may soon be similar measures proposed at European level, as part of the EU’s new internal security strategy.

In 2014, the French government warned that the country was at a “tipping point” and called for the fight against drug trafficking to become “a national cause”. The government’s latest plan to address the problem has two components. First, try to shock the public. Second, pass new legislation on ‘narcotraffic’.

This attempt to shock people has led to a stream of ridiculous statements from officials. If there is a competition amongst them, then Bruno Retailleau, the interior minister, is the clear winner. He has warned that smoking a joint is akin to “two bullets in the head of a five-year-old kid; this is a youth who has been stabbed 50 times with a knife and burned alive.”

Over the years, there has been an undeniable rise in violence. A book published last year looked at the phenomenon of young “shooters” – children and young adults who become involved in gun violence. The authors argued that young shooters were similar to 

, Mexico’s notorious killers for hire. The parallel between France and the world’s most violent country for drug trafficking quickly spread. Retailleau, the interior minister (yes, him again), claimed there had been a “Mexicanisation” of France.

The comparison is absurd. Mexico holds the record for disappearances and deaths related to the war on drugs. Amnesty International, citing Mexican government data, says that some 30 people disappear every day in the country. This equates to more than one person every hour, and a total of almost 11,000 people annually. In France, there were 110 deaths linked to drug trafficking in 2024, according to interior ministry data.

France is just one of many countries taking an ever-more repressive approach to drugs. 

, a global network of over 190 NGOs that promotes person-centred, rights-affirming drug policies at the national, regional and international levels, told 

“The reality that we see across the globe is that repressive measures have comprehensively failed to suppress the drug trade and have instead led to the drastic erosion of fundamental rights. This move in France is unfortunately no exception.”

These quick fixes get their proponents headlines in the press, but they provide few positive long-term results. The French Court of Auditors recently warned that the entire system of youth assistance is screaming for survival. It requires long-term human and financial investment. Instead, resources are directed elsewhere.

A government report on limiting children’s involvement in drug trafficking proposed a number of potential solutions to the problem. They include proposals for better follow-up from local services in providing care, and improved social services for the youth and their families. They do not include proposals to give the police military-grade surveillance powers. That, however, is precisely what is happening.

News