Bree Cassell first injected heroin when she was 15 years old. Despite wanting to do so, she was so scared of the needle that it took two men to hold her thrashing body down, and a third to inject the drug into her vein.

Now 26, Cassell frequents a syringe exchange program in Wilmington, North Carolina, for sterile injection equipment, overdose prevention supplies, and friendly faces.

The small exchange—just a whitewashed room in an aging strip mall—doesn’t boast much. But the two women who run the exchange, Becca Lilly and Bernadette Calicchio, have done their best to make it welcoming and comfortable to people who seek refuge there.

Bright Christmas lights deck the walls and old tables are draped in cheerfully-patterned cloths. The exchange offers free clothing, food and toiletries. On one desk a collection of greeting cards is marked, “Write a card to someone you love. We’ll provide the stamp and mail it.”

In late April I visited the exchange for its inaugural Women’s Day, a Friday afternoon where only women could visit the program. The ladies had decked a long table with snacks and party favors, wrapped in pink crepe paper, to welcome their guests.

While we waited for people to show up, I sat down with Cassell and Lilly to learn about their experiences with drug use. Both were introduced to IV heroin, at 15 and 16 years old respectively, by male friends. Both have engaged in sex work to buy drugs at the request of male partners. Both have experienced the difficulty of finding affordable drug treatment programs for women.

Women who use drugs: Challenges demand self-led harm reduction

GENEVA (17 May 2019) — The ten United Nations human rights treaties are legally binding treaties, adopted by the UN General Assembly and ratified by States. Each Treaty establishes a treaty body (or Committee) comprising elected independent experts who seek to ensure that States parties fulfil their legal obligations under the Conventions. This system of independent scrutiny of the conduct of States by independent experts is a key element of the United Nations human rights system, supported by secretariats in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In April this year, the Chairpersons of all 10 treaty bodies* were informed that six of them are very likely to have sessions in 2019 cancelled for financial reasons – an unprecedented consequence of some UN member States delaying payments due to the organisation.

This means that reviews already scheduled with States, as well as consideration of complaints by individual victims of serious human rights violations - including torture, extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances – will not take place as scheduled. The cancellation of sessions will also have numerous other negative consequences, and will seriously undermine the system of protections which States themselves have put in place over decades.

The Chairpersons of the ten Committees are deeply concerned about the practical consequences of cancelling these sessions and have sent a letter to the UN Secretary General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, requesting that they, together with Member States, find ways of addressing this situation, as a matter of urgency.

UN budget shortfalls seriously undermine the work of the Human Rights Treaty bodies

A leading Dutch harm reduction organisation, Mainline, launched a crowdfunding campaign (https://www.voordekunst.nl/projecten/8383) to open the first ever museum dedicated to drugs. Read our interview with Machteld Busz, the director of Mainline – and support their cause!

When and why did you decide to create the first museum dedicated to drugs and the people who use them?

Machteld Busz: About two years ago, and we started getting serious in developing the plan about one and a half years ago. Poppi: Drugs Museum Amsterdam is set up as a social enterprise. We want to educate the general public about drugs, drug dependency, drug policies, and drug culture. Secondly, we hope to make profits and return those to our foundation. And third we would love to employ people who use drugs at some point in the future. First things first however; we need to get some funds together to get us off to a flying start.

In the promotional leaflet you promise to “blow our minds” with psychedelic artwork and ancient artefacts. Can you talk a bit more about the preparation of the exhibition? How did you collect artefacts and who were the artists you worked with?

We started collecting drug-related art alongside our ‘normal’ harm reduction work. We rely heavily on friends from the field who share a passion and donated or lent art. Now that we have decided to start a museum we can start a more comprehensive and serious collection. We will start the museum ‘lean’, with a series of exhibitions, events, and art-shows. We want to gradually ‘fill’ the eventual museum. In doing so, we want to combine new technology such as virtual reality, or ‘immersive art’ in the form of a situation room, with science and more traditional art to engage people on a deeper level. That would be the ‘blow your mind’ part!

Poppi: Drugs Museum Amsterdam – Interview with Machteld Busz

By Pien Metaal, Constanza Sánchez, Natalia Rebollo

How to reconcile migrant communities’ right to the enjoyment of cultural life (including the use of traditional plants) with international drug control obligations.

For the past several years, Fundación ICEERS, with the support of allied organisations such as the Transnational Institute (TNI), has been assisting in the legal defense of people with a migrant background who are prosecuted in Spain (or other European countries) for the possession or importation of coca leaf for the purposes of traditional use. These people originate from countries with a legal framework allowing for licit traditional use of coca leaf, such as Colombia, Bolivia, Peru and Argentina. These cases have had different outcomes and, when people have been convicted, sentencing has not been uniform. In this sense, communities have struggled to exercise their basic rights to enjoy their own culture, illustrating new challenges for human rights and drug control. These challenges need to be met within the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a new reference for UN drug control mechanisms and the global drug policy debate at large.

Almost two years ago ICEERS celebrated the positive result of a court case related to coca leaf in Girona, Spain. After three years of uncertainty, the Public Prosecutor decided during trial to withdraw the charges of drug trafficking against a Colombian citizen residing in Catalonia for receiving by mail a 2 kilogram package of ground coca leaf. Although the withdrawal of charges against the accused, who had been charged with a crime against public health, was very welcome news to the person involved, to his family and friends, and to drug policy reformers, the prosecutor’s decision to withdraw charges, unlike an acquittal or a decision by the judge to reject the charges, does not result in any formal legal precedent which could be relied upon by others accused under similar circumstances.

Last November we also learned about the latest court decision from a case related to coca leaf possession in Spain, in which we had worked closely with the defense team for over two years. This case relates to the broader issue of traditional use of this plant, beyond its local native contexts, and how migrants from the Andean Amazon region are deprived of a legitimate cultural practice, which is embedded in the places from which they come.

Coca: Migrants and traditional Use

It was almost dawn. My phone was ringing over and over, but it was the loud banging at the door that woke me up. It was my mother. She had come to tell me that my 19-year-old daughter was dead from a drug overdose.

It was hard to process those words in that moment. My initial despair and grief shifted to rage. I wanted the person who gave my daughter the drugs to pay. It didn’t matter if it was her boyfriend or friends—I wanted to hurt and punish that person.

I had these feelings despite knowing that that person who gave my daughter the heroin that was most likely contaminated with fentanyl—the synthetic opioid that is up to 100 times stronger than morphine—was not responsible for my daughter’s death.

As a person who uses drugs, I know that no one person is to blame. What is responsible for the hundreds of thousands of deaths from drug overdose is a broken drug policy, a system that prioritizes punishment over treatment, and a culture of prohibition that leads us to use drugs alone and in shame.

Indeed, while the nation continues to double down on tough approaches to deal with the overdose crisis, fentanyl will continue to poison the U.S. drug supply, and people will continue to die. More than 70,000 people died of drug overdose in 2017 in the United States—a record. And as law enforcement becomes more intense, the potency of prohibited substances increases.

These punitive approaches and the harm they cause are no more apparent than in drug-induced homicide laws, which make it a crime to give drugs that result in a death. While originally designed to target cartel dealers, they are overwhelmingly used to prosecute friends and loved ones of an individual who has lost their life due to an overdose.

Reframing the blame for the war on drugs

By Michel Kazatchkine and Mary Chinery-Hesse

Over the past three decades, European governments have been moving to protect people who use drugs from drug-related health harms.

Drug use has been recognised as a public health concern, and needle and syringe programmes, safe injection facilities, and drug checking, combined with a wide range of treatment options, have been set up throughout Europe.

Furthermore, ceasing to see people who use drugs as criminal offenders has led many countries in Europe towards de jure or de facto decriminalisation of drug use and possession for personal use.

In Portugal, consumers may be actively directed to these facilities by the police or social services.

These measures have contributed to easing the problems related to open drug markets and other public safety issues and contributed to decreasing the stigma and discrimination associated with drug use.

A fundamental contradiction in EU drug policy

Newly appointed Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola said he was frustrated at how the justice system failed to deal with drug dealers.

Lamola said one of his priorities will be to make sure drug dealers and abusers are prosecuted to clean the streets.

Lamola, who was sworn in as the youngest member of President Cyril Ramaphosa's Cabinet on Thursday, said he wants a drug-free country.

“How do you ensure that people who have been arrested for drug use get prosecuted and [that] is done in a process that enables our justice system to clean the streets of South Africa. That is my key issue at the moment.”

South African Justice Minister, Ronald Lamola, to go after drug dealers, users

From 2014 to 2017, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation conducted 16,000 interviews and assigned 50 researchers to develop the third national survey on drug use by the Brazillian population.

Given its scope, the study was expensive: R$7 million (US$1.75m), paid for by the government, which has now shelved the research, preventing Fiocruz from disclosing it.

Prohibition of its publication was met by surprise from the scientific community. For researchers and specialists in the field, the study has been shelved because it does not confirm the existence of a drug epidemic in the country, as Osmar Terra, the Minister of Citizenship, often proclaims exists.

Senad officially claims that the survey has not been released because Fiocruz failed to comply with the requirements of the public bid procedure. On the other hand. the minister se,s to confirm what experts suspect by attacking the institution and claiming that the survey does not corroborate what is seen "on the streets"

Brazilian minister disagrees with results of drug survey, shelves report and attacks researchers

Starting Salary: £21,744 to £27,422, depending on experience

The International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) is a global network of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that aims to promote objective and open debate on the effectiveness, direction and content of drug policies at the national, regional and international levels. We have over 180 member organisations worldwide, and the IDPC secretariat is based in London and Bangkok.

We are looking to appoint a Team Assistant to contribute to the smooth running of our secretariat operations based in London, and to provide essential administrative and accounting support to a small but dynamic and busy team.

The successful candidate will have proven administrative and accounting experience, and must be highly motivated, flexible, and capable of working both independently and as part of a team. Previous experience and/or interest in health, human rights or drug policy is not essential, but the successful candidate will possess a willingness to combine administrative work with tasks that require more autonomy. Excellent English communication skills are essential, as are IT skills, and experience with financial administration. Competency in other languages is desirable (especially Spanish and/or French), as is previous experience working with Xero. Experience of working for an NGO is also desirable.

The successful candidate will join our highly motivated team, and must be a team player with excellent interpersonal skills. This position is based full time in London, and applicants must have the right to live and work in the United Kingdom.

If you wish to apply for this post, please complete the application form (below) and send it to Sam Singh, ssingh@idpc.net, before 11pm (UK time) on Thursday 6th June 2019.

Shortlisted candidates will need to be available for interviews on the 13th, 14th, 17th or 18th June in London. We regret that we cannot respond directly to unsuccessful applicants.

IDPC recruits new Team Assistant

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

Principles of justice and human rights in the Philippines have been deeply eroded by President Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called drug war, but a group of human rights defenders are intent on changing that.

Speaking at the Harm Reduction International Conference (HR19) in Porto, Filipina human rights activist Kristine Montenegro Mendoza warned that her country’s “war on drugs has unravelled into anything but a war on illegal substances”. Instead, she said, it has become a vessel for the authoritarian Duterte to usurp powers from the country’s fragile political and judicial institutions, and has provided a cover for state actors to commit extrajudicial killings with impunity.

“[Duterte has created a] long-term, institutionalised, and well-funded pseudo-war which centralised all governmental powers into one strongman who – through effective social control – was able to damage our democratic principles, such as checks and balances, accountability and transparency, the civilian nature of our police force, the independence of the judiciary, the rule of law, and respect for human rights”, she decried.

Fortunately for the people bearing the brunt of the drug war, Mendoza and her colleagues refused to sit back as Filipinos’ hard-won rights and principles were being stripped away.

Mendoza is a founding member of StreetLawPH, an organisation of lawyers and advocates working to improve access to justice and human rights. The group was founded in the wake of Duterte’s brutal crackdown on people allegedly involved with drugs, which has led to – on average – 33 people being killed in the country 

 since Duterte’s sweeping electoral victory in June 2016.

As of February 2019, at least 5,176 people have been killed during police anti-narcotic operations, while at least 29,000 homicide cases are – according to police – “under investigation”. Victims’ families have little faith in their murders being solved as police officers are widely suspected to be involved in many of these brutal crimes.

While StreetLawPH does not have the power to change the law, it can support some of the people most at-risk of being victimised by the state. The organisation conducts legal literacy training so that people who use drugs (PWUD) know their rights and can act as paralegals. StreetLawPH is also beginning to provide direct legal services for strategic litigation that Mendoza hopes will allow for effective advocacy for drug policy reform at the legislative level.

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