The Justice and Home Affairs Council has adopted today Council conclusions on alternatives to coercive sanctions for drug using offenders.

This agreement represents the political will of the 28 EU Member States to apply, in each legal system, alternative measures to coercive sanctions in order to: prevent crime; reduce recidivism; enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the criminal justice system and look at reducing health-related harms and minimising social risks.

Alternative measures can include: education; suspension of investigation or prosecution; suspension of sentence with treatment; rehabilitation and recovery, aftercare and social reintegration.

This initiative, started under the Maltese Presidency in 2017, was promoted by the Estonian Presidency and concluded under the current Bulgarian Presidency of the Council. It responds to Action 22 of the EU Action Plan on Drugs 2017–2020 which requests Member States and working parties of the Council to provide and apply alternatives to coercive sanctions for drug using offenders (where appropriate, and in accordance with their legal frameworks). The Action Plan also requests concerned parties to increase monitoring, implementation and evaluation of alternatives to coercive sanctions.

This political agreement calls on the EU Member States to: implement effectively alternative measures and monitor and evaluate their implementation; develop and share best practice in the field; and raise awareness (e.g. through training among national policy makers, law enforcement, criminal justice, public health, social and education professionals and persons providing support to drug-using offenders).

The text: ‘Invites the EMCDDA to continue to monitor the measures and to exchange information and best practices on implementation, development of these measures, their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness’. It also: ‘Invites the European Commission ‘to support this work’.

European Council adopts conclusions on alternatives to coercive sanctions for drug using offenders 

Social workers operating in Sydney’s inner city public housing estates have slammed a new policy that denies homes to those with a history of serious drug offences, saying it sets a “troubling precedent” that further marginalises people trying to leave their past behind them.

The New South Wales government announced this week it would bar anyone either recently charged or convicted of drug supply or drug manufacture offences from accessing public housing in Sydney’s inner suburbs.

Letters were sent to staff and clients at the Community Restorative Centre, the city’s largest non-government organisation working with recently released prisoners, warning them of impending criminal checks for those on public housing waiting lists in Glebe, Waterloo, Redfern and Surry Hills.

The government says public housing towers in the suburbs have become unsafe, and the policy is designed to crackdown on drug-related harm.

But Community Restorative Centre program director, Mindy Sotiri, said the policy does nothing but shift the problem elsewhere, without addressing the complex root causes that drive drug offending.

Sotiri’s organisation works with former prisoners with complex backgrounds before and after release, helping them to reintegrate, rebuild their lives, and avoid further offending.

She said she was stunned to see the letter last week.

It was “clearly discriminatory”, she said, and would disproportionately affect Indigenous Australians, who make up 25% of all people released from prison in this area.

Sotiri fears the policy sets a dangerous precedent of further punishing and marginalising people already dealt with by the courts.

“The key thing for me is that this is a really troubling precedent that extends punishment beyond the judicial system, which really has not worked anywhere,” Sotiri told Guardian Australia.

Banning drug offenders from accessing public housing sets 'troubling precedent'

The International Network of People who use Drugs, along with 188 drug user organisations and working at the national, regional and international level on issues related to drug use, drug treatment, harm reduction and drug policies urge the WHO and the UNODC to revise their guidelines on International Standards for the Treatment of Drug Use Disorders. In brief:

The paper contains many assertions not supported evidentiarily or cited.

The phrase ‘harm reduction’ is entirely missing from the document.

The paper contains crude generalisations and many stigmatising and pathologising assertions.

Notably, the paper contains numerous implications that people who use drugs and have drug dependencies are dangerous; cannot exercise agency and self-determination; are sick; are unreliable; are bad family members; are bad employees. Needless to say, such crude generalisations are deeply stigmatising and offensive, not to mention unempirical.

The paper fails to identify criminalisation and prohibition as being responsible for driving much drug related harm and harm associated with drug dependency; instead, it myopically asserts that because drugs are harmful, they are criminalised, without noting that it is due to the fact that they are criminalised that they are so harmful.

The paper’s active promotion Naltrexone is very concerning, given its lack of evidentiary support: Naltrexone is promoted in the document as of equal value to interventions that are (in contrast to Naltrexone) empirically justified and greatly beneficial; this is arguably used to eclipse interventions with proven efficacy, such as methadone, buprenorphine, and diamorphine/morphine prescribing, due to the document’s clear advocation of abstinence-based recovery.

The guidelines in their current form are not aligned with current UN guidance on harm reduction, nor grounded in evidence. We are concerned that the treatment guidelines in their current state will promote stigma and discrimination against people who use drugs. We call on the WHO and the UNODC to postpone the release or future dissemination of the document until these shortcomings are appropriately addressed. For the full open letter, follow the below link...

Call for WHO & UNODC to revise guidelines on International Standards for the Treatment of Drug Use Disorders

By Dania Putri, of The Transnational Institute.

In Myanmar’s Kachin State, a women’s drop-in centre has transformed into more than just a harm reduction facility. Leading up to International Women’s Day, we spoke with Thinzar Tun (AHRN Myanmar) about what makes this centre special.

For decades, the war on drugs has negatively impacted millions of lives. It has led to damaging forms of marginalisation, alarming rates of incarceration, and a wide array of ‘unintended consequences’ of drug control policies, from corruption and injustice to violence in illicit markets. In most parts of the world, for reasons related to broader gender inequality, women are disproportionately affected by these policy impacts at varying levels. It is only recently that this issue has begun to receive particular attention within the world of drug policy activism.

The more we dig in, the more we learn about - and are sometimes enraged by – the various harsh repercussions of drug control policies on the lives of both men and women worldwide. Nevertheless, as thousands have been empowered by the blossoming of the #MeToo movement, it is important to acknowledge that change is possible, and that concrete efforts can lead to progress that is worth celebrating.

Women and drugs in Myanmar: Beyond harm reduction

Since my last update to this Council I have conducted missions to Libya, Peru, Uruguay, El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji. Recognising that not all States will accept a visit, I express my deep appreciation for these invitations, which demonstrate commendable openness to discussing human rights issues. In my statement to the Council in June, I will be addressing the issue of refusals of access to international human rights mechanisms, and to my Office. In every instance, I encourage the concerned States to embark on deeper dialogue and cooperation with my Office and the human rights mechanisms. Before I begin what will sadly prove to be a very long list of human rights violations and abuses, I would like to highlight a sample of advances which are underway in several countries.

In the Philippines, following the International Criminal Court’s announcement of plans to open an investigation, the authorities announced their willingness to work with the UN on drug-related challenges. I deplore the President Duterte’s statement last week to élite police units that they should not cooperate “when it comes to human rights, or whoever rapporteur it is” and the continued vilification of this Council’s Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial killings by the authorities. The Government has a duty to uphold human rights and to engage with persons appointed by this Council. I am concerned by deepening repression and increasing threats to individuals and groups with independent or dissenting views, including opposition Senators, current and former public officials, the Commission on Human Rights, human rights defenders and journalists. Several cases for impeachment or dismissal have been launched against members of the Supreme Court, the Office of the Ombudsman and other institutions representing democratic safeguards. Senator de Lima has now been arbitrarily detained for over a year, without clear charges. This authoritarian approach to governance threatens to irreparably damage 30 years of commendable efforts by the Philippines to strengthen the rule of law and respect for the human rights of the people. I further deplore President Duterte's encouragement to troops to violate fundamental rules of international humanitarian law, including his statement that they should shoot women fighters in their genitals because this would render them "useless".

More broadly, I urge all States to examine the effectiveness and human rights impact of their current approaches to the so-called “War on Drugs”. I urge more comprehensive implementation of the Outcome Document of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem of 2016, including its 15 operational recommendations on human rights and related issues. The cross-cutting UNGASS 2016 approach constitutes a new and better linkage of the objective of drug-control – protection of the health and welfare of humanity – with the key priorities of the UN system, including the SDGs. I encourage the continuation of this structure for future UN drug policy debates. In this context, I note and commend the International Narcotics Control Board's recent call to all States to implement international drug control conventions in accordance with their commitments to human rights treaties and the rule of law.

High Commissioner's global update of human rights concerns

The Social Democratic Party (PSD), the largest party in the Portuguese Parliament, has endorsed the legal regulation of cannabis. TalkingDrugs spoke with the MP behind the motion.

The PSD holds more parliamentary seats than any other party, but remains in opposition due to the ruling Socialist Party’s alliance with several smaller left-wing parties. At the PSD’s national conference on February 17, a majority of party members voted in favour of a motion for legally regulating the drug “from production to distribution to sale”. As TalkingDrugs reported in February, the motion was put forward by former MP Dr André Almeida and Dr Ricardo Baptista Leite, a current MP and member of the parliamentary Health Committee.

Supporting the legal regulation of cannabis for non-medical purposes is a relatively fringe stance in European politics; there is, as yet, no country in the continent which has legalised the commercial production and sale of the drug. Baptista Leite told TalkingDrugs that he was initially uncertain about supporting legalisation due to the drug’s potential risks, but then came to believe that legal regulation was necessary 

Portugal’s largest political party endorses cannabis legalisation

In response to the opioid crisis, Canada has been rapidly opening supervised injection sites, safe spaces allowing for injection drug users to consume narcotics like heroin under medical supervision.

But ARCHES, a recently opened facility in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada comes with a twist—it's the first supervised 

site in North America, allowing drug users to combust and inhale narcotics, such as meth or crack cocaine, under the supervision of trained medical staff.

On the surface, supervised consumption sites (SCS) sound more harmful than helpful: we're letting people use dangerous, addictive drugs? What the…?

But these sites have existed around the globe for at least three decades, with more than 100 facilities in more than 66 cities. The research on them shows that they greatly reduce the spread of disease such as HIV and hepatitis C, prevent fatal overdose and connect drug users with addiction treatment and health services. Many link people with job training, counseling or housing services.

In other words, consumption sites are an important harm reduction strategy in the fight against the overdose crisis. Bottom line: they save lives.

First supervised inhalation site opens in North America

The Civil Society Forum on Drugs, an expert group of the EU Commission, is urging the Commission to provide adequate funding and staff to drug coordination and support demand and harm reduction interventions.

The European Commission is preparing the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) to define budget priorities for the post-2020 period. There are many concerned civil society voices warning us that EU decision makers would like to deprioritise social and health programs while there is a growing focus on security, border control and migration issues. Drug policy is a multidisciplinary field that has strong connections to both security and health policies – and its health and social elements are often left out of consideration. The drugs unit of the European Commission, that coordinates work in this area, has been renamed the Organised Crime and Drugs Policy Unit and is seriously underfunded and understaffed. This is a significant obstacle to the strengthening of coordination efforts in the implementation of the European Union Drug Strategy and the newly adopted Action Plan for 2017-2020, an example of pragmatism, humanism, and evidence-based policies unique in the world.

The Civil Society Forum on Drugs (CSFD), an expert group of the European Commission, has sent a letter to the Commission recommending to strengthen drug coordination in the administrative structure of the European Commission, by providing adequate funding and staff to this issue. We also urge the Commission to prioritise social and public health interventions to reduce drug demand and drug-related harms in the new MFF. You can read the text of the letter below.

Civil society recommends the EU to strengthen drug coordination

Stigma experienced by people who use drugs prevents many from seeking help and support, making it extremely difficult for people to move beyond their addiction and pushing them into further isolation and danger, according to research underpinning Ireland’s first campaign to address drug related stigma.

This Citywide campaign aims to break down stigma, to shift attitudes and to move towards a situation where people who use drugs are treated with respect and dignity.

Stop the stigma campaign launched

Legislators in Greece have approved a bill to regulate medical cannabis cultivation and distribution.

On March 1, lawmakers voted in favour of the bill, which will allow licensed businesses to cultivate and process cannabis for medical purposes. Land for cultivation must be at least 4,000 square metres in size and secured by fencing. The legislation also stipulates that the processing of the cannabis must take place within the same grounds that it is grown, to avoid extra transportation of the drug, according to state-run broadcaster ERT. Once regulations are in place, people prescribed medical cannabis will be able to buy the drug from licensed pharmacies.

The new regulations have been developed by policymakers over recent months, following a ministerial decision in July 2017 to legalise the drug for medical purposes. At the time, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras stated that “from now on, the country is turning its page, as Greece is now included in countries where the delivery of medical cannabis to patients in need is legal”.

Greek parliament passes bill to regulate medical cannabis production

Anyone’s Child campaign gives a voice to families who have been impacted by drug policy. This time to Lugard from Kenya. Watch the short film produced by a member of the Drugreporter video network!

This week, a new film is launched demonstrating the human face of the impact of prohibitionist drug policies in Kenya. Lugard Abila has worked in harm reduction for years and lost a drug using friend to a ‘mob justice’ attack in Kenya. ‘Mob justice’ is just one example of the effects of the stigma prohibition creates around drug use and users.

When Lugard came aross the Anyone’s Child campaign, which gives a voice to families who have been impacted by drug policy, he realised the message applied in equal measure to Kenya. Lugard joins the ranks of people refusing to be shamed into silence around drug policy and determined to stand up for the human rights of people who use drugs and their families. In this short film, he shares some of his story.

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