Imagine you have a chronic illness. After exhausting all resources, and failing all available treatments, you participate in a clinical trial of a new treatment. And, success—the treatment works. Your energy is back, you hold a steady job, your relationships improve, you feel strong and happy.

Then, the clinical trial ends. Despite international research ethics that state you should be allowed to continue on clinical trial medicines and other treatments if they work, your right to this medicine is denied.

With the support of Pivot Legal Society, five Canadian patients faced with this problem—Deborah Bartosch, Charles English, Douglas Lidstrom, Larry Love, and David Murray—are suing their federal government on behalf of all Canadians who could benefit from this treatment.

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

Heroin-assisted treatment works. Why is Canada denying it to patients? 

We, the undersigned human rights organizations, address you on this Fourth Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Public Security (MISPA) to follow up on the call upon governments to revise the orientation of drug policies that are being implemented in the Americas. This request for the governments took place during the 43rd Session of the OAS General Assembly which took place last June.

This meeting of Ministers should continue to reaffirm the commitments made by the States' parties to the Declaration of Antigua Guatemala ‘For a Comprehensive Policy against the World Drug Problem in the Americas.’ We insist on the importance of resuming the dialogue that began in Antigua and on renewing the joint efforts by the States regarding drug policies, while emphasizing that these policies should contain human rights protections and violence reduction as central elements.

We understand that it is essential that ministers responsible for public security in the Americas are engaged in this dialogue, at this 4th MISPA as well as in any space generated within its context. Their active participation becomes relevant in the current regional scenario, marked by prohibitionist policies and the war on drugs, which have focused the debate about drugs and security issues. In our region, the structure and organization of the criminal networks that control the illegal drugs market have penetrated and corrupted governmental institutions, including the police forces, undermining their capacity to provide security to the communities. For this reason, we believe it is necessary to start discussing changes in the States’ response to this problem, by providing security in relation to organized crime, and by strengthening the offer of health policies regarding prevention and treatment of those persons suffering from a problematic use of substances, either legal or illegal, while establishing a criminal policy that can reduce the high impact of drug policies on penitentiary systems.

The undersigned organizations urge the governments to deepen the dialogue and agree on a work agenda, which should discuss and define actions taken to reduce the negative impact of drug policies on human rights, including, but not limited to:

Implementation of policies aimed at reducing violence. The efforts made toward establishing the law have been traditionally focused on reducing the scale or the size of the illegal drugs’ market, paying little attention to the way these policies could increase—or reduce—violence. The tens of thousands of people murdered in Mexico in recent years have clearly shown such damage. Ultimately, the aim should be to minimize the harm caused in the communities by violence in connection to drug-trafficking, control over territories, arms trafficking, and human trafficking, as well as the drug policies themselves that are being implemented.



Revision of the proportionality of the penalties imposed for drug-related crimes, differentiated according to their gravity, the use of violence, and the level of responsibility of the offenders in the criminal structures. The law prescribing penalties for drug-related crimes should be reformed, enabling alternatives to prison in the case of non-violent crimes, particularly in those committed by persons in vulnerable situations, such as women in the region.

Incorporation of a gendered perspective which allows the identification and tackling of the differential impact that the drugs’ problems have on women’s lives. The criminal policies focused exclusively on trade and trafficking crimes, as well as on the prosecution of users, have stricken persons in more vulnerable situations due to poverty, marginalization, migration, and others. At the same time, the impact has clearly differentiated between sexes, the impact being greater on women. The poorest, most marginalized populations and women face the failure of this approach. Without a doubt, this has contributed to overincarceration and violence in prisons, and a rise in the number of women deprived of their liberty. In spite of them being minor links in the drug chain, the ‘mules’ (individual carriers) or micro-traffickers are the ones who populate prisons, many times accompanied by their young sons and daughters.

Decriminalization of consumption, drug possession and cultivation for personal use. Criminalization of drug users intensifies their exclusion and stigmatization. Minority groups and impoverished people are especially affected by this, since they are usually the main target of law enforcement interventions. Governments should consider the possibility of adopting decriminalization as an alternative response to criminalization of drug users, by offering health policies for problematic consumers within the framework of the public health system, so that they are not stigmatized. This implies separating drug use from the criminal and security fields; only a clear division between drug users and the illegal market will allow the efforts of security agencies to focus on their real target. All these actions, apart from complying with principles respectful of human rights, would help reduce incarceration rates, by eliminating criminal behavior connected to drugs. Prison overcrowding is one of the main causes of human rights violations in the region, strongly impacting the families of detainees and their living conditions.

Revising the use of armed forces in anti-drug operations. Militarization, a pillar in "The War On Drugs," has proven to be ineffective and counterproductive: corruption, insecurity, and violence rates have increased in those territories in which the armed forces have intervened, and they have become another factor which contributes to the escalating use of force and weapons. This has not only done little to solve the offer issue, but it has also had a negative impact on the respect for human rights, resulting in the militarization of public security, the deprofessionalization of the armed forces, and a blurring of the borderline between security and defense.

For all of the above, the undersigned organizations call on the ministers responsible for public security in the Americas to resume the dialogue that began in Antigua and to go on with the agreed activities, looking for alternatives to the militarized and heavy-handed policies which have increased the levels of violence in the region without achieving the desired results. We urge the governments to include civil society participation in this dialogue, as well as to reaffirm their commitments in order to put human rights at the center of the debate.

. +Info - Riesgo, El Salvador
2. Acción técnica Social- ATS, Colombia
3. American Civil Liberties Union- ACLU, Estados Unidos
4. Asamblea Permanente por los Derechos Humanos- APDH, Argentina
5. Asistencia Legal por los Derechos Humanos A.C., Mexico
6. Asociación Costarricense para el Estudio e Intervención en Drogas- ACEID, Costa Rica
7. Asociación de Estudios del Cannabis del Uruguay- AECU , Uruguay
8. Asociación Pensamiento Penal- APP, Argentina
9. Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos, Perú
10. Asuntos del Sur , Chile
11. Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, Canadá
12. Centro Cáritas de Formación para la Atención de las Farmacodependencias y Situaciones
Críticas Asociadas A.C , México
13. Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustín- Prodh, Mexico
14. Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales- CELS, Argentina
15. Colectivo de Estudios Drogas y Derecho- CEDD
16. Centro de Investigación Drogas y Derechos Humanos- CIDDH, Perú
17. Colectivo por una Política Integral Hacia las Drogas AC- CUPIHD, Mexico.
18. Colegio Médico de Chile, Chile
19. Comisión de Justicia y Paz, Colombia
20. Comisión Ecuménica de Derechos Humanos (CEDHU) de Ecuador
21. Comisión Provincial por la Memoria, Buenos Aires, Argentina
22. Conectas direitos humanos
23. Conselho Regional de Psicologia de São Paulo, Brasil
24. Consorcio Internacional sobre Políticas de Drogas- IDPC
25. Corporación Humanas- Centro regional de derechos humanos y justicia de
género
26. Dejusticia- Centro de Estudios de Derecho, Justicia y Sociedad, Colombia
27. Drug Policy Alliance - DPA, Estados Unidos de Norteamérica.
28. Espolea A.C., México
29. Equipo Latinoamericano de Justicia y Género- ELA, Argentina
30. Estudios Comparados en Ciencias Penales de Guatemala -ICCPG, Guatemala
31. Frente Estadual de Drogas e Direitos Humanos do Rio de Janeiro- FEDDH-RJ, Brasil
32. Fundación de Estudios para la Aplicación del Derecho- FESPAD, El Salvador.
33. Fundación Myrna Mack, Guatemala
34. Fundar, Centro de Análisis e Investigación, AC.
35. Harm Reduction Coalition- HRC, Estados Unidos de Norte America
36. Iglesia Evangélica Protestante de El Salvador
37. Instituto de Estudios Legales y Sociales del Uruguay- IELSUR, Uruguay
38. Instituto de género, derecho y desarrollo- Insgenar, Argentina
39. Instituto Latinoamericano de Seguridad y Democracia- ILSED
40. Intercambios Asociación Civil, Argentina
41. La Maria Guanaca, El Salvador
42. Lua Nova, Brasil
43. Mesa Nacional por la Igualdad, Argentina
44. México Unido Contra la Delincuencia- MUCD , México
45. Misión Sacerdotal Tercermundista
46. Movimiento Igualdad, El Salvador
47. Oficina en Washington para Asuntos Latinoamericanos - WOLA, Estados Unidos de
América
48. Plataforma Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Democracia y Desarrollo- PIDHDD
49. Proderechos, Uruguay
50. Projeto Transversões – Projeto Integrado de Pesquisas “Saúde mental,
desinstitucionalização e abordagens psicossociais” – Escola de Serviço Social da
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.
51. Psicotropicus, Centro Brasileño de Políticas de Drogas, Brasil
52. Puente, Investigación y Enlace- PIE, Bolivia
53. Red Americana de Intervención en Situaciones de Sufrimiento Social- RAISSS
54. Red Brasileña de Reducción de Daños y Derechos Humanos- REDUC , Brasil
55. Transnational Institute- TNI

 Open letter to ministers responsible for public security in the Americas fourth meeting of ministers responsible for public security in the Americas (MISPA IV)

Under the title "Break the barriers ... Build the future" MENAHRA concluded its Second Regional Conference on Injecting Drug Use Harm Reduction. The Conference venue was Hilton - Metropolitan in Sin El Fil - Lebanon, from 12 to 15 November 2013. 223 participants attended from 24 countries that majority of them were from the Middle East and North Africa.

The conference compiled attendees from different backgrounds which title might not show to be clearly compatible sometimes but they ended in fact by becoming collaborating and networking with each other, the attendees were PWUD, outreach workers, peer educators, policy makers, police, Religious leaders, Health professionals, Lawyers, Civil society organizations professionals and directors, social workers, nurses, physicians, researchers, UN officers, media professionals, etc. In this context, and prior to the Conference MENAHRA organized an advocacy event in the Lebanese prison in cooperation with "Justice and Mercy "; Lebanese NGO active on awareness in Roumieh prison.

The event was largely covered by the Media. It targeted inmates' drug users with whom a movie, produced by ZAD production and supported by MENAHRA and WHO, was screened. The movie is titled "The Alternative" which is about a psychiatrist who advocates for Opioid Substitution Treatment (OST) in Egypt and whose idea is not accepted by the society and the policy makers. Also prior to the Conference on Tuesday November 12, a donors and partners meeting was organized by MENAHRA, the meeting gathered a number of civil society and drug users representatives, UN and International NGO representatives in addition to a number of donors. The meeting ended with a number of recommendations on removing the barriers to fund harm reduction in the MENA and to put this topic on donors' agenda. The main recommendations topics stressed the need to fund and support policies on Harm Reduction, OST treatment, scale up of services and support of new centers, outreach programs and to secure technical and financial support for HR programs including refugees and to support and increase studies in the MENA.

The conference was launched in the afternoon of the same day, the launching happened under the Patronage of His Excellency the Minister of Health of Lebanon, Mr. Ali Hassan Khalil, and a number of partners contributed to this event in addition to a testimonial from an ex-drug user who demonstrated courage in her speech and presentation titled "Filthy Icon" and how she overcame her problem thanks to the Opioid substitution treatment (OST). The Lebanese flash mob folklore took place during the launch of the event to change the seriousness of the environment which was appreciated by the attendees. The three other days of the Conference went smoothly, people showed their interested in the multiple sessions that tackled almost all HR topics: policy making, religion and harm reduction, youth, law enforcements, refugees, outreach and peer education, support groups, OST, researches and studies, financing and supporting HR, new funding model of GFATM. In addition to a number of workshops that were organized on harm reduction, advocacy, overdose management, organizing drug users and support groups.

The Dialogue space area was very active with delegates; the topics discussed and tackled were very rich and practical such as ARV crisis that was presented by WHO, the Knowledge hubs activities, RANAA's activities, example from Portugal on legalizing HR, the society perception on HR. A film festival took place during the two first days where 10 movies were screened from the region and few were from outside MENA, the most attended and watched movie was "BEN"'s which is the story of a young man who screened himself during his drug use journey that ended with an overdose and his death. This movie drew the media attention that interviewed Ben's mother who were attending the Conference and explained to the audience the sufferance that Ben went through and how the parents were supportive to him. Not to forget the side events that took place during the conference: the UNODC, UNAIDS and IDLO side meeting on Police leadership in Harm reduction, the launch of the arabic version of the Good Practice Guide by MENAHRA and International HIV/AIDS Alliance, the launch of the Situation Assessment of HR in MENA -2012 by MENAHRA, the side meetings of MENANPUD group, MENAHRA members and RANAA members, in addition to a number of another side networking meetings between attendees.

In the Middle of the Conference, MENAHRA honoured the participants and tried to release their stress by inviting them to an official diner that took place in a Lebanese traditional restaurant where everyone enjoyed dancing on Lebanese and Arabic songs. The conference took an end on Friday; the closing session of the conference was introduced by the members of the Board of Directors of MENAHRA from Iran, Morocco, and Egypt. The WHO, UNAIDS and UNODC speeches mentioned the importance progress that happened since the last Conference until now at the level of HR which was clearly considered and evident during the current Conference.

MENAHRA acknowledges all the contributors to the success of this Conference including SIBA volunteers, Eventa, Saad Tours, Hilton Metropolitan hotel, Media sponsors, partners, sponsors and supporters, funders, civil society organizations, the MENAHRA Board of directors and the great team of MENAHRA.

Hopefully to see you all in the Next Conference! MENAHRA -- If you do not want to receive any more newsletters, click on this link<http://menahra.org/list/?p=unsubscribe&uid=ac7cde5fce2759f400409e3b4917d9e8>.

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

MENAHRA's 1st regional conference on harm reduction

Cerca de 30% dos moradores de favelas brasileiras já sofreram preconceito, afirma a pesquisa Radiografia das Favelas Brasileiras, a primeira do Instituto Data Favela, lançada nesta segunda-feira, dia 4, no 1º Fórum Nova Favela Brasileira. De acordo com o estudo, 59% dos moradores das comunidades concordam que quem mora em comunidades da periferia é discriminado.

Para 32% dos que se disseram vítimas de preconceito, a cor da pele foi a motivação e para 30%, morar em uma favela foi o motivo. Para 20%, o preconceito decorreu da falta de dinheiro e, para 8%, das roupas que vestiam.

A pesquisa mostra também que 37% dos moradores de favela já foram revistados por policiais, proporção que chega a 65% quando se trata de jovens de 18 a 29 anos. Entre os que já foram revistados, a média chega a 5,8 abordagens na vida.

Registe-se para recever as Alertas mensais do IDPC e obter informação sobre questões relacionadas com as políticas de drogas.

75% dos moradores de favelas apoiam política de pacificação

This film gives you an insight on how the state of Colorado regulates the recreational use of cannabis.

The International Drug Policy Reform Conference in Denver provided us an excellent opportunity to make a film about the new marijuana regulation in Colorado. The law, passed by a ballot initiative last year, makes the recreational use of marijuana legal. But who can cultivate cannabis and who can open a legal store to sell it? How much tax revenue marijuana will generate? What can we expect from the federal government? We interviewed activists to find the answers to all those questions. Please watch and share our film!

A mile high in Denver: How Colorado legalised marijuana

L’estensione delle superfici coltivate ad oppio e’ passata da 154.000 ettari del 2012 a 209.000 ettari nel 2013 (+36%), superando il vecchio record del 2007, indica il rapporto dell’UNODC. L’Afghanistan e’ il primo Paese per la coltivazione di papavero, da cui si produce oppio ed eroina. Di conseguenza, la produzione di oppio, da cui e’ derivata l’eroina, si e’ attestata sulle 5.500 tonnellate nel 2013 (+49% rispetto al 2012), riporta il documento redatto congiuntamente dai servizi dell’Onu e l’amministrazione afghana.

Il rapporto sottolinea inoltre che la produzione di oppio avrebbe potuto essere ancora maggiore, se non ci fossero state “condizioni metereologiche sfavorevoli, in particolare nelle regioni del sud e dell’ovest”, vero e proprio granaio di oppio del Paese. L’Afghanistan ha soddisfatto l’anno scorso il 75% della domanda mondiale, una cifra che quest’anno potrebbe passare al 90%, secondo Jean-Luc Lemahieu, rappresentante regionale dell’Unod.

I coltivatori potrebbero aver fatto crescere la produzione di oppio “per preservare i loro averi di fronte alle prospettive di un futuro incerto che potrebbe derivare dal ritiro, l'anno prossimo, delle truppe internazionali”. Le Nazioni Unite temono che il prodotto di questo commercio finisca nelle mani dei “signori della guerra” nel momento in cui le forze internazionali lasciano il Paese. “L’economia clandestina si installa e sembra prendere il sopravvento su quella legale”.

Cliccaqui per leggere l'articolo completo

Tienitiaggiornato congli sviluppi politicidi drogamediante la sottoscrizione diAlertIDPCmensile.

Il 2013 anno record in Afghanistan nella produzione d'oppio

The Drugs, Security and Democracy (DSD) fellowship program supports research on drugs, citizen security and democratic governance, with a goal of producing evidence-based knowledge and influencing drug policy. The fellowship seeks to develop a concentration of researchers who are interested in policy-relevant outcomes and membership in a global interdisciplinary network.

DSD funded research must address the primary theme of drugs in relation to security and/or democracy in Latin America or the Caribbean. These topics may include, but are not limited to, the following issues and areas of study: the relationship of drugs to crime and violence, the impact of drug policy innovations (decriminalization, etc.), and the impact of drug markets on public health and human rights. Proposals must demonstrate the potential of the research to contribute to a sound and credible knowledge base for informed advocacy and decision making for drug policy. Projects that do not have a primary focus on the theme of drugs will be eliminated from the competiton.

The program encourages interdisciplinary and comparative projects and those that address transnational and trans-regional issues. We encourage research in or about countries or themes that have been underrepresented in the program’s previously funded projects. Please click here for a list of previously funded projects.

Applications are welcome from PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers conducting research that addresses the primary theme of drugs in relation to security and/or democracy in Latin America or the Caribbean. Eligible applicants will fall into one of the following two categories:

Dissertation Fellowship: This competition is open to PhD and JSD candidates worldwide who have an approved dissertation prospectus by July 1, 2014, but have not completed writing for final submission.

Postdoctoral Fellowship: The competition is open to PhD and JSD recipients worldwide who have completed their PhD within 7 years of the application deadline (on or after January 20, 2007).

If you are proposing to conduct research in a non-native language, you should provide evidence of the necessary proficiency to carry out the project.

The program strongly encourages citizens and residents of Latin America and the Caribbean to apply.

Open for applications, next deadline is January 20th 2014. Apply Now!

Click here to read more information and to apply.

Drugs, Security and Democracy Fellowship 2014: Now accepting applications.

Rio de Janeiro’s Pacification Police Units (UPP) are celebrating their fifth year in 2013. They do so with generally positive approval ratings from the media and society as a whole. A recent study by Instituto Data Favela indicates that 75% of favelas inhabitants approve of the UPPs. Notwithstanding major crises and criticism, the UPP constitute the single most important public security initiative in the state. And yet the persistent informality of the UPP may eventually undermine its sustainability.

Since their inception, the UPP have enabled an unprecedented reclamation of territory in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Many of the areas where the 34 UPPs were installed had once been dominated by heavily armed criminal groups. According to the Secretaria de Estado de Segurança Pública do Rio de Janeiro – SESEG (Rio de Janeiro State Public Security Department), there are 34 UPPs today, with some 8,591 officers, covering approximately 231 communities. Citizens who were terrorized by a war-like environment now experience a more normalized and stable routine. Many residents have the necessary confidence required to live more productive lives.

Favela inhabitants in Brazil approve the UPPs, according to new study

For a long time, harm reduction has been largely perceived as a reaction to the HIV epidemic among injecting drug users. But drug use can cause other harms, besides blood-borne infections, and pragmatic, humane methods exist to prevent these harms as well. One of these harms is becoming more and more alarming, especially in the US: drug overdose. There are 100 overdose deaths in the US every day, with more people dying from an overdose than in car accidents.

As a harm-reduction activist put it, overdose is the new AIDS. This means that just as the HIV/AIDS epidemic catalysed public support for harm reduction in the early 90s, the growing rate of overdose deaths can play a similar role in our decade. It is not only the unprecedented high level of overdose deaths that makes the headlines, but the fact that most of these fatalities are caused by prescription opiates and not illegal drugs. Consequently, the majority of victims are not street heroin users but middle-class young people. It is unfortunate that the media values the lives of these people more, but at the same time, it helps to bring the issue of overdose prevention into the mainstream. We interviewed several harm reduction professionals in the US about drug overdose deaths, and ways to prevent them. Watch the HCLE video and learn more!

How to prevent prescription drug overdose deaths?: A movie by HCLU

Black and Asian people are still far more likely than white people to be stopped and searched by police in England and Wales, a report has said.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said in some areas black people were 29 times more likely to be stopped and searched.

Overall, black people were six times as likely as white people to be stopped.

The commission said the disproportion between different ethnic groups remained "stubbornly high".

The EHRC's report for 2011-12 did not include stops carried out under anti-terrorism laws.

The majority of stop-and-searches in England and Wales are conducted under Section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (Pace).

The figure for these searches fell to 1,137,551 in 2011-12 from 1,222,378 the previous year.

Those from Asian or other ethnic minority groups were twice as likely to be stopped as white people.

Stop and search used 'disproportionately' on black and Asian people in the UK

The European Drug Prevention Quality Standards (‘Prevention Standards’) represent the work of the European Prevention Standards Partnership, working in close co-operation with the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). The aim of this work is to provide guidance and support to those working in the European drug prevention community and to promote awareness and application of high quality policy and practice.

Phase I of this work was completed in 2010 under the project name “European standards in evidence for drug prevention”. The resulting Prevention Standards were published by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) in 2011.

Phase II entitled “Promoting Excellence in Drug Prevention in the EU – Phase II of the European Drug Prevention Quality Standards Project” began in April 2013 and is a

 of the Partnership that will report in May 2015. The project is co-funded by the European Union under the European Commission’s DG Justice “Drug Prevention and Information Programme” (DPIP).

European Drug Prevention Quality Standards Project: Phase II

European officials should rethink proposals to seize power from the individual countries like the United Kingdom to regulate and ban legal highs, peers have warned.

The House of Lords home affairs, health and education EU sub-committee said decisions to ban new psychoactive substances should be decided by individual states rather than at a European Union-wide level.

The move aims to help the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction as well as Europol's attempts to fight drug trafficking by establishing common definitions of legal highs across the European Union and better share information.

Committee chair Lord Hannay of Chiswick said: "We share the Commission’s concerns about the risks posed to public health by new psychoactive substances and consider that the EU has an important role to play in helping to tackle the creation, availability and use of new psychoactive substances.

Click here to read here the full article.

Click here to read related information: European Commission takes decisive action on legal highs

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

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