Epilepsy Action Australia conducted an Australian nationwide online survey seeking opinions on and experiences with the use of cannabis-based products for the treatment of epilepsy. The survey was promoted via the Epilepsy Action Australia's main website, on their Facebook page, and by word of mouth.

The survey consisted of 39 questions assessing demographics, clinical factors, including diagnosis and seizure types, and experiences with and opinions towards cannabis use in epilepsy. A total of 976 responses met the inclusion criteria.

Results show that 15% of adults with epilepsy and 13% of parents/guardians of children with epilepsy were currently using, or had previously used, cannabis products to treat epilepsy. Of those with a history of cannabis product use, 90% of adults and 71% of parents reported success in reducing seizure frequency after commencing cannabis products. The main reasons for medicinal cannabis use were to manage treatment-resistant epilepsy and to obtain a more favorable side-effect profile compared to standard antiepileptic drugs. The number of past antiepileptic drugs tried was a significant predictor of medicinal cannabis use in both adults and children with epilepsy. Fifty-six percent of adults with epilepsy and 62% of parents/guardians of children with epilepsy expressed willingness to participate in clinical trials of cannabinoids.

This survey provides insight into the use of cannabis products for epilepsy, in particular some of the likely factors influencing use, as well as novel insights into the experiences of and attitudes towards medicinal cannabis in people with epilepsy in the Australian community.

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An Australian nationwide survey on medicinal cannabis use for epilepsy: History of antiepileptic drug treatment predicts medicinal cannabis use

Drug Policy Network SEE newsletter October-December 2016

Learn more about our joint work with the Global Partnership on Drug Policies and Development (GPDPD)

The 2nd Brandenburg Forum on Drugs and Development Policies took place from February 6th to 8 th February 2017 at the Hotel Schloss Lübbenau in Germany. The Forum was organised within the framework of the Global Partnership on Drug Policies and Development (GPDPD) – a programme aiming to enhance evidence-based development and public health-oriented approaches to drug policy.1 GPDPD is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented under political patronage of the German Federal Government’s Drug Commissioner. The meeting was co-hosted by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of BMZ, the Drug Commissioner of the Federal Government of Germany, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) and the Transnational Institute (TNI).

2nd Brandenburg Forum on Drugs and Development Policies: "Scenarios and proposals for a roadmap towards 2019"

自19世纪中期鸦片战争以来，毒品的使用与供应一直是中国历任政府高度关注的敏感问题。中国对毒品使用的政策依赖于将惩罚和强制作为主要手段，包括强制戒毒、在劳教所或所谓“康复”机构扣押，并在执法部门强制登记，从而导致（对吸毒人员的）监控和随时侦查讯问。

但在1990年代末，政策转向强调对注射吸毒者提供医疗服务以代替惩罚，中国开始实施两个重要的减低伤害措施，预防艾滋病传播—中国开展了世界最大规模的阿片替代治疗（OST）和针具交换项目（NSP）。但是，总体上，中国对待毒品使用者的方式还是惩罚性的，而且污名化很严重。毒品的使用情况仍在持续增长并且毒品种类也在增加（尤其是甲基苯丙胺等合成毒品），年轻人中的吸毒情况也日益严重。中国需要一个综合的，以实证为基础的人道的戒毒治疗和减低伤害服务，以改善个人和整个社会的健康和生活质量。

本IDPC简报对当前中国戒毒机制进行了分析并提出能促进其有效性的相关建议 。

中国的药物依赖治疗：政策分析

Safer drug consumption facilities (SDCFs) are clean, hygienic environments where people can consume drugs, obtained elsewhere, under the supervision of trained health professionals. They offer a compassionate, person-centred service which focuses on reducing the harms associated with injecting drug use and helps people access appropriate services to meet their needs. By doing so, they are able to reach an extremely vulnerable group who often do not engage with our existing services.

These facilities typically consist of a reception area, a drug consumption area with injecting booths and, in some facilities, a drug inhalation room. In addition, they usually provide an area where clients can receive support from relevant services and peer groups, to help improve their health and social circumstances. The exterior of such facilities can look like any other health and social care premises.

Though these services are sometimes described in the media as ‘fix rooms’ or ‘shooting galleries’, we use the term ‘safer drug consumption facilities’ to denote that they are an official service, staffed by health professionals, with close links to other health and social care services.

There are now more than 90 of these facilities worldwide, in Europe, Canada, and Australia.

Frequently asked questions: Safer drug consumption facilities and heroin-assisted treatment

Kenya is experiencing an HIV epidemic among people who inject drugs, with HIV prevalence recently estimated at 18.3%, and 44% for women.

Methadone, a globally evidenced intervention, is being introduced as part of developing comprehensive HIV prevention and treatment. Methadone acts as a substitute for opiates like heroin (so is called opioid substitution therapy or OST). Methadone works to reduce HIV-related risk from injecting drug use and support engagement in HIV treatment.

There is little experience of methadone in contexts like Kenya. We used modelling and qualitative interviews to assess the potential impact of methadone as a HIV prevention intervention in Kenya. These findings are essential to shape future strategy.

Is the promise of methadone Kenya’s solution to managing HIV and addiction? A mixed-method mathematical modelling and qualitative study

There is a high HIV prevalence among people who inject drugs in Kenya. The sharing of used needles and syringes is a core risk for HIV.

A government-backed needle and syringe programme (NSP) has recently been introduced by community-based organisations. The programme is one of the first in the region and uses a flexible system of delivery, allowing for distribution from community drop-in centres and by outreach workers. Understanding the delivery of NSPs in the Kenyan context is vital.

Exploring the experiences of people who use drugs in engaging with the programme is important for supporting scale up.

Implementing needle and syringe programmes in Kenya: changes, opportunities and challenges in HIV prevention

Kenya is experiencing an HIV epidemic among people who inject drugs, with prevalence recently estimated at 18.3%, and 44% for women. People who inject drugs experience a range of barriers to HIV treatment and care access.

The Kenyan government and civil society partners have sought to develop community oriented HIV care for people who inject drugs to overcome these potential barriers, including through community-based outreach support. We explored people who inject drugs experiences of these services to support their development.

HIV treatment and care for people who inject drugs in Kenya: experiences of community supported clinic-based care

Harm reduction services are being introduced in Kenya to support people who inject drugs. There is a highly concentrated HIV epidemic amongst people who inject drugs in Kenya, with HIV prevalence estimated at 18% (44% for women).

People who smoke or sniff heroin may change their mode of use and transition to injecting in response to a range of factors. The main risks that follow injecting include HIV and hepatitis C transmission from sharing injecting equipment, and overdose. Therefore, if we can prevent or minimise transitions to injecting then we can prevent or reduce the associated harms. Understanding these factors is a priority to support HIV prevention and harm reduction.

A qualitative analysis of transitions to heroin injection in Kenya: implications for HIV prevention and harm reduction

Bolivia’s new General Law on Coca was passed by Congress on February 24th 2017. The law is one of 3 that will replace the longstanding & controversial antidrug law - Law 1008.

Bolivia: General Coca Law

Since the inauguration of President Rodrigo Duterte on June 30, 2016, and his call for a “war on drugs,” Philippine National Police officers and unidentified “vigilantes” have killed over 7,000 people. The anti-drug campaign dubbed “Operation Double Barrel” has targeted suspected drug dealers and users ostensibly for arrest but in practice has been a campaign of extrajudicial execution in impoverished areas of Manila and other urban areas. Duterte’s outspoken endorsement of the campaign implicates him and other senior officials in possible incitement to violence, instigation of murder, and in command responsibility for crimes against humanity.

This report examines 24 incidents, resulting in 32 deaths, involving Philippine National Police personnel between October 2016 and January 2017. Human Rights Watch found that the official police reports of these incidents invariably asserted self-defense to justify police killings, contrary to eyewitness accounts that portray the killings as cold-blooded murders of unarmed drug suspects in custody. To bolster their claims, the police routinely planted guns, spent ammunition, and drug packets next to the victims’ bodies. No one has been meaningfully investigated, let alone prosecuted, for these killings.

“License to Kill”: Philippine police killings in Duterte’s war on drugs

To inform policy makers, researchers, members of NGOs and institutions working in prevention, treatment and social rehabilitation of drug users and everyone interested in the results of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on drugs (UNGASS), held from 19 to 21, April 2016, in New York (USA)

To present views expressed and which are in discussion about the importance of the UNGASS concerning the assessment of the existing policy on drugs and the strategic direction that governments will decide to follow for their drug policy in the future

To refer to the discussion at the regional conference organized from 1-3 June 2016 in Thessaloniki which focused on exchanging views on the post-UNGASS policy that can be followed in SEE countries.

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