In 2016, the UN General Assembly will hold a Special Session (or ‘UNGASS’) on the issue of illicit drugs. The UNGASS will review member states’ progress on reducing drug supply and demand, and will shape the future direction of drug policy at the UN level.

Drug policy is a development issue: it has severe consequences for the health, livelihoods, and security of poor and marginalised people. The current international approach – dominated by a repressive “War on Drugs” approach that focuses on outlawing drug production and consumption – has exacted enormous financial and human cost.

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

Engaging the development sector in the 2016 UNGASS

The High-level Meeting on HIV and Drug use in Thailand was co-organised by the Thailand Ministry of Public Health, International Drug Policy Consortium, PSI Thailand Foundation, and the International AIDS Society. It was held as a half-day meeting during the week of the International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific on 18-22 November 2013. The objectives of the meeting were to:

raise awareness amongst Thailand’s policymakers about international standards and best practice on the implementation of harm reduction services and enabling policies, and

cultivate a national debate on enabling policies and practises that would facilitate an increase the coverage of harm reduction services in Thailand.

It was closed to media and the public, with no record of comments and statements attributed to specific individuals, to facilitate frank discussion on issues relating to harm reduction services and policy barriers in Thailand, including:

State of coverage of harm reduction services

Barriers to the increase in coverage of harm reduction services, and

This report summarises the presentations delivered, and key discussion points and outcomes at the meeting, which was divided into two sessions.

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

Report on high-level meeting on HIV and drug use in Thailand

This study reveals the substantial levels of morbidity related to cocaine use, translated into the large number of cocaine cases seen in various emergency settings in European countries. This health burden is often not captured by other traditional drug indicators. The report also points to the potential for early prevention, assessment and referral opportunities that may currently be overlooked, including the referral of some patients who may benefit from specific counselling or treatment.

Emergency health consequences of cocaine use in Europe

In November 2012, voters in Colorado and Washington State took the historic step of rejecting the decades-long failed policy of marijuana prohibition by deciding to permit the legal regulation of marijuana sales, cultivation and distribution for adults. This document explains why states can chart a different course without violating federal law, and summarizes the similarities and differences between Colorado and Washington State’s new laws.

Voters in Colorado and Washington State made history in 2012 by rejecting the decades-long failed policy of marijuana prohibition and deciding to legally regulate marijuana sales, cultivation and distribution for adults.

Marijuana legalisation in Washington State and Colorado

For a long time, there have been different social mechanisms for allowing leaving aside the conventional norms and enjoy various forms of artistic or creative expressions, sensory stimulation and limitations or regulations more flexible than in other contexts.

It is necessary to provide information about the various substances that can be found in festive environments, the implications of its use and the various harm reduction recommendations that may exist in order to prevent, or at least reduce, the negative health impacts each specific substance may cause.

In addition to information, it is important to have some way to introduce quality controls, or for testing and analyzing the substances that are thought to be consumed. In many cases, harm reduction initiatives include analysis with colorimetric reagents to detect the presence ­‐ or absence - of certain substances, and when possible, thin layer chromatography tests have been implemented as an option to corroborate the full content and breakdown of a specific sample (tablet, square of blotter paper, powder, crystal, etc.).

Harm reduction in festive environments

On 20 September 2013 a seminar on policy and practice of cannabis in Albania has been organized by the Association Diogenis, Drug Policy Dialogue in Southeast Europe, and the Albanian NGO Aksion Plus. The aim of the meeting was to bring together policy makers, experts and representatives of relevant institutions and non-governmental organizations in order to exchange information and experiences on the current situation, national legislation in Albania, law enforcement and its impact on production marketing and distribution of cannabis, prevention programmes and related issues in the everyday practice.

The presentations and the discussion resulted in several recommendations to improve the situation, promote opportunities for cooperation between authorities, civil society and international organizations. The seminar was a successful collaboration between the Association Diogenis and NGO Aksion Plus in Albania. The UNODC Regional Office in Tirana, supported the organization of the seminar and participated actively in the discussions. The report refers to the presentations and the discussion of the following topics: cannabis trafficking routes in Southeast Europe, the Albanian legislation on cannabis, the illicit production and trafficking and the sanctions for possession and use, cannabis / toxicological aspects , health disorders, abuse of substances and emergency treatment, education, awareness and demand reduction of drugs and other dangerous substances and recent developments in international policy on cannabis.

Cannabis policy, Albania September 2013

In Kenya, the rights of people who use drugs (PUD) are often violated. On the one hand, the country’s Constitution and recently developed health policies and guidelines recognise the human rights, including the health rights, of PUD. On the other hand, the group is criminalised under the country’s laws related to drugs. As part of the Bridging the Gaps programme, Mainline and its partner organisations in Kenya recently conducted research to provide insight into this contradictory situation and the impact on their work aiming at HIV and hepatitis C prevention.

Mainline’s partners in Kenya that work on promoting the human rights of PUD, particularly their health rights, face the challenge that these rights are often violated by the government, law enforcement agencies, health workers, and the community. PUD are criminalised under the Kenyan Narcotic Act, resulting in stigmatisation and discrimination. They are frequently harassed by the police and denied access to health care, prevention services, and treatment by general health workers.

Please click here to read the full article.

Protecting the rights of people who use drugs in Kenya

Psychosocial Support Programme that is designed for patients on Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) in Hasan Sadikin hospital has been implemented as a pilot project for two years. In mid 2013, Rumah Cemara (RC) evaluated the programme since its initiation. As a part of operational research design, the evaluation specifically aimed to look at barriers in relation to human resources, implementation and programme management. It also identified how far can the materials and methods of the programme improve patients’ life quality. The assessment also enables improvements for the programme to reach its highest quality.

The evaluation was done through qualitative approach with RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance) focus to reach the set goals. Data was collected through in-depth interview and focus group discussion involving 45 participants including clients of MMT receiving psychosocial support, clients of MMT not receiving psychosocial support, closest relatives of clients, MMT clinic officers, and programme implementers.
Findings from this evaluation have revealed that the programme has the potential to support clients for better quality of life, particularly in considering several improvements needed to increase the scope of the programme.

Successes have been found in improvements in communication and relationship with family, as well as clients are motivated to be financially independent. However, these successes have not been the programme’s maximum and further supports are still required such as, clients’ motivation; participants recruitment procedure; programme implementation guidelines; standardised curriculum; success measurement tool; availability and management of human resources from RC; and programme integration with MMT clinic have been important elements for programme improvement.

Psychosocial support programme for methadone clients 

This edition of Policy Talk reviews current knowledge of new psychoactive substances, a category of substances that is challenging government controls across the world, and compares how health authorities are responding to the challenges, with special reference to Australia and New Zealand.

New psychoactive drugs: No easy answer

This May, Colombia’s largest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), will be 50 years old. Of all armed conflicts in the world that claim 1,000 or more lives a year, the one in Latin America’s third most populous country is the oldest. In 2012, the Colombian government and the FARC began their fourth attempt to negotiate an end to the fighting. This time, the talks are beginning to stick: negotiators in Havana, Cuba have gotten significantly further than ever before. It is not unreasonable to expect an accord by the end of 2014.

The Havana talks have an agenda covering five substantive topics or political reforms, plus a discussion of how to operationalize what has been agreed. As of April 2014, after 21 ten-day rounds of talks, negotiators have reached agreement on two of these five substantive topics, and are nearing accord on a third.

Ending 50 years of conflict : The challenges ahead and the U.S. role in Colombia

The 2014 Global Drug Survey (GDS2014) conducted during November / December 2013 was the biggest survey of current drug use ever conducted. Published in 8 languages and promoted through media partners in 17 countries, it received almost 80,000 responses. The results from each participating country were released through media partners on April 14th 2014 along with some key global comparisons.

Participating countries included USA, UK, Australia, Germany, France, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, New Zealand, Hungary, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Mexico, Slovenia and Brazil.

Please click here to read the full survey.

The global drug survey 2014 findings

The authors evaluated the impact on crime of a localized policing experiment that depenalized the possession of small quantities of cannabis in the London borough of Lambeth.

impact the demand for cannabis in Lambeth as users move there to purchase cannabis;

enable the Lambeth police to reallocate effort towards other types of crime.

The authors investigated whether the depenalization policy impacts the level and composition of crime, using administrative records on criminal offences by drug type, and for seven types of nondrug crime. They found that depenalization in Lambeth led to significant increases in cannabis possession offences that persisted well after the policy experiment ended. They found evidence that the policy caused the police to reallocate effort towards crimes related to the supply of Class-A drugs, as well as reallocating effort towards non-drug crime: there are significant reductions in five types of non-drug crime, and significant improvements in police effectiveness against such crimes as measured by arrest and clear-up rates.

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