IDPC considers Resolution 60/26 a landmark affirmation of the Council’s authority to address the human rights implications of drug policy, strengthening the role of the UN human rights system and reinforcing calls for health-, rights- and evidence-based drug policies globally.
EHRA and partners analyse how shrinking civic space and punitive legal frameworks are undermining community-led HIV and TB responses in the region, directly impacting LGBTQI+ people, people who use drugs, sex workers, and people living with HIV.
Singh Kelsall et al. find that harmful policing practices persisted during British Columbia’s decriminalisation pilot and subsequent recriminalisation, including confiscations, displacement and interference with overdose response.
Harris et al. find that providing inhalation equipment alongside workforce training facilitates stronger relationships between providers and people who use crack, and new engagement opportunities, despite enduring structural barriers.
Michaud et al. find that participants in the programme report greater autonomy, improved quality of life and stronger therapeutic relationships compared to prior experiences with opioid agonist treatment.
Obregón et al. conclude that Chile’s first peer-led drug checking service at music events reveals significant levels of adulteration and underscores the need to expand harm reduction services.
Evaluation of Switzerland’s cannabis pilot trials finds high participant satisfaction, no notable public-order incidents, and early signs that legal access models can reduce reliance on the illicit market.
WHO, UNAIDS and UNODC provide practical, step-by-step guidance for implementing and scaling up needle and syringe programmes as a core harm reduction intervention to prevent HIV, hepatitis C and overdose among people who inject drugs.
IDPC assesses the state of play in global drug policy, reflecting on areas of progress while highlighting new and ongoing challenges, and concluding with recommendations for the future of international drug policy.
Schneider et al. argue that criminalising sex work and drug use forces young sex workers into danger, undermining health and rights, and call for decriminalisation, safe supply and peer-led harm reduction.
Ashton et al. find that these devices can reduce health risks for people who smoke crack cocaine, highlighting an overlooked harm reduction intervention with clear public health benefits.
Perseus Strategies and allies call on the UN to replace stigmatising criminal justice language with person-centred terminology to advance a human rights-based approach to justice, dignity and social reintegration.
