Latin America

News13 October 2024

Indigenous rights, knowledge and expertise should be centred in coca leaf review - IDPC statement to the 47th WHO ECDD

IDPC calls on WHO's Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) to rectify the historical error of the coca leaf scheduling, affirming Indigenous rights, and ensuring their involvement throughout the review process.

Events

Addressing the fentanyl overdose crisis effectively: evidence from the border and beyond

Online

10 October 2024 - 10 October 2024

Join experts in a webinar hosted by WOLA as they explore adverse effects of militarised drug policies and the need for effective, rights-based solutions to the overdose crisis.

Publications2 October 2024

Visit to Mexico - Report of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

The expert group recommended the government abandons the punitive approach to drug use and dealing, and seek alternatives to detention.

Publications1 October 2024

Intended and unintended effects of cannabis regulation in Uruguay

Queirolo et al. qualitatively explore the unintended emergence of a cannabis 'grey market' under Uruguay's decade-old legalisation model, highlighting key challenges in policy implementation.

Publications26 September 2024

Righting a historical wrong: The UN review of the international status of the coca leaf

IDPC provides background information on the scheduling of the coca leaf in the international drug control treaties, outlines the ECDD coca review process, and makes the human rights case for the removal of the plant from the treaty schedules.

News26 September 2024

Reimagining the drug war amid rising coca cultivation in Central America

Responding to expanding coca cultivation in Central America with policies like forced eradication could create potential devasting harm for communities and ecological systems.

Events

NHRC trainings and webinars: 'Las Americas Harm Reduction Spotlight Series'

Online

NHRC announces several bilingual, virtual events and training opportunities to promote education, engagement, and empowerment alongside communities affected by drug use and racialized drug policies.

News23 September 2024

Descheduling the coca leaf is a step toward decolonising drug policy - Statement at HRC57 panel discussion on the rights of Indigenous Peoples

The decision to include the coca leaf in the 1961 Single Convention was mired in colonialist and racist bias.

Publications30 July 2024

Study on innovative approaches to alternative development in Latin America and the Caribbean

COPOLAD publishes a study of how IADA initiatives can advance the relevance and effectiveness of alternative development in drug-affected territories beyond traditional rural contexts of illicit cultivation.

News20 June 2024

The weight of inaction: The mothers fighting the war on drugs in Brazil

Women and mothers in Brazil are honouring the memories of their lost loved ones by advocating for justice and an end to the state-sanctioned violence of the 'war on drugs'.

News7 June 2024

Rates and causes of death after release from incarceration among 1 471 526 people in eight high-income and middle-income countries: an individual participant data meta-analysis

Borschmann et al. find that alcohol and other drug poisoning is the highest cause of death after release from incarceration, underscoring the importance of better transitional healthcare and reducing imprisonment.

Publications2 June 2024

Long‑term ayahuasca use is associated with preserved global cognitive function and improved memory: a cross‑sectional study with ritual users

Fonseca et al. document no difference on cognitive function between non-users and long-term drinkers of ayahuasca, a substance with psychedelic properties.

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