North America

Publications1 January 1970

'Disrupt and vilify': The war on immigrants inside the US war on drugs

The Drug Policy Alliance and Human Rights Watch presents recommendations on immigration and drug laws that disproportionately affect migrants

News7 April 2025

Canada: Despite Ontario Superior Court injunction recognising irreparable harm, most supervised consumption sites face closure

Health experts warn that recent legislation seeking to close these sites will worsen health and life outcomes for communities.

News7 April 2025

US: Oregon abandoned its radical drug law. Then came the mass arrests

The state's decriminalisation rollback has led to thousands of arrests feeding disruptive cycles of detention and release with no improvements in access to housing, healthcare and other forms of support.

News12 March 2025

US: Trump’s funding cuts jeopardize fentanyl overdose prevention and recovery

The executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance explains how US funding cuts will affect addiction treatment, overdose prevention, and other harm reduction services.

News5 March 2025

What you need to know about the criminal groups the US just labeled ‘terrorists’

Criminalised supply networks are harmful, but designating them as terrorist groups is an ill-fitting response that will disproportionately harm vulnerabilised people.

Publications20 February 2025

Stigmatising substance use terminology in grant abstracts following high-level language guidance

Eschliman et al. show that stigmatising terminology in NIDA-funded grant abstracts has dropped by over half since 2013 and provide guidance for further elimination.

Publications15 February 2025

Characteristics of supervised injection site clients and factors associated with requiring overdose intervention, Montreal, Canada, 2018–2022

Zolopa et al. identify predictive factors of overdose requiring an emergency response at SIS in Montréal, including gender identity, age, housing status, and frequency and nature of use.

Events

Drugs and decriminalisation in Asia: Global updates on drug decriminalisation

Online

28 February 2025

This webinar aims to present updates on developments in decriminalisation around the world, the backlash in Oregon (US), British Columbia (Canada) and Porto (Portugal), and to discuss their impacts on drug policy and advocacy in Asia.

News13 February 2025

People who use drugs among victims of Trump's assault on USAID

Services have closed without warning, leaving people without access to sterile syringes and opioid agonist treatment, critical to stem HIV incidence and mortality.

Events

Understanding the coca leaf review process: A conversation with experts about the cultural and scientific value of the coca plant and the WHO review process

New York, United States / Online

31 January 2025

The event will explore the cultural, scientific, and policy dimensions of the coca WHO review process.

Events

International Drug Policy Reform Conference 2025

Detroit, United States

12 November 2025 - 15 November 2025

The Reform Conference convenes the growing and dynamic drug policy reform movement.

News16 December 2024

Trump’s threats of tariffs as a response to migration and the fentanyl overdose crisis

While such tariffs may seem a persuasive political message, they hinder bilateral engagement, defer blame, and perpetuate the very problems they claim to address.

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