Decriminalisation, legal regulation & reform

Decriminalisation

Blog26 June 2024

World Drugs Day 2024: Human rights and harm reduction take centre stage while UN drugs agency grapples with denial

The UN system increasingly questions the validity of the 'drug war', embracing harm reduction and decriminalisation — so why is UNODC stuck in the inertia of the past?

Publications25 June 2024

LGBTQI+ people who use drugs in Thailand: Advocacy for improved health and human rights responses

APCOM and IDPC urge the public, law enforcement, and policymakers in Thailand to help ensure equality and equity for LGBTQ+ people who use drugs, especially in their access to health and social services, and ending stigma and discrimination against them.

Events

Drug policies and responses: a right to health framework on harm reduction - High-level side event

Vienna, Austria

27 June 2024

On the occasion of World Drug Day, the UN SR on the right to health will present her latest report's findings and recommendations.

News24 June 2024

UN expert calls for end to the ‘war on drugs’

UN Special Rapporteur Tlaleng Mofokeng called upon member states to end the war on drugs, as a war on people and a threat to the dignity, health and rights of communities.

News15 May 2024

Recriminalization - Episode 45 - Crackdown Podcast

Political expediency and a moral panic have led to a setback that will cost lives, particularly for people who are street-based.

News13 May 2024

Drug decriminalisation is not to blame for all of our social woes

Ending criminalisation for simple drug possession will not solve the drug deaths catastrophe —a result of prohibition and systemic oppression, yet it is an essential step in the right direction.

News8 May 2024

Australia: Experts warn of influx of synthetic opioids amid calls for second Melbourne injecting room

Former Aotearoa/New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark calls for investments in harm reduction and drug law reform to prevent rising harms related to nitazenes.

News8 May 2024

Don’t blame decriminalisation for the failure of a hundred years of prohibition

Policing and punitive approaches are doomed to exacerbate risks and harms, disproportionately affecting marginalised communities

Events

Manifesto for a Progressive EU Drug Policy 2024 - Launch event

Online

13 May 2024

More than 260 European drug policy NGOs and 130 drug policy experts from 25 EU Member States have already signed the 2024 Manifesto for a progressive EU drug policy.

News25 April 2024

Brazil: Reject bill that entrenches failed drug policy

Senators propose amendment to enshrine the criminalisation of simple drug possession in Brazil's constitution fueling a destructive domestic 'drug war'.

News21 April 2024

Re-criminalisation of drug use in Oregon, United States

US: Re-criminalisation of possession of drugs marks a major U-turn for Oregon, but offers an opportunity for drug policy reformists to address misunderstandings and misinformation about decriminalisation.

Publications16 April 2024

Decriminalising drug use and sex work to end the criminalisation of poverty and homelessness - Submission to the UNSRs on the right to adequate housing and on extreme poverty and human rights

IDPC and other organisations encourage the Special Rapporteurs to acknowledge the harmful effects of criminalising drug use and sex work in relation to the policing of people living in poverty in public spaces.

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