Decriminalisation, legal regulation & reform

Decriminalisation

News1 November 2022

Podcast: Not a crime

This podcast series highlights the impact of criminalisation on people living with HIV and people who use drugs.

News1 November 2022

On International Drug Users’ Day, UNAIDS calls for action against the criminalisation of people who use drugs and for community-led harm reduction programmes

Despite international commitments to ensure access to harm reduction, less than 1% of people who inject drugs live in countries with UN recommended levels of coverage of the basic package of interventions.

News20 October 2022

Australian Capital Territory government decriminalises small amounts of illicit drugs

Effective in 12 months, the reform will replace criminal charges with a fine that can be waived through attendance to a diversion programme.

News18 October 2022

UN CESCR adopts country reports highlighting rights violations related to drug policies and announces a general comment on their impact

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights urged Guatemala and Italy to bring their drug policies in line with international human rights standards, including in relation to the decriminalisation of drug use.

News10 October 2022

Australia: People caught with drugs in NSW may not face court, but government resists decriminalisation

After years of delays, the NSW government responds to Howard enquiry by expanding pre-court diversion for possession offences, but the lack of decriminalisation risks perpetuating the disproportionate sentencing of Indigenous people.

News5 October 2022

United States: Oregonians strongly support their state’s drug decriminalization

Despite highly-publicised criticism, the poll showed an overwhelming majority supports a public health approach over criminalisation.

News5 September 2022

Australia: NSW attorney general ‘disappointed’ by own government’s lack of action over ice report

The recommendations by the Howard enquiry, an extensive fact-finding mission into evidence-based responses to methamphetamine use, included decriminalisation.

News5 September 2022

Feedback request for European Commission initiative on alternatives to coercive sanctions in response to drug-law offences

Civil society and other experts are invited to provide feedback before 23 September 2022.

News19 August 2022

Alternatives to criminal sanctions for drug offenders in Hungary: A short overview

Despite success in offering alternatives to prosecution, diversion schemes have become increasingly repressive and harmful, moving away from full decriminalisation.

IDPC in the Media3 August 2022

What Thailand’s legalization of marijuana means for Southeast Asia's war on drugs

TIME Thumbnail: Flickr WILLPOWER STUDIOS (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Publications5 July 2022

Human rights and HIV/AIDS - Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

The UNHCHR stresses the importance of removing punitive legal and policy frameworks; reducing stigma and discrimination; and addressing gender inequalities and related violence to achieve global commitments in relation to HIV 2030.

News5 July 2022

End ‘war on drugs’ and promote policies rooted in human rights: UN experts

24 human rights experts co-sign this compelling call for Member States and international bodies to supersede their current drug policies with a comprehensive, restorative and reintegrative justice approach.

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