Decriminalisation, legal regulation & reform

Decriminalisation

Publications16 October 2025

IDPC Progress Report 2024-2025

IDPC reflects on a year of resilience and change, driving decriminalisation, harm reduction, responsible regulation, and international drug policy reform while defending civil society and rights amid funding cuts and political turmoil.

News14 October 2025

Coca isn’t just for cocaine, Bolivia wants the world to know

Bolivia's campaign to remove the coca leaf from the list of the world’s most dangerous drugs highlights the plant's cultural, medicinal and economic importance — and its potential to reshape global drug policy.

Publications14 October 2025

Safer drug laws for Aotearoa New Zealand - Pragmatic, evidence-based recommendations for safer drug laws

The New Zealand Drug Foundation urges reform of outdated drug laws, calling for decriminalisation, Māori-led health approaches and investment in harm reduction to build safer, fairer, evidence-based policies for Aotearoa New Zealand.

Publications10 October 2025

It's not so simple: The impact of simple drug possession and trafficking offences on health equity

The HIV Legal Network argues that laws criminalising simple possession and drug trafficking entrench racism and stigma, deepen inequality, and endanger health and safety by pushing drug use into isolation and heightening the risk of overdose.

Publications6 October 2025

Safeguarding rights in EU drug policy - Contribution to the European Commission's call for evidence on the EU drugs strategy and action plan against drug trafficking

IDPC calls on the European Commission to ensure the next Strategy is balanced, evidence-based, and rights-centred, prioritising harm reduction, civil society participation, and policy innovation over punitive approaches.

News30 September 2025

‘Who wouldn’t want pure cocaine?’: the radical plan to prevent overdoses with better drugs

As overdose deaths soar, Vancouver’s Drug User Liberation Front challenges prohibition itself, arguing the real crisis isn’t drug use but unsafe supply and systemic inequality

News30 September 2025

United States: The new war on weed

Local governments that have regulated cannabis face the challenge of enforcing commercial restrictions on unlicensed premises.

News30 September 2025

Reimagining drug policy with compassion and justice

Successful drug policies replace punishment with support and control with care—rooted in dignity, justice, and the leadership of people and communities most affected.

Publications25 September 2025

Development dimensions of drug policy: Assessing new challenges, uncovering opportunities, and addressing emerging issues

UNDP charts a rights- and development-centred turn in drug policy, prioritising decriminalisation, harm reduction, equity-led transitions, and practical pathways to responsibly regulate some drug markets.

Publications15 September 2025

Guaranteeing the rights of young people and substance use in contexts of armed conflict in the Colombian Amazon - Submission to the UN CESCR on Colombia

IDPC and A la Orilla del Río highlight how prohibitionism continues to shape the lives of young people in the Colombian Amazon, where gaps between policy and practice perpetuate stigmatisation and deny rights.

Publications10 September 2025

Rethinking Chile’s drug policy through human rights and harm reduction – Report to the CESCR for the periodic review of Chile

HRI and LANPUD call for reform of punitive laws that fuel mass incarceration and violate rights, and for investment in health, harm reduction, and community leadership.

Publications4 September 2025

Civil society perspectives on the ASEAN Work Plan on Drugs 2016–2025 – Submission to ASEAN review process

Civil society exposes punitive harms and rights violations, while urging a shift towards health, harm reduction, decriminalisation, justice reform, and sustainable livelihoods.

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