UN human rights experts call for a fundamental shift towards decriminalisation, harm reduction, evidence-based regulation, care and support, warning that punitive and militarised drug policies continue to drive serious human rights violations.
Marking Support. Don’t Punish 2026, IDPC and partners host a regional discussion on progress towards decriminalisation, highlighting reform opportunities grounded in health, human rights and community leadership.
This Wise Wednesday webinar covers what the decriminalisation of drugs for personal use could look like in South Africa, and how it can advance health and human rights.
HRI, ESOHR, KHRC and WHRIN call for the abolition of the death penalty for drug offences, highlighting its disproportionate impact on women and girls .
The Lancet underscores how punitive drug laws continue to fuel HIV risk, stigma and exclusion for people who use drugs, despite growing calls for reform.
UNAIDS, UNDP and INPUD synthesise models to support rights-based HIV responses, offer key principles, good practices, and expert insights from people who use drugs and specialists.
Singh Kelsall et al. find that harmful policing practices persisted during British Columbia’s decriminalisation pilot and subsequent recriminalisation, including confiscations, displacement and interference with overdose response.
Punitive drug laws are fuelling corruption, strengthening illicit markets and misdirecting police resources, while failing to improve community safety.
Morgan et al. conclude that effective drug policy in British Columbia should be co-designed and co-facilitated with young people who use drugs and practitioners to better address local needs.
McAdam et al. examine how decriminalisation reduced policing-related barriers to services, revealing important benefits for young people, including Indigenous.
