Decriminalisation, legal regulation & reform

Decriminalisation

News21 August 2025

Call for applications: Fundraising strategy consultant – Help shape the next chapter of Support. Don’t Punish!

IDPC is seeking a consultant to help secure the future of the Support. Don't Punish campaign by diversifying its funding base and strengthening donor engagement.

Blog15 August 2025

Reviewing the coca leaf’s international status: A chance to heal what Prohibition broke

The upcoming critical review process offers a chance to de-schedule the coca leaf, mitigating prohibition's environmental and social harms, affirming Indigenous rights, and reforming colonial, punitive drug policies.

Publications14 August 2025

Translating UN commitments into action – An advocacy primer on the UN thematic report: ‘Drug use, harm reduction and the right to health’

The Support. Don’t Punish campaign provides a concise primer on the UN Special Rapporteur’s landmark 2024 report, equipping advocates to advance decriminalisation, harm reduction, and rights-based drug policy.

Publications14 August 2025

Criminalizing public space through a decriminalization framework: The paradox of British Columbia, Canada

Singh Kelsall et al. argue that British Columbia’s rollback of decriminalisation is a form of bio-political violence, a state-sanctioned massacre cloaked in public health policy.

Publications13 August 2025

Legal and policy considerations on decriminalisation of drug use and possession for personal use: International legal framework and the UN system common position on drug-related matters

UNODC presents its perspective on the role of treaty flexibilities in enabling decriminalisation as part of health-based approaches, identifying related reforms and alternatives to punitive measures.

News12 August 2025

How can drug decriminalisation be built to last?

Though often framed as a cure-all, decriminalisation is only one piece of the puzzle, and its success depends on the holistic improvement of social support.

News12 August 2025

Resisting patriarchy and the 'drug war': The rise of Bolivia’s Community of Women Who Use Drugs and the Libertas Programme

Against criminalisation, invisibility and systemic violence, these initiatives seek to expand gender-responsive harm reduction and policy reform, based on lived experience.

IDPC in the Media12 August 2025

How can drug decriminalisation be built to last?

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Publications28 July 2025

Stigma is not the solution to the drug crisis

Beckett and Reinarman discuss how the US crisis calls for compassion, evidence, and structural change.

News17 July 2025

From the roots up: The Support. Don’t Punish campaign’s lifetime evaluation 2013-2023

Drawing on insights from over 200 partners, the campaign’s evaluation explores how Support. Don’t Punish has fostered the development of a global movement capable of shifting narratives, mobilising communities, and sparking change for rights-based, harm-reducing laws, policies and practices.

Blog10 July 2025

A future on our own terms: The 2025 Support. Don’t Punish Global Day of Action

For the 2025 Global Day of Action, thousands took action in 262 cities across 80 countries — demanding policies that ensure access to systems of care and support, not punishment.

News10 July 2025

Czech Republic bill to legalize marijuana home cultivation and allow psilocybin for medical use heads to President’s desk

Voted by both houses of the Czech parliament, the bill would decriminalise cannabis home cultivation (up to 3 plants) and possession (up to 100g in private), and enable medical access to psilocybin.

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