Accra, July 8, GNA – Mr. Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, the Deputy Minister for the Interior, has called for the urgent passage of the Legislative Instrument (LI) to operationalise the Narcotics Control Commission Act, 2020 (Act 1019).

He said Ghana must move beyond policy commitments to fully implement reforms that treated drug use as a public health and human rights issue.

The Deputy Minister was speaking at the Second National Dialogue on Drug Policy, Human Rights and Public Health, organised by the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) and partners in Accra, on the theme: “Advancing from Law into Implementation.”

Although Act 1019 established a more balanced legal framework, inconsistencies in its implementation mean that people accused of minor drug offences continue to enter the criminal legal system when alternative interventions should be available. Thousands of people experiencing drug dependence also lack adequate health and social services, while HIV testing remains low and concerns over preventable infections and overdose are increasing.

Interior Ministry pushes for full implementation of Ghana’s drug law 

The Harm Reduction International Conference is convened by Harm Reduction International in a different city every two years. Over four days of presentations, workshops, films, networking events and more, the conference provides a dynamic forum to share the latest research and discussions on best practice in drug use, harm reduction and human rights and attracts a diverse group of over 1,000 delegates and speakers including front-line health workers, academics, researchers, policy makers, politicians, UN representatives, people who use drugs, sex workers and people working in the criminal legal system.

So why will 1,000 of us gather in Belfast in May 2027?

Our global gathering comes with a rich history. HRI conferences have helped to put harm reduction on the map and to coordinate advances, innovations, evidence, and advocacy in the fields of harm reduction and drug policy for more than three decades.

At HR27, we will spotlight how local leaders are rising, how regions are mobilising, and how our global movement is resisting in the face of existential threats to global health and human rights.

Harm reduction is a movement rooted in dignity and rights, that has been shaped by radical resistance. Our host city knows this story well. In 2027, we meet in 

. The city's journey from decades of political conflict toward peace offers enduring lessons in social justice and self-determination.

The Harm Reduction International Conference 2027 (HR27) will be held in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 9-12 May 2027.

At Harm Reduction International, we seek host cities for our conference that mirror the spirit of our movement. For our next conference, we are heading to a city that understands what it means to survive, rebuild and imagine a different future. Belfast is a place shaped by resistance and resilience, where communities have worked across division to create new possibilities for peace, justice and self determination. Its history reminds us that even the most entrenched systems can be challenged and transformed through collective action.

HR27 will take place at ICC Belfast, an internationally recognised conference venue in the heart of the city. Located beside the waterfront and within walking distance of Belfast’s cultural and civic landmarks, ICC Belfast will provide a welcoming and accessible space for our global community to come together.

Join us in Belfast to meet this moment together and shape the future of our movement.

29th Harm Reduction International Conference - HR27

On the 26th June 2026, as communities around the world mark the Support Don’t Punish campaign’s 

, South Africa will launch the Drug Decriminalisation Coalition (or 

) – the first national coalition on drug decriminalisation in Africa and an important milestone in the evolution of drug policy reform efforts.

For too many years, conversations about drug policy reform in Africa have largely taken place in silos. Harm reduction organisations have focused on expanding access to health services, human rights groups have highlighted the harms associated with criminalisation, researchers have generated growing bodies of evidence on the social and public health impacts of punitive drug policies, and networks of people who use drugs have continued to advocate for dignity, inclusion and meaningful participation in policy-making processes. While these efforts have produced important advances, they have often operated independently of one another.

The launch of the Drug Decriminalisation Coalition reflects the growing recognition that meaningful policy reform requires a coordinated collective approach.

The Drug Decriminalisation Coalition has been established as a multi-sector platform bringing together people who use drugs, harm reduction and drug policy advocates, researchers, legal experts, civil society organisations, public health stakeholders, practitioners, community organisations and human rights defenders committed to advancing evidence-based drug policy reform in South Africa.

Its founding Steering Committee reflects this diversity, comprising representatives from networks of people who use drugs, civil society organisations, legal and policy experts, and public health practitioners. This broad representation reflects a shared recognition that drug policy reform cannot be achieved through isolated interventions but requires collaboration across sectors and meaningful participation by those most affected by criminalisation.

The Coalition is guided by the following vision statement:

“A South Africa which is safe, healthy, and inclusive. A society where no person is criminalized for their drug use. Our country’s response to drug use is rooted in compassion, evidence, health, human rights, and social justice. Decriminalisation of all drugs for private purposes is a move towards an ethical and constitutional imperative that reduces public harm, increases access to health and social services and may ease the burden on our criminal justice system. Together, with government, civil society, private sector, and the people most affected, we can endeavour to dismantle stigma, prevent disease, and redirect public resources to affirm public health, human rights and safety.”

This vision reflects a growing body of evidence demonstrating that criminalisation often exacerbates the very harms it purports to address. The Coalition’s vision further recognises decriminalisation as a public health, social and human right intervention. By removing criminalisation penalties for personal drug use and possession, resources can be redirected toward health services, harm reduction services, treatment, social support and community wellbeing.

The Coalition emerges at a time of significant policy discussion within South Africa. Over the past decade, there has been increasing acknowledgement that punitive approaches have not achieved their intended objectives. Despite continued criminalisation, drug markets remain resilient, drug-related arrests continue to place pressure on the criminal justice system, and many people who use drugs continue to face barriers to accessing healthcare, harm reduction services, housing, employment and social support.

At the same time, harm reduction interventions in South Africa have demonstrated positive outcomes in a number of settings, while civil society organisations, academic institutions, and affected communities have continued to advance evidence-informed approaches to drug use. Discussions around the National Drug Master Plan, alternatives to incarceration, public health-centered responses and broader criminal justice reform have further contributed to an environment in which decriminalisation is increasingly recognised as a legitimate policy option worthy of serious consideration.

Against this backdrop, the Coalition seeks to provide a platform through which diverse stakeholders can engage collectively on questions relating to decriminalisation and drug policy reform.

The launch is also significant because it takes place within a regional context where discussions on drug decriminalisation remain relatively limited compared to other parts of the world. Across Africa, countries continue to grapple with the social, economic and health consequences associated with punitive drug control approaches. However, there are increasing signs of change. Harm reduction services have expanded in several countries. Courts have begun to engage with the questions of proportionality, rights and personal autonomy. Regional bodies and civil society networks have increasingly highlighted the need for evidence-based and human rights centred approaches to drug policy.

The 26th June is the United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, an occasion that has historically been used to ‘celebrate’ repressive responses. However, for more than a decade now, the global 

 to directly challenge the dominant narrative that punishment is an effective response to drug use. The campaign has helped elevate conversations around health, human rights, social justice and community wellbeing in countries across the world.

The decision to launch the Drug Decriminalisation Coalition on 26th June is therefore intentional. It situates South Africa’s efforts within this wider international movement while also recognising the need for locally grounded responses that reflect African realities, histories and policy contexts.

While drug policy debates are often shaped by global trends, reform efforts ultimately succeed or fail at the national and community levels. The Coalition therefore represents an attempt to bridge international evidence and experience with the specific social, legal and political realities of South Africa. Importantly, it also seeks to ensure that people who use drugs are not merely subjects of policy discussions but active participants in shaping them.

The launch of the Drug Decriminalisation Coalition marks an important movement for South Africa’s drug policy reform movement and a notable development for the African region. Its establishment reflects the growing maturity of drug policy discussions within the country, the strengthening of alliances across sectors and an increasing willingness to engage with alternatives to punitive approaches.

As conversations on drug policy continue to evolve across Africa, the emergence of a broad-based coalition dedicated to advancing dialogue on decriminalisation offers an important example of how diverse stakeholders can come together to explore more effective, humane and evidence-informed responses to drugs.

Support Don’t Punish Global Day of Action

, South Africa joins a growing global movement seeking to reimagine drug policy through the lenses of health, human rights and social justice, while contributing a distinctly Africa voice to that conversation.

South Africa launches Africa’s first national Drug Decriminalisation Coalition

Drug-induced homicide laws, which hold people criminally responsible for overdose deaths linked to drugs they distribute, are a prominent feature of modern United States drug policy. Some are concerned that support for these laws is bolstered by racialized assumptions about people who sell drugs. The current study examines whether and how the perceived race-ethnicity of a suspected “drug dealer” affects support for drug induced homicide laws.

 = 2940) recruited from Cint Theorem were randomized to one of four vignettes which varied the race-ethnicity of a suspect who distributed drugs connected to an overdose death (Latine, Black, white, or unidentified race). Participants answered questions about their general support for a drug-induced homicide law as well as several determinants of support: beliefs about deterrence, moral justification, preference for the “homicide” charge name, and desire for additional incarceration.

Compared to those shown a non-Latine suspect, respondents shown a Latine suspect had significantly greater odds of supporting drug-induced homicide laws, believing they are morally justified, and desiring additional incarceration, but were statistically indistinguishable for beliefs about deterrence and preference for the “homicide” charge name. Results were driven by non-Hispanic respondents.

This is the first study of its kind to consider the Latine community as a target of punitive drug policy bias. These results suggest that race- and ethnicity-based assumptions continue to influence public opinion about drug policy, echoing the punitive racialization patterns of past “wars” on drugs.

Anti-Latine bias and drug-induced homicide law support: Evidence from a nationally diverse, randomized survey experiment in the United States

This special issue will explore research that mobilises southern epistemologies and theories of coloniality and race to interrogate and reimagine the field of drug studies. Contributions are invited to examine how contemporary forms of drug governance, policy, and research practice are shaped by ongoing colonial logics and racial hierarchies.

The issue particularly welcomes work locally grounded yet globally aware of the ongoing entanglements of colonial power and knowledge, including First Nations sovereignty and knowledge, African anti-colonial traditions, South Asian critiques of empire, decolonial and anti-imperial scholarship from South-West Asia and North Africa, Latin America decolonial thought, and other situated approaches that engage with coloniality in thought and practice.

Coloniality, race and drug policy - Contemporary Drug Problems special issue: Call for papers

We, the undersigned organizations, call on all States to immediately 

cease or refrain from supporting US extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.

Since September 2025, the United States military has 

 more than 175 people aboard small vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. The identities of most victims remain unknown, and there is no evidence that they posed any imminent threat to individuals or to the United States. Nevertheless, the Trump administration has signaled that these unlawful attacks will 

 and in fact escalate, including through 

 US servicemembers agree: the US is committing 

 under international law. The right to life and due process are fundamental principles of international law. These strikes—conducted outside of armed conflict, without a charge or trial, and against individuals merely accused of engaging in drug trafficking, which does not constitute an imminent threat or armed attack—amount to clear violations of these rights. 

 another State in their commission of internationally wrongful acts, including 

. Forms of cooperation such as intelligence sharing, access to military bases, and the provision of logistical support may meet the 

 for aiding and assisting where they facilitate the identification, tracking, and targeting of vessels. Given the public nature of these strikes and the glaring lack of a lawful justification, States cannot plausibly claim ignorance of the risks associated with their support.

The consequences of the United States’ extrajudicial killings are being felt in communities across the region. Families awaiting the return of their loved ones may never know what happened to them and have no access to recourse. Coastal communities have witnessed human remains washing up on shore and fear for their lives when they trade and fish, sowing psychological trauma and undermining livelihoods. 

All States must immediately cease or refrain from providing any assistance that could contribute to these unlawful killings. Failure to do so facilitates the continuation of this lawless campaign, undermines the rule of law, and risks incurring legal responsibility under international law.

Action Sécurité Éthique Républicaines

akzept e.V. Bundesverband für akzeptierende Drogenarbeit und humane Drogenpolitik

ALIANZA POR LA VIDA – “Yungas HOY”: con Justicia y Dignidad

Asociación Costarricense de Reducción de Daños

Asociación Costarricense para el Estudio e Intervención en Drogas

Asociación para Políticas Públicas – APP

AUBE: The Voice of Medical Cannabis Patients

Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security

Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS)

Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Region

Correlation-European Harm Reduction Network (C-EHRN)

Deutscher Hanfverband (DHV) – German Cannabis Association

Drugs and Human Rights Research Center, CIDDH

Ecumenical Advocacy Network on the Philippines

European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies (ENCOD)

Friends Committee on National Legislation

Fundación Regional de Asesoría en Derechos Humanos INREDH

ImPact Coalition on Strengthening International Judicial Institutions

Iniciativa Negra por Uma Nova Política de Drogas (Brazil)

Institute for Policy Studies, Drug Policy Project

International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)

International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD)

JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF)

Latin America/Caribbean Committee of the Loretto Community

National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd

National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)

A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing)

New York State Harm Reduction Association

IDPC joins global call to all states to stop facilitating US extrajudicial killings

Prof. Sevil Atasoy, who is currently the President of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), is a candidate for re-election to the INCB membership.

Prof. Atasoy noted that she has been re-nominated by Türkiye, stating, “Experience is not only technical knowledge; it is also crucial in managing complex political and operational processes.”

A reception was organized by the Permanent Mission of Türkiye to the United Nations (UN) in New York, at Türkevi in New York, on the occasion of the re-candidacy of Prof. Sevil Atasoy, President of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), Vice Rector of Üsküdar University, Head of the Forensic Sciences Department, and Director of the Graduate School of Addiction and Forensic Sciences, for INCB membership. Diplomats from numerous countries that are members of the Economic and Social Council attended the event.

INCB's Sevil Atasoy: 'Drug policies should be shaped on the basis of human rights and public health'


Jude Byrne was an extraordinary person and fearless advocate for people who use drugs over a career spanning decades, holding numerous roles with the Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL) as well as serving as a board member of INHSU. Jude was also a founding member of INPUD and acting Chair of the Board for close to a decade. Few people have left such a lasting impact on the movement as Jude. 

Read more about Jude’s life and impact here.

Awardees notified: Approximately 3-4 weeks after deadline

INPUD mentor program kick-off meeting (online): June 2026

INHSU Conference: 6–9 October 2026, Prague, Czech Republic

INPUD mentor program dates: June 2026 – March 2027


We are looking for emerging community leaders who identify as female and are passionate about advancing the health and rights of people who use drugs. Successful applicants should have:

A strong commitment to leadership and a desire to pursue opportunities for growth and impact

Early to mid-career experience, regardless of how long they have been involved in the sector, with an interest in taking on leadership roles. This award is not designed for people who have extensive leadership experience already

A demonstrated track record of advocacy, community engagement, or involvement in harm reduction or drug policy reform efforts

A willingness to participate actively in the INPUD mentorship program and INHSU conference, and a commitment to sharing knowledge, building partnerships, and advancing advocacy for people who use drugs

For more information and to apply for this year’s award, visit the Jude Byrne Award page on the INHSU website and click on the ‘APPLY NOW’ button. Applications close on 20 April 2026.

Jude Byrne emerging female leader award - Call for applications

This single programming document (SPD) covers the period from 2026 to 2028. It is presented in line with the guidelines for the SPD and the consolidated annual activity report of decentralised agencies, adopted by the European Commission on 20 April 2020.

Substantive work is structured around the areas defined in the new EUDA SPD delivery framework (presented in Section II, ‘Introduction – strategic approach’). The framework reflects the work priorities embedded in the EUDA Regulation and supports the Agency’s contribution to EU preparedness on drugs through increased customer focus, operational efficiency, and internal cooperation and coordination.

Under this model, work will be organised around three thematic areas: substance use and harms; best practice and responses; and policy and society, crime, markets and precursors. It also includes the EU Early Warning System on new psychoactive substances (EWS), as well as laboratory networks, drug alerts, and threat assessments. These are complemented by three cross-cutting areas: partnership and international cooperation; communication and stakeholder engagement; and research, innovation and foresight.

Strategic direction, performance management, and control will be provided by the corporate governance area, while administration and IT support services will underpin effective delivery.

The concrete priorities of work are defined in the 2026 annual work programme, presented in Section III of the document.

It is important to note that this SPD was developed prior to the publication of key strategic documents that will shape the Agency’s future work. These include the forthcoming EU drugs strategy (from 2026), the EU action plan on drug trafficking, and revisions to the legal framework on precursors, as announced in the EU internal security strategy, ProtectEU. As a result, some elements of this SPD may need to be adjusted to reflect these final, published strategies.

EUDA Single programming document 2026-2028

 Article I of the Charter of the United Nations provides the Organization’s aims, one of which is “to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character”. One way to achieve that aim has been to reinforce international cooperation through the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, which was elaborated a few years after the Charter came into force.

The 1961 Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol and its companion conventions, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 and the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988, address one of the great challenges of our time, namely, to ensure the availability of substances under international control for the relief of pain and suffering, but doing so in a manner that avoids increasing the likelihood of the illicit trafficking and use of those substances and the social and economic harms that such use can cause.

 In those conventions, States made it clear that they aimed to address their common challenges through joint action: in the preamble to the 1961 Convention as amended, the Parties asserted that effective measures against the illicit use of narcotic drugs required coordinated and universal action because they understood that that was the most effective way to protect their citizens and provide for their medical and scientific needs.¹

Similarly, Parties to the 1971 Convention gave expression to their belief that taking effective measures to provide psychotropic substances for the needs of their citizens while protecting against trafficking in those substances required coordination and universal action, and that only a widely-respected international convention could achieve those objectives.²

 Recognizing the growing challenges posed by the world drug problem and the need to broaden the scope of cooperation in international drug control, Member States negotiated and adopted the 1988 Convention. Breaking new ground, the Member States incorporated into the Convention provisions against money-laundering and the diversion of precursor chemicals, and comprehensive articles that encourage and facilitate international cooperation in criminal matters, including to tackle drug trafficking, and assigned new responsibilities to INCB to manage the trade in chemicals used to manufacture plant-based drugs and synthetic drugs.

 Within the United Nations drug control framework, several actors play a crucial role with respect to the conventions: foremost, the States Parties themselves, along with the Economic and Social Council, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, WHO, INCB and the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General has delegated his role in that respect to UNODC. Over the years, several other actors have emerged as vital stakeholders, assisting States in implementing their legal obligations and political commitments and enabling the functioning of the systems of licit trade and precursor control, supporting efforts related to prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, ensuring availability, and facilitating law enforcement and judicial cooperation. Among those actors are civil society organizations; private sector entities, including manufacturers of substances under international control; the healthcare industry; the world’s postal systems and firms engaged in international commerce; and international and regional organizations. All have been vital in facilitating availability and preventing trafficking.

 Notwithstanding the existence of this robust framework, its effective functioning has come under considerable strain owing to more recent challenges, not least those posed by the global synthetic drug problem. Synthetic drugs present an increasing challenge because of their high potency, relative ease of manufacture and ability to be concealed, compared with plant-based drugs. The legitimate medical use of many synthetic drugs, combined with the widespread availability of dual-use precursor chemicals, has enabled criminal groups to exploit regulatory gaps and circumvent existing control mechanisms, making it difficult for States and other actors to respond effectively.

 An additional, ongoing challenge is the unequal access to and availability of affordable opioid analgesics, such as morphine, to meet the legitimate medical needs of populations, particularly for pain management and palliative care. The consumption of morphine and other opioid analgesics remains heavily concentrated in developed countries in North America and Europe, while developing countries in other regions continue to maintain lower levels of consumption. That disparity is not due to an insufficient supply of opiate raw materials but may be a result of estimates of requirements by some countries that do not accurately reflect their medical needs; it may also arise in the context of humanitarian emergencies that impede access to opioid analgesics. Adequate availability relies on the capacity of Governments to provide accurate estimates of their needs and on simplified control measures during emergency situations, as provided for in the conventions.

 Challenges to international cooperation in drug control have also arisen in the multilateral sphere. In particular, States members of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs have, over the past several years, increasingly found themselves in disagreement over the conventions’ applicability to the non-medical use of cannabis and other matters, including alternative development and the appropriate measures to deal with the negative health and social consequences of drug use (i.e. harm reduction measures).³

In 2024, for the first time in its history, the Commission, at its sixty-seventh session, adopted two resolutions by means of voting,⁴ effectively breaking what has been known as the “Vienna spirit” of cooperation and compromise, whereby resolutions have been adopted by consensus and without a vote. The Vienna spirit has been a key factor in promoting a sense of common and shared responsibility among countries in addressing the world drug problem, but has, without a doubt, been affected by diverging views and practices with regard to implementing obligations under the conventions. The trend away from consensus-based decision-making continued during the Commission’s sixty-eighth session, in 2025, when Commission members requested votes on all draft resolutions.

 All these challenges underscore the need for adaptive policy responses by Governments and strengthened political will to meet obligations and commitments and address common problems effectively. To assist Member States in strengthening their engagement in international cooperation in drug control and in raising awareness of current challenges and opportunities related to the international drug control system, the present chapter provides an overview of the work of the Board in reinforcing the cooperative efforts of States Parties through its treaty-mandated functions, programmes and initiatives. In particular, the Board’s work in support of licit trade and control systems under the conventions is highlighted. The chapter also contains information on the Board’s extensive cooperation with regional and international partner organizations, particularly in relation to the operational aspects of drug control, as well with civil society and the private sector, which represent two other key groups of stakeholders within the international drug control system. The chapter concludes with a series of recommendations aimed at strengthening international cooperation with a view to responding to the contemporary challenges posed by the world drug problem.

INCB Annual Report 2025

The upcoming 61st Session of the Human Rights Council, to be held between 23 February and 31 March 2026, presents critical opportunities for reflecting on the impacts of drug control policies on human rights worldwide and on States’ obligations to promote and protect people’s rights, while discussing pathways for reform. 

Below are some key moments where drug policy will or can be addressed, and suggestions for mainstreaming drug policy in the session. More information about civil society participation during the session can be found here.

61st Human Rights Council: Drug policy opportunities

Drug reform campaigners have called for an overhaul of global drug controls amid an increasingly complex and deadly drug situation in the world and as hardline anti-drug approaches are increasingly being used as cover for repression of civil society and human rights defenders.

 released earlier this month by the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) assessed progress made since the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs, widely viewed as a potential turning point in global drug policy.

It found that the promise of UNGASS remains largely unfulfilled – despite notable progress in some areas – and that punitive and prohibitionist approaches continue to dominate global drug control, despite their enormous human and financial cost.

“Punitive approaches [to drugs] are costing lives, undermining human rights and wasting public resources, while silencing the very communities that hold the solutions. This report shows why governments must move beyond rhetoric and commit to real structural reform,” Ann Fordham, IDPC Executive Director, said.

Advocates of drug policy reform have for decades pointed to evidence showing how hardline drug policies have completely failed.

Drug law reform