Amidst deep concern for Thailand's drug policies, some space for open debate
On Monday 17th September, 2012, IDPC together with the Transnational Institute held a high-level seminar in Bangkok co-hosted with the Thai Ministry of Justice Rights and Liberties Protection...
View ArticleThe on-going under-funding of harm reduction
Despite the wealth of evidence supporting key harm reduction interventions such as needle and syringe programmes and opioid substitution therapy , they remain woefully underfunded around the world. We...
View ArticleAre Indonesia’s government and civil society actors debating drug policy in...
When the head of Indonesia’s narcotics control agency , Mr. Gories Mere, said that his country’s drug policies were better than those of Portugal because they required all people who use drugs to be...
View ArticleMalaysian progress from compulsory to voluntary treatment
As part of a series of engagements with South-East Asian governments and civil society over the last few weeks, IDPC staff were in Kuala Lumpur on 1st and 2nd October to take forward our country work...
View ArticleLatin America at the centre stage of drug policy reform
The 4th Latin American Conference on Drug Policy took place in early December, gathering academics, NGOs and policy makers to discuss the latest policies and best practice from Latin America and beyond...
View ArticleAddressing the gap for women to access drug treatment in Montenegro
In Montenegro, there is a center for the rehabilitation and re-socialization of men who use drugs, but there is no such center for women dependent on psychoactive substances. Representatives of NGO 4...
View ArticleRecovery on the frontline
Several of those working at the IDPC secretariat, despite their expertise in policy issues, are less familiar with how drug treatment or harm reduction services operate on the ground. We therefore...
View ArticleUganda Harm Reduction Network conduct study visit to Tanzania
In November 2012, the Uganda Harm Reduction Network sent a delegation of three staff to visit the progressive harm reduction services in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The study visit was coordinated and...
View ArticleIDPC delivers drug policy advocacy training in Kenya
On November 14th and 15th, we travelled to Kenya to deliver a two-day civil society workshop on how to advocate for drug policy reform. Kenya has adopted a harm reduction approach in recent years, and...
View ArticleA message from the Asia-Europe People’s Forum to the International Conference...
Last week I attended the Asia-Europe People’s Forum in Vientiane, Laos under the header “People’s Solidarity against Poverty and for Sustainable Development: Challenging Unjust and Unequal Development,...
View ArticleAfrican Union agrees: “Support. Don’t punish”
Earlier in October, the African Union hosted the 5th Conference of Ministers of Drug Control at its impressive headquarters in Addis Ababa. IDPC was present throughout the four-day meeting, during...
View ArticleHarm reduction: ‘Meeting people where they’re at’
In September 2012, I was invited to rapporteur for HIT’s second “Hot Topics” conference in the UK, which attracted 140 delegates from across the country. In my closing presentation, I drew on one key...
View ArticleInformal drug policy dialogue in South East Asia discusses opium cultivation...
In December 2012, individuals representing community, civil society, government and intergovernmental bodies met to engage in informal dialogue about drug policy issues in Southeast Asia and India. It...
View ArticleDitchley conference on drug policy: Support. Don’t punish
Last month, the International Drug Policy Consortium was invited to attend a high-level meeting on drug policies by the prestigious Ditchley Foundation. The Foundation is housed in a huge country house...
View ArticleUN releases revised harm reduction guidance
This month, the World Health Organisation , United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS released the second edition of the “Technical Guide for Countries...
View ArticleUNODC open the door to IDPC and civil society partners
Within the so-called “UNAIDS Family”, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is the “lead co-sponsor” on the pivotal issue of HIV and injecting drug use. This role comes with huge...
View ArticleThe INCB releases its Annual Report for 2012
In the INCB Annual Report for 2012 released today, the principle of shared responsibility in achieving the aims of the international drug control conventions features as the key theme. The INCB also...
View ArticleWHO recommends against international scheduling of Ketamine
As a response to rising levels of use, particularly in South East Asia, recent years have witnessed a growing debate surrounding the placing of ketamine within the schedules of the international drug...
View ArticleIDPC workshop: Being part of the process
In February, IDPC held a meeting in the UK with some of its members to review its mission, vision and strategy for the coming three years, and to empower a group of individuals to speak on behalf of...
View ArticleReading between the lines at the 56th Commission on Narcotic Drugs
I fully expected the 56th Commission on Narcotic Drugs to be as depressing as others that I have attended in recent years. With so many organizations in the world working to change drug policies and...
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