As a new year begins so does the effort continue to make Australia a safer and more humane country in how we deal with people who use drugs. Here are five changes that would make a real difference. http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/gino-vumbaca/its-time-to-face-the-music-on-australias-flawed-drug-policy/ […]

Looking out for the health and wellbeing of people who attend their events is good for everyone, including the sustainability of the industry. Safer drug use at venues means less use of emergency services. Safer drug use at venues means happier, healthier customers who are more likely to be repeat visitors. […]

President Rodrigo Duterte’s chief executioner is “treated more like a rock star than a policeman.” […]

“The war on drugs is a misnomer.” The crackdown “is a war on people, largely the poor and, in many cases, minor offenders (assuming for the purpose of classification that they are offenders). As in all wars, there are unintended consequences, including collateral damage to innocent bystanders. Victims are ‘suspects’ only…. […]

So long as others are not harmed, there are no moral grounds for restricting use of cannabis or heroin any more than alcohol or caffeine, argues A C Grayling. […]

This isn’t a story about me. It’s about two friends who would likely be alive today if they didn’t feel compelled to stop taking a life-saving medication. […]

The President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, has used his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech to call for the world to “rethink” the war on drugs. He said the zero-tolerance policy might be “even more harmful” than all the other wars being fought worldwide. […]

“Many New Zealander’s recognise that creating criminals out of cannabis users does more harm than the occasional use of marijuana does”, says health spokesperson Julie Anne Genter. […]

Few areas of policy-making are more emotionally charged than drugs policy. Yet if we resist knee-jerk calls to arms and engage in informed policy-setting that involves many stakeholders and types of knowledge, we can save many more lives, reduce needless suffering, and alleviate the financial burden of ineffective drugs policies. […]

The war on drugs has failed, writes Angelo Pricolo which is why the Greens’ new approach is so important. […]