Queensland’s most senior judge has called on the state government to consider the “unintended consequences” of its predecessor’s punitive drug law changes after the “distressing case” of a young mother whose jail time for dealing ice was more than doubled. […]

“DMT should certainly not be in the same class as a drug like methamphetamine and heroin,” Caldecott told Australia’s SBS, an Australian national TV station. “[It’] could be argued, quite vigorously that it has potential through therapy to benefit and therefore doesn’t belong in that class.” […]

Psychologists and psychiatrists have been studying hallucinogens for decades — as treatment for things like alcoholism and depression. But support for studies dried up in the 1970s, after the federal government listed many psychedelics as Schedule 1 drugs. Now researchers are giving the drugs another look. […]

Once we understand that addiction is neither a sin nor a progressive disease, just different brain wiring, we can stop persisting in policies that don’t work, and start teaching recovery. […]

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime released its 2016 World Drug Report. According to the Open Society Foundations, the report “reinforces prohibitionist and law enforcement-based strategies that continue to perpetuate violence, instability, and health crises across the world.” […]

The harms being caused by the war on drugs can no longer be ignored. It is time to leave behind harmful politics, ideology and prejudice. It is time to prioritise the health and welfare of the affected populations, their families and communities. […]

Discontent is growing internationally with prohibitionist drug policies. The UN must heed NGOs, experts and agencies advocating alternative approaches. […]

Rates of marijuana use among Colorado’s teenagers are essentially unchanged in the years since the state’s voters legalized marijuana in 2012, new survey data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment shows. […]