News
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Feds approve Ottawa’s first supervised injection site
The federal government signed off on the health centre’s application Wednesday after receiving the request for an injection site last January. Once a follow-up inspection is done, clients will enter one of five injection stations on the first floor of the health centre’s facility and shoot his or her drugs under…
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Why Jokowi’s war on drugs is doing more harm than good
Far from having a deterrent effect, the number of drug-related crimes in Indonesia increased in the months after the executions were carried out in January and April 2015. During the subsequent crackdown, researchers and advocates also documented an increase in the use of coercive measures, prison overcrowding, including raids by law enforcement, forced drug…
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Philippine leader says drugs war ‘trivialised’ by human rights concerns
Duterte wasted little time in his annual state of the nation address to defend a crackdown that has killed thousands of Filipinos. He said that though he valued human life, he needed to tackle “beasts and vultures” that were preying on helpless people and stopping foreign investment from pouring in.…
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Senior Victoria Police officer inspects injecting rooms on overseas drug study tour
Drug decriminalisation and heroin-injecting rooms around the world are being studied first-hand by one of Victoria’s top police officers, despite the Victorian government’s continued opposition to a supervised injecting centre. […]
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‘Drug pushers in suits’: Why the ACT’s bid to ‘legalise heroin’ failed
Almost 20 years since Prime Minister John Howard scuttled a scientific trial into the effectiveness of providing prescription heroin to addicts, former ACT independent MLA Michael Moore believes its time to start the conversation about it again. […]
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‘We probably weren’t brave enough on injecting rooms,’ says Victoria’s former police chief Ken Lay
Victoria’s former police chief has spoken out in support of supervised injecting rooms for Melbourne, saying drug use is not an issue to “arrest your way out of”. Ken Lay, now Ambulance Victoria chairman, told Joy FM’s Saturday Magazine program that drug users were sick, not criminals. […]
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Meet America’s Most Powerful Drug Reformer: A Conversation with New Drug Policy Alliance Head Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno
McFarland Sánchez-Moreno turns to drug reform as her primary remit, at the head of an organization with a $15 million budget, offices in California, Colorado, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Washington, D.C.; a considerable cadre of experienced and talented professionals, and a well-earned reputation for being able to…
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Indonesian President tells police to shoot foreign drug dealers who resist arrest
Indonesia already has tough laws against drugs, and Mr Widodo has previously been criticised for ordering executions against convicted drug traffickers given death penalties in the country’s courts. Mr Widodo’s remarks have drawn comparison to that of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who launched a brutal anti-drug crackdown about a year…
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Singapore hangs Malaysian drug trafficker
“(Srivijayan) was executed despite a pending appeal to have his case taken to the International Court of Justice, which would look into allegations that he was not given a fair trial,” the UN human rights body said in a statement. James Gomez, Amnesty International’s director for South East Asia and the…
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Why is Australia’s most progressive Premier blocking an injection room trial?
The paramedics who treat overdosed heroin addicts want a safe injecting room trial. The Richmond traders and locals who deal with users want a trial. The local government backs it. Health experts across the fields demand it. And Victoria’s coroner has twice recommended the state trial a medically supervised injecting room. […]