News
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‘It Is Impossible to Arrest Our Way Out of This Problem,’ Canada Tells UN Drug Conference
“We know it is impossible to arrest our way out of this problem,” Philpott told the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on drugs on Wednesday morning, which happens to be the counterculture holiday devoted to smoking weed.Philpott is Canada’s health minister, and she’s become an unlikely champion for marijuana…
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U.S. Should Seek Bold New Approach on Drugs
The “War on Drugs” has been lost. Not only has it failed to reduce problematic drug use, it has cost more than a trillion dollars over the past few decades, and produced horrific unintended consequences. It has left in its wake a trail of violence, human rights abuse, and infectious…
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It’s Time to Abandon the War on Drugs for a Health-Focused Drug Policy
We need to allow individual countries and specific regions the freedom to explore drug policies that better suit their needs.History is in the making. […]
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Portugal’s Example: What Happened After It Decriminalized All Drugs, From Weed to Heroin
As diplomats gather at the United Nations in New York this week to consider the future of global drug policy, one Portuguese official, João Goulão, will likely command attention that far outstrips his country’s influence in practically any other area. That’s because 16 years ago, Portugal took a leap and…
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Countries should put women at the forefront of the UN drug policy debate
Globally, women make up one-third of all drug users, including around 3.8 million women who inject drugs. Women who use drugs are at higher risk than men of acquiring disease, including HIV. These unique challenges are due to biological differences, social and structural vulnerabilities, and decreased economic opportunities.UN drugs summit…
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The World Needs a Healthier, Rights-based Approach Towards People Who Use Drugs
There is a unique opportunity to begin to treat people who use drugs with dignity and respect, to provide people who use drugs with equal access to health and social services, to greatly reduce the harms of drug use and to take a step towards ending the AIDS epidemic by…
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The war on drugs has failed: time to stop fighting and start thinking
Many countries are exploring different policy and programme solutions. These include alternatives to arrest and incarceration for minor drug offences, harm reduction programmes, decriminalisation of drug users and small farmers and increased access to pain medication. […]
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Plan to increase cannabis penalties to match harder drugs under attack
Plans by the Queensland government to increase penalties for cannabis possession and trafficking to match those for “harder” drugs has been described by drug policy experts as a “retrograde” and “uninformed” step. […]
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A drug-free world is an impossible dream
The vision of a drug-free world has faded. We are instead presented with a nightmare scenario, where a multi-billion dollar black market funds organised crime and terrorist organisations. […]
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We Need A Level Playing Field For Illicit Drugs Policy
The recent unofficial disclosure of positive illicit drug tests for some elite football players has thrown up some interesting responses on the use of illicit drugs in sport. However, it has also served to highlight the inherent discrimination and unfairness of our approach to drugs in general, particularly for those…