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. […]

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 make drug reform actually happen. […]

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 ago that saw many alleged drug dealers killed. […]

“(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 Pacific, said: “That this cruel punishment has been administered after…

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. […]

Next week, Uruguay will begin sales of legal marijuana for adult residents. The legalization proposal was put forward by former President José Mujica in 2012 as part of a comprehensive package aimed at improving public safety. Uruguay’s parliament gave final approval to the measure in December 2013, making theirs the first country in the world to legally regulate the production, distribution and…

Fiona Patton, a member of the Upper House of Victoria parliament, said there was no serious organization that opposed safe injecting rooms. “Anyone with any common sense who has been there on the streets will see it is not working and people are dying,” Patton said. […]

There are only four days left to save Prabagaran Srivijayan’s life before he is cruelly dragged to the gallows. The Singaporean authorities must immediately halt his execution before another person suffers this inhumane and irreversible punishment. […]

After four years researching the dark world of drug addiction in the inner west, Jeremy Aitken believes having a place in the community where users could safely inject drugs would save lives. Having seen users accessing needle exchange programs, only to overdose through misadventure outside clinic doors, the academic and author is weighing in on the debate over the need…

“Visit a facility, talk to a real addict; to obtain some real facts before dismissing the proposal,” former AFP commissioner Mick Palmer said. “The reality is the facts speak for themselves and the huge success of Sydney’s [injecting centre] cannot be ignored, with major benefits and minimal negatives identified in a dozen independent evaluations and reviews.” […]