“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. […]

Inside President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal antidrug campaign in the Philippines, this photojournalist documented 57 homicide victims over 35 days. […]

In 51 shootings by police in drug busts, 100 suspects were killed and just 3 wounded. The 97 percent kill ratio, eyewitness testimony and other evidence amassed by Reuters suggest officers are summarily gunning down suspects in President Duterte’s crackdown. […]

Drug arrests at music festivals make for sexy story fodder. But whilst the media outlets enjoy the clicks, these non-stories paint a biased and inaccurate profile of Australia’s festival scene and undermine the efforts of organisers and industry members to police their events and protect their punters. […]