“Allegations of drug-trafficking offences should be judged in a court of law, not by gunmen on the streets,” today said two UN human rights experts, while urging the Government of the Philippines to put an end to the wave of extrajudicial executions in the context of an intensified anti-drug campaign targeting drug dealers and users. […]

Until recently, I was against legalising, or even decriminalising cannabis. I’m one of the few people I know who has never used the drug and I had been influenced by the culture of fear fostered by the war on drugs. The deeper I delve into the issue, the more I am struck by how frightening the consequences of prohibition are.…

The case is one of several expected to be the focus of potentially explosive hearings next week before the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, which Ms. de Lima oversees. […]

Last year the HIV rate in a single Indiana county was higher than that in any country in sub-Saharan Africa. Would adopting an Australian-style harm-reduction strategy change that? […]

Spice and flakka cause psychotic symptoms, bodily damage and death, whereas cannabis has never caused an overdose and has well-recognized medicinal value. Cocaine sourced from the black market, which is laced with other unknown chemicals, can cause overdose death – but people aren’t stabbing and eating the faces of other people while on cocaine. […]

Without legal mechanisms in place, the only option for arbitration in the black market is violence. This violence takes many forms: turf wars between drug suppliers where civilians are caught in the crossfire; no-knock police raids where suspects are gunned down; drug addicts assaulting others to secure money for their addiction. […]

Those targeted by the killings, according to Phelim Kine, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division, are often people who are on the margins of society, poor and easy to target. […]

Organised Crime can only be fought successfully by levelling the playing field; take the money away from them. Regulate the control of illegal drugs and take the power away from criminals. It’s the intelligent thing to do. […]

The NSW Government has no reason to be fearful of a forum to debate and discuss policies that affect so many of its citizens’ lives. It is an opportunity to review the evidence, understand the impact of current laws and policies and develop effective approaches that make communities, families and people healthier and safer. […]

The New Zealand Drug Foundation, which commissioned the survey, said it was the first such poll to show a majority backing the loosening of rules on the personal use of marijuana. […]