Of ongoing concern is the use of the death penalty in drug cases. Fifteen countries implemented or imposed capital punishment for drug crimes in 2017. Iran executed more than 200 people convicted of drug offences. Although fewer executions were imposed for drug crimes in 2017, extrajudicial killings have been commonplace in the Philippines’ “War on Drugs”. […]

Amnesty recorded at least 993 executions in 23 countries in 2017, down by 4% from 2016 (1,032 executions) and 39% from 2015 (when the organization reported 1,634 executions, the highest number since 1989). At least 2,591 death sentences in 53 countries were recorded in 2017, a significant decrease from the record-high of 3,117 recorded in 2016. […]

The countries known to have executed people for drug-related crimes are China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. Amnesty’s report states it is also possible that Vietnam and Malaysia executed people for drugs offenses, but it was unable to confirm that. Because of secrecy about how laws are enforced in a number of countries, the exact number of people executed for drug-related…

Misinformation and prejudice towards these types of drugs has halted psychedelic research in Australia, and other countries, meaning drug companies are hesitant to develop psychedelic treatments. The study’s lead author Stephen Bright told Starts at 60 that Australia is falling behind when it comes to research on psychedelic treatments, noting a number of prestigious institutions including UCLA, John Hopkins School of…

A group representing the elderly has appealed to Parliament to be able to grow its own cannabis. Grey Power’s Otamatea branch, from Northland, said older people with “unbearable” conditions should not have to deal with illegal gangs to get cannabis for medical use. Denying people alternative means of pain relief when traditional medicines did not work was a form of…

Ice users will be permitted to inject the drug in Melbourne’s new supervised injecting room despite the State Government previously saying crystal methamphetamine would be banned from the centre. The North Richmond injecting centre’s regulations say any drug of dependence can be injected at the medically supervised facility but users must have less than a trafficable amount. […]

The former INCB head, Werner Sipp, said on a special event at the 58th session of the CND that: “ […] the Portuguese approach can be considered as a model of best practices.”. You’d think as a “model of best practices” the Portuguese model would be promoted by the INCB. You’d be wrong. […]

By no means is pill testing intended to be a stand-alone “solution”, nor does it condone the use of illicit drugs. Instead, the argument is that we need to change the language of drug use from deviance and criminal justice labels to pragmatic notions of harm and public health, where any policies or programs implemented seek to reduce the harms…

“We are calling for further collaboration between law enforcement and healthcare providers to ensure that they take appropriate action to reduce the harm caused by drugs. It is important to focus on prevention, public awareness campaigns and education to shift cultural attitudes, so that use of party drugs is identified as a public health issue rather than a criminal one.”…

ACT Greens leader and spokesperson for drug law reform Shane Rattenbury, is rallying support for the nation’s first pill-testing trial at this month’s Groovin the Moo festival at the University of Canberra by urging community groups and individuals to sign an open letter to the festival promoter, which has not yet given its support. […]