Vytenis Andriukaitis, the EU’s Health and Food Safety Commissioner, said that the executive has no intention of submitting a new strategy to reduce alcohol-related harm in Europe, suggesting that the issue will be tackled as part of a broad range of “risk factors” affecting chronic diseases (Euractive)
Bibliography: International Policy Issues
NGOs highlight human rights violations committed in the name of drug control
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is planning to draft a report on the impact of drugs and drug control on human rights … In order to feed into the report, a series of NGOs submitted letters highlighting the impact of drug control on human rights (IDPC)
The impact of drug policy on women
In the public mind, the “war on drugs” probably conjures up a male image. In most countries, official statistics would show that men, indeed, are the majority of people who use drugs recreationally, who have problematic use, and who sell drugs. But punitive drug laws and policies pose a heavy burden on women and, in turn, on the children for whom women are often the principal caregivers (Open Society Foundations)
West Africa drug policy training toolkit: Facilitation guide
This toolkit allows IDPC and a wide range of organisations to deliver trainings and workshops on drug policy advocacy to their civil society partners and members. It covers the areas of drug policy, civil society advocacy, harm reduction, crime and security, and drug treatment and prevention (IDPC)
The Impact of Drug Policy on Women
This paper offers an overview of the gender dimension of the war on drugs and the burdens that ill-conceived policies and inadequate programs place on women and girls (Open Society Foundations)
Demystifying ‘Narcoterrorism’
This policy brief considers the way in which the term has evolved since the early 1980s and the main official and academic attempts at defining it (Global Drug Policy Observatory)
The new drug warriors
As one side of the world softens its line against illegal drugs, another is getting tougher – and more vocal (Economist)
Why the high level general assembly thematic debate towards the 2016 UNGASS on drugs is important
On 7th May 2015, the UN General Assembly will hold a high-level thematic debate in support of the process towards the UN General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS) scheduled for April 2016. The UNGASS is set to be a critical juncture for the international drug policy debate and will be an opportunity for an honest assessment of the successes and failures of global drug control policies (IDPC)
Drug use and its consequences in the Western Balkans 2006–14
Insight into the drug-related problems faced by six countries in the region, through the available data gathered by a range of partners and the EMCDDA
Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 2014
The international community will continue to count on the drug control treaties, international Instruments that have withstood the test of time and remain relevant to addressing future challenges. All that is required is the continued commitment of all States to act in concert in the e?ective implementation of those instruments (INCB)
Ketamine under international law
This post explores the relationship of drugs and international law, specifically international drug control law and international human rights law, using the topical example of placing ketamine under international control (Global Drug Policy Observatory)
UN Ketamine Vote Could Spark Public Health Crisis in Developing World
The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna will soon decide between two opposite proposals by China and the World Health Organization (WHO) concerning the international control of ketamine, an essential anaesthetic in human and veterinary medicine (Talking Drugs)
EU Alcohol Strategy report published
The European Union must act to combat alcohol-related harm, a Lords report urges. New action by the EU should focus on measures it can take itself rather than relying on Member State action alone (Parliament, UK)
Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 2014
The international community will continue to count on the drug control treaties, international instruments that have withstood the test of time and remain relevant to addressing future challenges. All that is required is the continued commitment of all States to act in concert in the e?ective implementation of those instruments (INCB)
Casualties of War
How the War on Drugs is harming the world’s poorest (Health Poverty Action)
WHO calls for worldwide use of “smart” syringes
The World Health Organization is launching a new policy on injection safety and a global campaign with support from the IKEA Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to help all countries tackle the pervasive issue of unsafe injections (WHO)
CND decision to schedule ketamine would undermine WHO treaty mandate
The UN Commission considers to bring ketamine under the control of the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances contrary to WHO recommendations (Global Drug Policy Observatory)
Global State of Harm Reduction 2014
The data gathered for the report provided a critical baseline against which progress could be measured in terms of international, regional and national recognition of harm reduction in policy and practice (Harm Reduction International)
INCB warns against weakening the international drug control legal framework
At the opening of its 112th Session on Monday, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) once again cautioned the members of the international community of the public health risks associated with the adoption of legislative and policy measures which are inconsistent with the provisions of the three United Nations drug control conventions (UNIS)
Human rights, drug control and the UN special procedures
Preventing arbitrary detention through the promotion of human rights in drug control (International Centre on Human Rights and Drug Policy)