| IDPC March Alert
Welcome to the IDPC March 2010 Alert. The International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) is a global network of NGOs and professional networks that work together to promote objective and open debate on drug policy. This Alert contains news, updates on the latest publications and upcoming events relevant to international drug policy.
IDPC has recently published a Drug Policy Guide which brings together global evidence and best practices on the design and implementation of drug policies and programmes at national level. Click here to access the English version of the guide on our website.
News
CNDblog 2010
IHRA and IDPC blogged live from the meeting of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna from the 8th to the 12th March 2010. Reporting on CNDblog was uploaded as the debates themselves were taking place, making CNDblog the fastest and most complete record of what happened at the CND. The blog is also an effective transparency mechanism on the proceedings. IDPC will be releasing our usual CND Proceedings document in the coming weeks to provide more detailed analysis of some of the key discussions and debates. APF and IDPC hold first South East Europe Informal Drug Policy Dialogue
On the 19th and 20th March, 2010, the Andreas Papandreou Foundation (APF) and IDPC co-hosted the first informal policy dialogue for the South East European region. The dialogue was attended by NGO presentatives and policy makers from Albania, Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Greece. Participants shared knowledge and experiences from across the region, identifying common problems and key priorities for drug policy advocacy. A working group was set up to take forward the setting up of a regional network. A report of the meeting will be made available in the coming weeks. Campaign for ‘universal access’ to medicines goes global
The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network is joining a global movement of legal and trade experts, activists and students, grandmothers’ groups and labour organisations. They are calling on the Canadian government to use its leadership position to ensure greater access to medicines for AIDS and other public health needs in developing countries. Read the press release. NGO Veza reports from the Public Hearing on the EU Drug Policy 1998-2007
The Public Hearing aimed to discuss the ‘Report on Global Illicit Drugs Market 1998-2007’ and define the conclusions of the report which will be brought out by ENCOD during the general UNODC Conference in Vienna. The meeting was a unique opportunity for NGO Veza to share ideas and issues on drug policy with government representatives, and build a bridge of cooperation with the Serbian Ministry of Health. Drug Policy Alliance immediate opening: ‘national organising and field director’
Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is seeking a National Organising and Field Director to oversee DPA’s organising efforts among drug policy reform organisations around the USA, and will coordinate a national strategy along with other organisations to end the war on drugs. Students for Sensible Drug Policy opening: ‘international liaison job listing’
Students for Sensible Drug Policy is seeking a highly motivated, well-organised, multi-lingual individual to become the organisation’s first international liaison. SSDP’s target growth region for 2010 will be Latin America.
Latest publications
IDPC Drug Policy Guide, Edition 1
This is the first edition of the IDPC Drug Policy Guide aimed at national government policy makers. This publication is a collaborative effort by a number of IDPC members and partners, and brings together global evidence and best practices on the design and implementation of drug policies and programmes at national level. Read the full document. IDPC Magazine – Issue 1
Welcome to the first issue of the IDPC magazine. The stories in this inaugural issue tell us of the disproportionate harm suffered by individuals because of badly focused resources that target low-level “offending”, and of the human rights abuses committed in the name of drug control. Read the full magazine.
IDPC Advocacy Note – A call to the new Secretary of the International Narcotics Control Board: ongoing challenges
IDPC welcomes the appointment of Jonathan Lucas as Secretary of the INCB and chief of the INCB Secretariat. On the eve on the 53rd Session of the CND, IDPC has identified key areas of concern to bring to Mr Lucas's attention, outlined in this advocacy note. Read the full note.
IDPC Briefing paper – Time for an impact assessment of drug policy
All stakeholders in the drugs debate share the goal of a policy and legal structures that maximise social, environmental, physical and psychological wellbeing. However the drugs debate has been emotive, polarised and deadlocked and as a result, policy development has lacked objective scrutiny. Impact Assessments would bring drug policy back into the arena of science. Read the full document.
IDPC Policy Briefing – Arms trafficking from the United States to Mexico: divergent responsibilities
Arms trafficking from the USA to Mexico is a central issue in bilateral relations, closely linked to drug trafficking and, in particular, the lethal violence unleashed by Mexican drug trafficking organisations. Drug traffickers are obtaining increasingly sophisticated weapons at reasonably low prices thanks to easy access to guns in the US market. As with drug trafficking, gun smuggling implies a relationship of co-responsibility between supplier and consuming countries; the responsibilities and the capacities of states are different, as are the actions and policies that they should adopt. The full document is available in English and Spanish.
UNODC Report – ‘Responding to the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases among drug users’
This report contains an overview of the technical assistance provided by UNODC to member states in developing comprehensive demand reduction strategies and measures, including HIV/AIDS prevention and care in the context of drug abuse. Read the full report. UNODC Executive Director Note – ‘Drug control, crime prevention and criminal justice: a human rights perspective’
This document illustrates how drug control can be better synchronised with the need to protect human rights. The first three sections outline the conceptual and legal foundations underpinning the human rights aspect of drug control, crime prevention and criminal justice; while the fourth section indicates a way forward to mainstreaming human rights in the work of UNODC. Read the full report.
Drugs control is leading to human rights abuses, says LSE study
The paper, 'Narcophobia: drugs prohibition and the generation of human rights abuses', appears in the March edition of Trends In Organized Crime. It examines the history of the drug trade - from the 18th Century when opium was traded as a valuable commodity by, among others, the British, Dutch and Portugese governments - to the modern day in which the United Nations has adopted international treaties against drug trafficking. Eurasian Harm Reduction Network – Access to treatment for drug dependence is essential healthcare’
A new Eurasian Harm Reduction Network report highlights how drug control constrains access to care and treatment in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The Network calls on governments to prioritise a health and human rights-based approach to drug policy. Read the full report.
Europe and drug policies: Italian propaganda ends up in a fiasco
This article published in Il Manifesto criticizes Italy's position on the concept of harm reduction. Whereas the concept is now well accepted at the European level, Italy is seeking to impose its own definition of the term via a list of 'acceptable' and 'non-acceptable' interventions. This was followed by intense propaganda in Italy, wrongly stating that the European Union had accepted the Italian position on harm reduction. Read the full article. New Zealand Drug Foundation video on drug law review
The New Zealand Drug Foundation has produced a short video from an interview with the authors of the review of New Zealand's 35-year-old Misuse of Drugs Act. Watch the video. TTAG Policy Brief – 'Illuminating a Hidden Epidemic: The Public Health Crisis of HIV/HCV Co-infection Among Injecting Drug Users in Thailand'
The Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group (TTAG) developed a policy brief, "Illuminating a Hidden Epidemic: The Public Health Crisis of HIV/HCV Co-infection Among Injecting Drug Users (IDU) in Thailand," which will also be adapted to the regional level in collaboration with Indian, Chinese and Indonesian activists. TTAG's brief, published in Thai and English, will be available on TTAG's website in April. Hungarian Civil Liberties Union video at the 2010 CND – Russia declares that ‘there is no evidence that OST works’
The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) attended a press conference organised by the Russian delegation at the 2010 CND. HCLU asked Mr. Viktor Ivanov, the head of the Federal Drug Control Service, to explain why his country did not tackle its demand side problems with evidence based interventions, such as OST. Mr. Ivanov responded that there was no evidence that methadone treatment worked. Watch the video. ‘Illicit Drugs in Colombia’, Universidad de los Andes
The book addresses the dimension and proportion of cocaine production, trafficking and consumption in Colombia, the effectiveness and costs of anti-drug policies, the interaction between international relations and drug policy in Colombia, the legal aspects of the 'war on drugs', and issues related to Colombian institutions and the war on drugs. Click here for more information.
Upcoming events Universidad de los Andes Conference – launch of ‘Illicit Drugs in Colombia’
15 April 2010, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia
The Universidad de los Andes is organising a conference to launch the book ‘Illicit Drugs in Colombia’. The conference will gather a number of international scholars, and is now open to the public for registration. Click here for more information. Harm Reduction 2010 – IHRA’s 21st International Conference
25 – 29 April 2010, Liverpool, UK
The online registration for the International Harm Reduction Association’s 21st conference is still open. As in previous years, this promises to be a ‘must-attend’ event for the harm reduction field, with a programme covering a huge range of topics. For 2010, the event is returning to the city which hosted the first conference back in 1990 – Liverpool, England. All of the latest information – including news, supporting organisations, scholarships, travel, visas, and an online accommodation booking service – are available on the conference website. Farmers perspectives on the war on drugs – session at Harm Reduction 2010 Conference
29 Apr 2010, Liverpool, UK
In a significant omission, production and supply-side issues have not been a traditional focus of the International Harm Reduction Conference. This session at this year's conference in Liverpool is intended to provide participants with an overview of the diversity and seriousness of the issues facing people in four very different producer nations from the perspectives of those with first-hand experience. This session will take place on Thursday 29th April between 9am and 10am. The session is organised by TNI, IHRA and IPS. The Club Health Conference 2010
7 - 9 June 2010, Zurich, Switzerland
The Club Health Conference 2010 is geared towards those working on public health, substance use, sexual health, violence prevention, policing and criminal justice, tourism, nightlife industries, transport, environmental health, general practice and therapy. The call for abstracts will be open until 28 February 2010. For more information, visit the conference website.
2nd CONNECTIONS European Conference – Drugs, alcohol and criminal justice: ethics, effectiveness and economic of interventions
24 - 25 June 2010, London, UK
The University of Kent is delighted to announce the Second European Conference of the CONNECTIONS Project, organised by the Conference Consortium and supported by Drink and Drugs News and Napo. The conference will look at a range of interventions and treatments, from harm reduction to drug free ‘recovery’ in the criminal justice system. The premise is that no one treatment modality can deal effectively with the complex range of presented need. The task of the conference is to discuss and debate how best the different components can be combined most effectively. For more information, visit the conference website. 'Rights Here, Right Now' – XVIII International AIDS Conference
18 Jul 2010 - 23 Jul 2010, Vienna, Austria
The XVIII International AIDS Conference will take place in Vienna in July of this year. The abstract deadline is 10th February 2010 and the deadline for satellite session proposals is 31st March 2010. For more information, visit the conference website. 8th National Harm Reduction Conference – Harm Reduction Beyond Borders!
18 Nov 2010 - 21 Nov 2010, Austin, Texas, USA
This November, the 8th National Harm Reduction Conference will bring together approximately 1,000 drug users, ex-drug users, researchers, sex workers, social workers, doctors, politicians and community organizers from around the United States to share perspectives on Harm Reduction. For more information, visit the conference website. | 
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