2016 has been a momentous year for international drug policy.

The year 2016 was the hottest year on record since the industrial revolution overtaking 2015 - which is now the second hottest. However, even with evidence like this an anti-science agenda exists to a level where the incoming President of the most powerful country in the world says climate change does not exist and threatens to pull the USA out of the Paris agreement signed recently by every country in the world. Is there a parallel with drug policy? Policies based on science, which have led to huge reductions both in drug related deaths and the transmission of HIV being eroded at an alarming rate.

Official statement of the West Africa Commission on Drugs (WACD)

Viral hepatitis is an international public health challenge, comparable to other major communicable diseases, including HIV. Despite the burden it places on communities across all global regions, hepatitis has been largely ignored as a health and development priority until recently.

ACMD’s report on diversion and illicit supply of medicines.

In the Lancet Global Health, Martin Wegman and colleagues present their study of opioid use in opioid dependent individuals released from compulsory drug detention centres compared with those from voluntary methadone treatment centres in Malaysia.

On International Day for Human Rights, NGO "Diogenis Drug Policy Dialogue", released this special video.

Report finds prescription-only medicines are being used to supplement the use of other illicit drugs, including cocaine and heroin.

Unmet reproductive healthcare needs among women with substance use disorders can cause a range of poor health outcomes at birth.

Interactive wastewater analysis tool zooms in on city drug use.

Maintaining the capacity and quality of drug treatment is essential to prevent further increases in opioid-related deaths, government drug advisers have told the Home Secretary on the 12 December 2016. Over the last 4 years, the number of reported drug misuse deaths involving opioids (including heroin) rose by 58% in England, 23% in Wales and 21% in Scotland. This report investigates the causes of the increase and potential responses.

An exploration of the views of British Black youth and communities on UK drug policy 2016.

With the release of the World Drug Report 2016 taking place only a few months after UNGASS on the ‘world drug problem’, it is fitting – and unsurprising that the latest version of the UNODC’s flagship publication is framed within the context of the New York event and the key themes developing from it.

While opioid prescribing by physicians appears to have unleashed the epidemic prior to 2012, physician prescribing no longer plays a major role in sustaining it. The accelerating pace of the opioid epidemic in 2015–16 requires a serious reconsideration of governmental policy initiatives that continue to focus on reductions in opioid prescribing.

Previous research has documented high rates of alcohol and substance use disorders among youth in the juvenile justice system, but there are few longitudinal studies following these adolescents into young adulthood.

The global failures of primary HIV prevention for people who inject drugs are driven largely by lack of access to the basics of prevention, and this makes the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis for these populations complex and challenging.

Syringe services programs for HIV prevention. Sharing needles, syringes, and other injection equipment puts people who inject drugs (PWID) at high risk for getting HIV and other infections, including hepatitis.

Building on current partial decriminalization models that have helped to achieve more effective drug policies and positive outcomes, with a greater emphasis on justice, dignity and human rights, this report advocates ending all penalties on people who use drugs.

Update from the EMCDDA expert network.

Although HIV is preventable through effective public health measures, significant HIV transmission continues in Europe.

The war on drugs has failed and doctors should lead calls for drug policy reform say BMJ editor in chief, Fiona Godlee and features and debates editor, Richard Hurley.

Data tables and commentary for the unlinked anonymous monitoring surveys of infections and risk among people who inject drugs (PWID).

The Surgeon General’s report on alcohol, drugs, and health.

In his book, The Politics of Evidence-Based Policymaking, Paul Cairney identifies practical consequences for actors trying to maximize the uptake of scientific evidence within government. His conclusion has profound implications for the role of science and scientific experts in policymaking.

The Caribbean has been a major cocaine trafficking route for the last 50 years originating from outside the region, and many of its countries are now experiencing a problematic rise in the use of crack-cocaine. Furthermore, the region produces cannabis for domestic consumption.

Kevin Molloy steps in at the last minute, to replace Dave Marsden to talk about listening & responding to the needs of military veterans with complex needs. This was recorded at the City Health Conference 2016.

Written by Kevin Molloy of the Veterans’ Substance Misuse Case Management Service.

Evidence and ethics should inform policies that promote health and respect dignity

Despite the odd shout and whisper for reform, most doctors’ professional organisations have little to say about policies such as the criminalisation of people who use drugs.

The BMJ said some countries have already removed criminal penalties for personal drug possession.