Harm Reduction Coalition affirms that we will not end the overdose crisis until we place people who use drugs, along with their families and friends, at the centre of our policies and strategies.

This case study briefly describes and provides two US state-specific examples of innovative policy models of pharmacy-based naloxone, implemented to reduce overdose events and improve opioid safety: Collaborative Pharmacy Practice Agreements and Pharmacy Standing Orders.

Long-acting injectable naltrexone blocks the effects of opiates for about a month and has also helped dependent drinkers cut back. Treatment records in the US state of Missouri showed that among the few problem substance using offenders allocated to or who chose this treatment, a much higher proportion became abstinent than those offered other kinds of addiction treatment.

At the meeting on drug matters in December 2014, ASEAN ministers agreed on the need for a new paradigm to manage the risk of drugs, with a new strategy that balances treatment and prevention on the one hand, and law enforcement on the other.

International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) is a global event held on August 31st each year and aims to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma of a drug-related death. IOAD has released a fact sheet on overdose statistics across the globe.

Countries, programme managers, health workers and other stakeholders have indicated the importance of consolidating World Health Organization (WHO) guidance for HIV testing services (HTS). Thus, this guidance brings together existing guidance relevant to the provision of HTS and addresses issues and elements for effective delivery of HTS that are common in a variety of settings, contexts and diverse populations.

IAHPC August newsletter containing several important invitations to participate in projects that help increase access to essential medicines such as morphine and other opioids.

There is an urgent need to scale up access to opioid substitution therapy in correctional and community settings globally to address mortality of people with opioid use disorders, particularly in the high-risk weeks after prison release.

"Bill C-2 undermines the rights of people who use drugs to access lifesaving and health-protecting services." - Critical Analysis of Bill C-2.

UNAIDS discussion brief. Key facts and a public health approach to drug control

Needle and syringe exchange and opiate substitution therapy in New York City has worked in reducing HIV infection in people who inject drugs (PWIDs) to the extent of almost abolishing HIV infection in white people who inject drugs, but HIV prevalence in black people who inject drugs remains high.

Contents include: Drugs, health and trafficking, Transnational organised crime, Justice, Corruption, Terrorism, Policy support and public affairs, Research, trend analysis and forensics, Independent evaluation, and Finances and funding.

Guidelines for those whose work brings them into contact with adults bereaved after a drug or alcohol-related death.

Ensuring the availability of controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes while preventing their misuse and diversion is a fundamental objective of the UN drug conventions and an obligation for Member States.

Recommendations for UNGASS 2016 Outcome Document on Controlled Medicines: French language version.

This month’s story by Dr Jasna Cuk Rupnik MD from Center for prevention and treatment of addiction of illicit drugs, Logatec, Slovenia.

Recommendations for UNGASS 2016 Outcome Document on Controlled Medicines: Spanish language version.

The term medical marijuana refers to using the whole unprocessed marijuana plant or its basic extracts to treat a disease or symptom. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not recognized or approved the marijuana plant as medicine.

SMMGP - At a time of changing regulation and an increasing acceptance and evidence base for its use as a medicine across diverse conditions, GPs could be left thinking that it’s all a bit confusing and wondering what their stance should be in clinical practice.

Based on the options provided by the international drug control legal framework, this paper considers the rehabilitative measures of treating, educating or reintegrating drug users as alternatives or additions to conviction or punishment that are established in the laws of many countries in Europe today.

A change to the Russian law governing narcotics now enshrines a terminally ill patient's right to pain relief, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can get the drugs they need.

This briefing provides an overview of the key issues that local providers and commissioners of drug and hepatitis treatment should consider.

The primary objectives of this study were to determine the extent of injecting risk behaviours among a typical sample of people who inject drugs (PWID), and to compare the drug use and risk behaviours of PWID who reported anti-HCV positive and negative results.

BMJ - Associations between benzodiazepine prescribing patterns including dose, type, and dosing schedule and the risk of death from drug overdose among US veterans receiving opioid analgesics.

The purpose of this paper is to assess whether mental health symptoms affect one-year reoffending rates upon release from prison for participants engaging in substance dependence treatment in the UK.

The World Drug Report presents a comprehensive annual overview of the latest developments in the world's illicit drug markets by focusing on the production, trafficking and consumption of the main types of illicit drugs, along with the related health consequences of those drugs.

Highlights include: Fatal poisoning by methadone or buprenorphine in England and Wales. Injection into the femoral vein among people who inject drugs in urban areas of England. Women's injection drug practices in their own words: a qualitative study. Methadone continuation versus forced withdrawal on incarceration in a combined US prison and jail Designer drugs 2015: assessment and management.

This short report provides an overview of how European countries are developing innovative legal responses to the challenges presented to public health and drug policy by the rapidly evolving market for new psychoactive substances.

The aim of this research study was to undertake a 7 year follow-up study with graduates of the Ballymun Strengthening Families Programme (12-16 years) to determine the impact of the Programme on family and community life.

This year’s second edition of European Medical Journal Hepatology, which has been devoted entirely to covering the major topics raised at the 50th anniversary of the International Liver Congress™ (ILC) organised by the European Association for the Study of the Liver, held in Vienna, Austria, in late April.