Jean-Paul C. Grunda et al. conclude from the study that "a comprehensive response to the emergence of krokodil and associated harms should focus both on the substance itself and its rudimentary production methods, as well as on its micro and macro risk environments."

IDHDP joined this case as an 'amicus curiae' because of the harsh sentence Mr. Douglas received for possession of drugs in prison and because it highlights the dearth of drug treatment services available in U.S. prisons. While we're disappointed with the result, the appellate judges in this case now join a growing chorus of jurists across the country who voice deep dissatisfaction with U.S. drug laws and who are urging Congress to rethink America's drug policies.

Editorial about Dr Mary Heapburn (IDHDP member) in the Herald Scotland.

This editorial in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) investigates "how prisons contain some of the most disadvantaged people but they can also provide opportunities to improve their health and early intervention could help them to keep them out of prison. 62% of prisoners in UK are on directly observed therapy (FOR TB) were homeless on release, with less than half completing a full course of treatment."

International drug policy experts gathered in the Mexican Parliament (Cámara de Diputados) to reopen the debate during the international seminar: Regulation and Legislation: New focuses in Drug Policy. Read the blog from Cavazos He Arozqueta.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA), in partnership with the National Advisory Council (NAC) on Prescription Drug Misuse, has released a comprehensive 10-year strategy. Which highlights the action required to address the harms associated with prescription drugs in Canada in the areas of prevention, education, treatment, monitoring and surveillance, and enforcement.

WHO have developed the Access to Controlled Medications Programme (ACMP) in consultation with the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). The Programme aims to improve legitimate medical access to all medications controlled under the drug conventions.

Middle East & North Africa Harm Reduction Association April Newsletter.

Following the example of many other EU member states, Portugal has recently approved a restrictive law on legal highs – threatening to push the use of new psychoactive substances into the shadows.

In this commentary Magdalena Harris addresses the growing use of 'krokodil’ by people who inject drugs (PWID) in Eurasia and how this home produced injectable opiate poses a number of challenges for harm reduction policy, by using the rarely researched case of home produced injectable opioid use in New Zealand as an example.

This issue highlights news, upcoming conferences, new publications, and more.

Chris Ford outlines in SMMGP’s March 2013 newsletter the effects of failed drug policies on health and argues that doctors have an important role in shaping and influencing a healthier approach to drug policy.

A new study from the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BCCfE), Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group (TTAG) and Thailand’s Mitsampan Community Research Project, finds the Thai government’s longstanding war-on-drugs, involving the mass incarceration of people who use drugs, has failed to suppress the availability and use of illegal drugs in the country.

The purpose of the National Treatment Indicators (NTI) project is to provide a comprehensive picture of substance use treatment in Canada. The data presented in this report illustrate the potential wealth of information available as the project continues to improve data collection and increase participation.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA), in partnership with the National Advisory Council (NAC) on Prescription Drug Misuse, has released a comprehensive 10-year, pan-Canadian prescription drug strategy.

Editorial by Michel Kazatchkine, IDHDP patron in the Huff post on International Tuberculosis Day. The day “is there to remind us that this disease which some believe belongs to earlier centuries, continues to kill on a massive scale in the world, and acquires new resistant forms that are particularly threatening. And as is so often the case in the history of epidemics, it is the poor and marginalized who are the first victims".

Four Miller School students have launched a grassroots campaign aimed at convincing state lawmakers to allow the transfer of clean needles and syringes to people who inject illegal drugs, an infection-control practice authorized in 35 other states but illegal in Florida.

Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN) reports that "Recipients of the Global Fund in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) have serious reservations about the new funding model (NFM) being launched by the Global Fund in 2013. HIV and TB epidemics continue to grow across the region and people living with and / or affected by the 3 key diseases (i.e. HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria) experience persistent health and human rights challenges."

The brothers Arash and Kamiar Alaei—internationally celebrated doctors who advanced treatment for drug users in Iran but were imprisoned, to the vociferous protest of the international medical community (BMJ 2009;338:b109, doi:10.1136/bmj.b109)—set out their experiences and hopes for harm reduction

Jason Luty UK consultant psychiatrist, writes a personal view in the BMJ that "Despite overwhelming evidence that substitution therapy reduces harm, the UK government now advocates abstinence." He also states that: It has been proved beyond all reasonable doubt that opioid substitution reduces drug use and crime and improves physical and mental health and social functioning”. His comments about collecting of unnecessary data are also welcome: “We should abolish this time wasting control freakery and needless bureaucracy. The only function of this sort of nonsense is to keep policy writers and bureaucrats in employment at taxpayers’ expense.”

The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is the leading decision making body of the United Nations on drug policy issues. The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) attended the 2013 annual meeting in Vienna and interviewed key decision makers and professionals to map the new trends in international drug control.

A rapid response to Dr. Luty’s personal view from Dr Andrew Byrne, an addiction treatment physician from Australia."

The film recalls the experiences of people affected by an accidental opioid overdose and the emergency medicine naloxone. Based on true stories from 2 Canadian cities, this short documentary offers a window into the moment between life and death—and highlights the need for expanding overdose prevention.

In response to a request from last year's session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, UNODC has prepared a technical report on the challenges presented by new psychoactive substances (NPS). These substances, sometimes referred to as 'legal highs', are multiplying in numbers and becoming more widespread geographically, causing great concern as officials struggle to contain them.

This statement is given on behalf of the International Network of People who Use Drugs and is given in endorsement of the Support Don't Punish campaign.

The Norwegian government is considering decriminalizing heroin inhalation as a means to reduce overdoses.

This report is the first global situation assessment on new psychoactive substances put forward under the Global SMART Programme and pursuant to Commission on Narcotic Drugs Resolution 55/1 on “Promoting international cooperation in responding to the challenges posed by new psychoactive substances”

An open letter spearheaded by IDHDP member, Robert Newman and National Advocates for Pregnant Women, and joined by leading clinical and research experts calls for policies addressing prenatal exposure to opiates based on scientific evidence, and ending the perpetuation of misinformation and prejudice against pregnant women who use opiates.

In an editorial in the New York Times just prior to the meeting of the Commission on Narcotics Control earlier this month, Global Commission on Drug Policy members Fernando Henrique Cardoso, a former president of Brazil, and Ruth Dreifuss, a former president of Switzerland and minister of home affairs , bring attention to the human rights abuses resulting from drug control policies and call on the human rights movement to “take a leading role in calling for an end to the war on drugs and the development of drug policies that advance rather than degrade human rights.”

Editorial by Adeeba Kamarulzaman IDHDP patron on the International Day of Women reflecting on how the Malaysian Government and community stakeholders have demonstrated over the past decade that working in partnership has made it possible to reduce the number of HIV/AIDS cases among men, but the same needs to be done regarding women. whose numbers are spiking. Read here