The comprehensive review is the first of its kind to examine the effectiveness of all types of preventative drug policy worldwide, including policies to control the supply of drugs, prescription programmes to control pharmaceuticals, prevention programmes and health and social services for drug users.

In response to a notified increase in HIV cases among injecting drug users (IDU) in Greece and Romania, the European Commission asked the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) in November 2011 to conduct a rapid inquiry among their network of HIV surveillance- and drug focal points to investigate whether such increases had occurred in other countries

Call for papers from the Hindawi Publishing Corporation regarding Evidence-Based Prevention Interventions for People Who Use Illicit Drugs.

This document is very UK focused but has very interesting papers including “Quantitative assessment of time dependent drug-use trends by the analysis of drugs and related metabolites in raw sewage (Norway)”

This document provides a critical look at the current realities of access to morphine in low-, middle-, and high-income countries.

This guide was developed in response to the growing need among service providers working with drug users in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia to introduce overdose prevention work into their services.

Chris Ford's presentation "The need to challenge unhealthy drug policies to improve drug treatment" at the Global Addiction Conference in Lisbon, Portugal

Chris Ford's slide presentation of "The need to challenge unhealthy drug policies to improve drug treatment" presented at the Global Addiction Conference in Lisbon, Portugal.

This manual has been developed to provide behavioral health care programs offering substance abuse treatment services information to better address the needs of clients who have viral hepatitis. The manual was developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

IDHDP sent a letter in support of a young pregnant woman who was being held against her will by child welfare authorities in Norway.

This issue is dedicated to the Rights of People Who Use Drugs. In the content you will find: Message from an Expert: Mat Southwell, INPUD and Olga Belyaeva, EHRN Steering Committee member; Completing Laws with Rights, review by Mikhail Golichenko, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and more

Chris Ford speaks about IDHDP on the Infectious Disease Society of America's Center for Global Health Policy blog.

Problematic use of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS)2 has become a significant health and social problem in East and Southeast Asia, in particular the use of methamphetamine, the most potent amphetamine derivative and most widely used substance in the region.

The report draws attention to the many instances of medical professionals who, often at personal risk, seek to prevent and mitigate the effects of torture.

Overpopulation, poor hygiene and disease prevention conditions in prisons are major structural determinants of increased infectious risk within prison settings but evidence-based national and WHO guidelines provide clear indications on how to reduce this risk. We sought to estimate the level of infectious risk by measuring how French prisons adhere to national and WHO guidelines.

INPUD is a global network that advocates for the human rights of people who use drugs. As with earlier movements for equality - notably those relating to gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality and disability - language is one domain through which identity is expressed and where oppression may arise.

An interview regarding the denial by U.S. military's insurance scheme to cover maintenance pharmacotherapy treatment for addiction.

A profile in The Lancet (Vol 378, 16 July 2011) of Drs. Arash and Kamiar Alaei.

The scourge of the hepatitis C virus in the United States is woefully underestimated. Brian R. Edlin states it is time the infection is given the priority it demands.

The changes in Portugal’s drug law and national policy and how this has marked a turning point for the country and a milestone in international drug policy.

Statement in support of the Report of the Global Commission on Drugs

Anti-illicit-drug public-service announcements (PSAs) have become a cornerstone of drug policy in the USA. However, studies of the effectiveness of these interventions have not been subjected to a systematic evaluation.

IDHDP statement in support of the recent call from the World Medical Association (WMA) and International Federation of Health and Human Rights Organizations (IFHHRO) and others to close drug detention centers.

Open Society Foundations statement on drug detention by professional medical organisations (including IDHDP), United Nations bodies and international organisations.

The WHO Regional Office for Europe writes a strong endorsement for substitution treatment and harm reduction interventions for treating opioid dependence to the Ministry of Health in Kazakhstan, and is applicable anywhere in the world.

IDHDP's seminar on "How Does Drug Policy Affect Your Country's Drug Treatment?" 5 April 2011 in Beirut.

An excellent article on the link between poverty, drugs and conflict written by Nick Crofts, senior research fellow at the Nossal Institute for Global Health at the University of Melbourne, and principle author of the "Dependent on Development" report which was recently published with support from the Global Drug Policy Program.

This public health fact sheet describes how naloxone is successfully being used to reverse overdose around the world with no side effects beyond opiate withdrawal. It provides real-life examples of programs that have trained drug users, their families and friends to efficiently identify the signs of overdose, administer naloxone, and often, save lives. And, it explains in-depth why naloxone is an invaluable tool for empowering communities to protect their health.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists guidelines assert that "Addicted individuals should always be cared for and treated without being stigmatised, whatever their particular circumstances. For those individuals who become casualties of substance misuse and are in police custody, these guidelines offer a humane response, with provision for care and treatment. They are flexible tools designed to accommodate changes in the nature and extent of substance misuse in the community, as well as changes in national policy and strategy, together with new developments in the care and management of substance-dependent individuals."

Lisa Haugaard, Jennifer Johnson - Latin America Working Group Education Fund (www.lawg.org)