The World Drug Report is produced annually by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), to summarise information on the worldwide manufacture and marketing of illicit drugs and to guide appropriate actions by legal authorities and public health agencies. Although the overall situation is described as “stable”, the 2013 report highlights a striking rise in the availability of new psychoactive substances (NPS). As illustrated by Carrie Arnold in this issue of The Lancet, so-called legal highs have swiftly gained attention and notoriety in the UK and other countries; with serious health outcomes not unknown, governmental responses have struggled to keep pace with this new and evidently enticing phenomenon.

Part of the challenge of NPS lies in their variety—some are derived from plants, for instance Salvia divinorum, with synthetic cathinones and cannabinoids also being major contributors in different countries. Chemical heterogeneity is a hallmark of this group of drugs, with the number of NPS identified in the European Union having risen from 14 in 2005 to 236 at the end of 2012. Creativity in synthesis appears to have been accompanied by resourceful marketing. Information provided via the internet, together with ease of manufacture in and transport from distant regions, especially countries in Asia, seems to have encountered an opportunity created by sluggish legislative machinery.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert

Legal highs and lows: Illicit drug use around the world

According to the requirements of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GF) to proposals from regional organisations, the Steering Committee of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN) will be responsible for the overall governance of the GF grant development and implementation.

As of June 2013, EHRN Steering Committee (SC) consists of 13 persons representing eight constituencies of the EHRN membership and elected by these constituencies: Baltic States, Belarus-Ukraine-Moldova, Caucasus, Central Asia, Central Europe, Russia, South-Eastern Europe, and Drug User Community.

EHRN Steering Committee establishes a Regional Technical Advisory Group (RTAG) as a mechanism to enhance the development and implementation of the grant proposal and to ensure a wider perspective and input from various partners is taken into account to reflect international and national interests and trends.

The RTAG will provide the SC with strategic technical guidance in the development and implementation of the GF grant. RTAG will act as a consultative body and will have no decision-making authority.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.

Application form for the representatives of organisations from EECA to become a member of Regional Technical Advisory Group for the EHRN Regional Initiative 

Southeast Asia, where almost all countries now have some form of harm reduction, is experiencing serious obstacles in their efforts to curb illicit drug use and HIV/AIDS through alternative treatments.

Several harm reduction programs lack government funding, are ill-equipped to meet demand, or fail to comply with UN standards. At the same time, national drug policies encourage law enforcement to criminalize drug users.

While most countries allow key harm reduction strategies, such as needle and syringe exchange programs (NSPs) and opioid substitution therapy (OST), a harsh “war on drugs” method often prevails as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-member economic bloc, struggles with the “unrealistic hope” of a drug-free region by 2015, said Joe Amon, director of the health and human rights division at HRW.

ASEAN’s 2015 drug-free target ‘unrealistic’

The passing of world leading legislation on new psychoactive substances takes New Zealand a big step closer to healthy drug law, the New Zealand Drug Foundation said today.

“The Psychoactive Substances Act is a world first at getting ahead of the ‘legal highs’ industry and taking control of the problems these substances cause,” New Zealand Drug Foundation Executive Director Ross Bell said.

The law, which passed its final reading in Parliament today, sets up a regulatory framework where manufacturers of products like synthetic cannabis will have to prove they are ‘low risk’ before the can be sold. It also imposes restrictions on who can make and sell the substances as well as measures to reduce availability.

“This is a cutting edge and pragmatic approach to new psychoactive substances which will reduce the harm they cause in our communities,” Mr Bell said. “It is fantastic that the Government has listened to community concerns, acted on the evidence and built consensus on the best way to handle this complicated area of policy.”

Mr Bell said that the regulation of new psychoactive substances was the first step in the right direction for healthy drug law. “New Zealand now needs to implement broader health-focussed changes to our outdated drug laws.”

Hooray for healthy drug law in New Zealand

The Brazilian Commission on Drugs and Democracy along with mental health and human rights institutions have signed a manifest that criticizes the decision to put into emergency processing PLC 37/2013 (formally known as PL 7663/2010) that reforms the National System on Drug Policies. The project was included in a security package “to answer the popular grievances for security” that are being vindicated in the protests. This will allow the PLC to be voted within 15 days in the Senate.

The institutions that endorse this document demand that PLC 37/2013 be removed from the security package so that society and all stakeholders can democratically discuss its grave repercussions.

While the rest of the world discusses a more humane policy, based on the respect for human rights and harm reduction based preventive treatment, PLC 37 establishes involuntary interment of drug addicts and an increase in the penalty for drug trafficking. This project does not distinguish drug users from traffickers, which will increase the injustices within the current drug law.

For the endorsing organizations, this project is a regression to the failed Brazilian criminalization policies which disregards and demerits the historic accomplishments in public health and anti-asylum politics. This project increases the expenditures of the State while diminishing the human rights of those who suffer and are in vulnerable situations.

If approved, this project will serve to increase the stigmas suffered by those in need of treatment, the mass incarceration of the poor, the criminalization of drug users arrested indiscriminately as drug traffickers and propagation of the forced interment industry, renowned for its ineffectiveness in treating.

Public note against the emergency processing of PLC 37/2013 that alters the Drug Law

For the past few weeks protests have taken over the streets of Brazil. The different demands made by civil society on historic causes on collective interests demonstrate that public debate about what society wants is not the exclusivity of political groups, NGOs, or social organizations. The historic characteristics of these latest events, is unquestionable.

It is important to highlight, however, that this healthy scenario of democratic participation in public debate cannot be used to justify that the Legislative branch approves, in a rush and with the support of the Executive branch, important law projects without the proper debate with all stakeholders, organized or not. We were all surprised with the recent decision to put under emergency processing PLC nº 37/2013 (formally known as PL 7663/2010) – which reforms the National Drug Policy System (SISNAD) – “in response to security grievances” which are being made in the streets.

Click here to read here the full article.

Public note against the emergency processing of PLC 37/2013, which alters the Brazilian drug law

A Comissão Brasileira sobre Drogas e Democracia e entidades que trabalham com saúde mental e direitos humanos assinam manifesto que critica a determinação de colocar em tramitação com regime de urgência o PLC 37/2013 (antigo PL7663/2010) que reformula o Sistema Nacional de Política de Drogas. O projeto foi incluído em um pacote “para responder as reivindicações por segurança” que estariam sendo feitas nas ruas. Dessa forma, o PLC deverá ser votado em até 15 dias no Senado.

As instituições que assinam o documento exigem a retirada do PLC 37/2013 do pacote de segurança para que ele possa ser debatido detalhadamente em todas as instâncias da sociedade.

No momento em que o mundo discute uma política mais humana, baseada no respeito aos direitos humanos e o tratamento preventivo voltado para a redução de danos, a PLC 37 estabelece a internação compulsória dos dependentes químicos e o aumento de pena para tráfico de drogas. Esse projeto não distingue usuário de traficante, o que pode gerar um aumento nas injustas que já acontecem com a atual lei de drogas.

Para as organizações, este projeto é um retrocesso da já fracassada política criminal brasileira sobre o tema e despreza as lutas históricas por avanços na saúde pública e na política anti-manicomial. Trata-se de um projeto que aumenta os custos do Estado ao mesmo tempo em que reduz, drasticamente, o respeito aos direitos individuais das pessoas em situação de vulnerabilidade e sofrimento.

Tal aprovação servirá como instrumento catalisador do estigma carregado por pessoas em sofrimento, da política de encarceramento em massa de pobres, da criminalização dos usuários presos indistintamente como traficantes e da indústria de internações forçadas, sabidamente ineficaz como tratamento.

Nota pública contra a urgência na tramitação do PLC 37/2013 que altera a Lei de Drogas: Projeto de Lei no Senado aumenta os custos do Estado e viola direitos humanos

Há algumas semanas protestos tomam conta das ruas do Brasil. As diversas demandas da sociedade civil em torno de causas históricas de interesse coletivo demonstram que o debate sobre o que a sociedade quer não é exclusividade de partidos políticos, ONGs ou movimentos sociais organizados. É inegável o caráter histórico dos últimos acontecimentos.

É importante ressaltar, porém, que esse saudável cenário de participação democrática no debate público não pode servir de justificativa para que o Legislativo aprove, a toque de caixa, e com apoio do Governo, importantes projetos de lei sem o devido debate com os diferentes atores envolvidos, sejam eles organizados ou não. Fomos todos surpreendidos com a recente decisão de colocar em regime de urgência o PLC nº 37/2013 (antigo PL 7663/2010) – que reformula o Sistema Nacional de Políticas sobre Drogas – “para responder as reivindicações por segurança” que estariam sendo feitas nas ruas.

Registe-se para recever as Alertas mensais do IDPC e obter informação sobre questões relacionadas com as políticas de drogas.

Nota pública contra a urgência na tramitação do PLC 37/2013 que altera a Lei de Drogas no Brasil

The invitation to participate in the e-discussion on 'The Global Commission on HIV and the Law: Taking the Commission's Recommendations Forward' is open. The discussion, running from 27 June to 25 July, is open to the public and accessible by clicking here. We will be cross-posting content regularly from the discussion on our mailing list over the next month.

We cordially invite you to participate in an e-discussion, “The Global Commission on HIV and the Law: Taking the Commission’s Recommendations Forward", from 27 June to 25 July.

The e-discussion aims to analyze experiences in implementing the Commission’s recommendations, as well as identify challenges, opportunities, good practices and lessons learned in addressing human rights and legal frameworks in the context of HIV.

The Global Commission on HIV and the Law, convened by UNDP and chaired by 

former president of Brazil), examined the relationship between HIV, human rights and legal environments. Its final report, released in July 2012, presents a coherent and compelling evidence base that laws that protect human rights strengthen AIDS responses. The report provides important recommendations to improve public health and social justice, with a focus on addressing: discrimination; criminalization of HIV transmission; HIV among key populations, women and children; and intellectual property law. Since 2012, some 80 countries have initiated follow-up action.

To further implementation of the Commission’s recommendations, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark and UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé recently sent a joint letter to UN Resident Coordinators requesting their leadership and support to advance efforts on HIV and the law, including by:

Encouraging UN Country Teams to develop and implement strategies to support national counterparts in addressing the Commission’s findings and recommendations; and

Encouraging multi-stakeholder discussion to take forward the recommendations of the Commission, including through national dialogue, legal review and reform, sensitization of judiciary, parliamentarians and law enforcement officials, and access to justice programming.

The e-discussion will be used to inform and enhance future support to implementation of the Commission’s recommendations and will be framed around the following questions:

The Commission issued recommendations in the following areas: discrimination; criminalization of HIV transmission, exposure, or non-disclosure; key populations (people who use drugs, sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender persons, prisoners, and migrants); women; children and youth; and intellectual property law and access to treatment.

What actions have been taken in your country to follow-up on the findings and recommendations of the Commission or to promote an enabling legal environment for AIDS responses? What good practices or lessons have emerged from these activities?

Building a culture of respect for human rights and consequently strengthening legal environments can be complex and challenging, particularly in the context of issues that are perceived as controversial, such as criminalization of certain behaviours or populations at greater risk of HIV.

What have been the most difficult issues to address in supporting implementation of the Commission’s recommendations? What approaches have you used to deal with these challenges?

Phase II: Looking ahead: Strategically taking the Commission’s recommendations forward (11-25 July)

Discussions on the post 2015 development agenda have highlighted the need for countries to continue efforts to meet their MDG targets. They have also called for greater attention to advancing human rights, reaching the most excluded, and finding integrated solutions for development challenges.

In the context of an evolving development framework, what are the opportunities and challenges for maintaining attention to rights-based approaches to HIV and health? What strategies should be promoted to advance effective HIV and health responses?

The Commission’s recommendations are primarily aimed at governments, civil society actors, the private sector and the UN.

What are examples of innovative or non-traditional partnerships that can be used to strategically advance human-rights based responses to HIV? How can partnerships be effectively initiated and comparative advantages of different organizations leveraged, to support implementation of the Commission’s recommendations?

The first phase of the discussion will be moderated by Suki Beavers, Policy Advisor and Cluster Leader for Democratic Governance, Crisis Prevention and Recovery and Gender Based Violence with the UNDP Gender Team in the Bureau for Development Policy, UNDP, and by Tracy Robinson, former member of the Commission’s Technical Advisory Group and Rapporteur on the Rights of Women at the Organization of American States.

The second phase of the discussion will be moderated by Vivek Divan, Policy Specialist Key Populations and Access to Justice, HIV, Health and Development Group, UNDP, and by Michaela Clayton, Director of the AIDS & Rights Alliance for Southern Africa and Chairperson of the UNAIDS Human Rights Reference Group.

You can participate in the discussion online by clicking here.

You don’t need to log in to follow the discussion, however when you want to contribute you are requested to log-in (for people with Teamworks accounts) or to sign up for Teamworks. 

Kindly note that this is a public platform and that your contributions are visible to the public.

You may also contribute by sending your submission to hivlawdiscussion@unteamworks.org. 

Your response will be disseminated on the networks that are cross-posting the discussion.

We welcome your contributions in English, French and Spanish

. The discussion platform offers automatic (unofficial) translations of discussion contributions - please use the Google Translate button.

Click here to know more about how to participate on the e-discussión.

The Global Commission on HIV and the Law: Taking the Commission's recommendations forward

Another summer, another reminder of the consequences of our drug laws: "A man has been arrested in connection with the death of an 18-year-old who had taken fake ecstasy tablets", "The woman died in Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, on Tuesday. She and three friends had taken green tablets with a Rolex Crown logo on them".

to purchase ecstasy and primary responsibility for these horrid deaths lies with the people who manufactured these pills.

Nevertheless, unscrupulous (and stupid) suppliers are not the only culpable actors in this sorry tragedy. Parliamentarians share some blame too. They may only be secondarily responsible but they cannot wish their responsibility away. Because these deaths, horrid as they are, must be the obvious, oft-noted, consequence of prohibition.

Once upon a time David Cameron recognised this. Before he became leader of the Conservative party he was a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee and, way back then, declared himself open to 

“alternative ways – including the possibility of legalisation and regulation – to tackle the global drugs dilemma.”

The war on drugs kills another seven Britons. How many more must die for a bankrupt idea?

The herbal stimulant Khat, currently legal in the UK and popular among Somali, Ethiopian, and Yemeni communities, is said to be reclassify later in the year as a class C drug. This decision has made Parliamentarians in Kenya, where a majority of Khat comes from, voice their opinion on wanting the UK to reverse this decision.

Kenyan farmers: 'Khat is no drug'

A majority of countries in the Southeast Asia implement some some form of harm reduction. However, many programmes lack government funding, are ill-equipped to meet demand, or fail to comply with UN standards. While most countries allow key harm reduction strategies, such as needle and syringe exchange programmes (NSPs) and opioid substitution therapy (OST), a harsh “war on drugs” method often prevails as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) struggles with the “unrealistic hope” of a drug-free region by 2015

According to Harm Reduction International, a global NGO, more than 570,000 IDUs live across Southeast Asia. More than half of them come from Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, which are listed by the UN as high priority with major HIV epidemics in IDU populations.

Southeast Asia slowly accepting harm reduction

UNAIDS was the first United Nations programme to have formal civil society representation on its governing body. It is guided by the Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) with representatives from 22 governments, the UNAIDS Cosponsors and an NGO Delegation of 5 delegates and 5 alternate delegates.

The NGO Delegation to the UNAIDS PCB has vacancies for two-year terms beginning 1 January 2014 and ending 31 December 2015, for the positions mentioned below.

The UNAIDS PCB is the key global forum for HIV and AIDS policy. The Delegation is important to the effective inclusion of community voices; Delegates represent the perspectives of civil society, including people living with HIV, within UNAIDS policies and programming.

This represents a unique opportunity for committed activists and advocates to make a difference to HIV and AIDS policy implementation in their regions.

The UNAIDS PCB NGO Delegation is now recruiting for:

Applications from people living with HIV are particularly encouraged.

Call for Nominations of PCB NGO Delegates 2014-2015

Youth RISE are partnering with UNAIDS to develop a guidance document targeted at young people (u18) who inject drugs. Youth RISE will be holding 16 focus groups consultations in different countries to ensure the upcoming guidelines document is informed by young people with experience of injecting under the age of 18, and hence make it an assesible tool for these key populations at risk. 

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