The Colombian government announced that it will restart is controversial aerial fumigation program to eradicate coca fields. But does it provide any alternative livelihood to coca farmers? Did it fulfil its promises to support poor rural communities? And what do we know about the risks of forced eradication on public health and the environment? Watch this next episode of Drugreporter Café learn the answers to these questions from our two guests, Isabel Pereira (Dejusticia) and Elizabeth Dickinson (International Crisis Group).

Will Colombia restart aerial coca spraying? | Drugreporter Café

By Dwayne Gladden / The Real News Network

April 20, the semi-official day of celebration for cannabis is here. The tradition of “420,” which started in the early ‘70s as a group of Bay Area high schoolers meeting at 4:20 PM to get high, is now celebrated annually and internationally on April 20, and has evolved over the past half century into part day of protest against drug prohibition and part carnival of cannabis capitalism and consumption.

But the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lock-downs have cancelled most 420 events across the country and though cannabis is deemed “essential” in most states where it is legal and thus remains available for purchase, state governments, medical experts, and even activist organizations like NORML all issued “stay home this 4/20” directives, imploring cannabis enthusiasts to prioritize public health over consumerism and recreation. And for good reason: mass public gatherings significantly increase the risk of infection and excessive cannabis smoking compromises one’s ability to fight the respiratory symptoms of the virus.

The ongoing pandemic and resulting cancelation of 420 presents an opportunity to reinvent the high holiday of cannabis, and perhaps even the cannabis movement. As coronavirus affects us all but infects and kills black and brown Americans and prisoners at disproportionately higher rates, now is the time to stop and reflect on the history of the 420 tradition and to reinvent its meaning and practice both during the pandemic and moving forward. Rather than privileging the interests of Big Bud over public health and social justice, the tradition of 420 should be rerooted in ethical consumption and equity.

Reinventing 420 in the age of coronavirus

While the country has been subjected to shocking revelations from the capital of our nation for the past few months, another equally startling story has somewhat managed to slip under the radar. In February, Labor backbencher Michael Pettersson introduced a private members bill to remove criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of some illicit drugs in the Australian Capital Territory.

If it passes, the bill would effectively make being caught with small quantities of MDMA, cocaine, and even heroin and ice a non-criminal matter. Instead, users would be hit with a $100 fine and sent to a health programme. This wouldn’t make all drugs legal and you would still get into trouble for being caught with them. However, the penalties for possession wouldn’t give users a criminal record or bring them into the prison system, a practice that serves to harm, rather than help users.

It might sound like a radical idea here in Australia, but it’s one that Portugal has been using effectively for two decades. That strategy dropped their rates of drug-related HIV infection by 90%, increased treatment for people with addiction by 60%, and didn’t significantly increase drug use across the country. The bill is now before a parliamentary committee who are accepting submissions on the policy from the public and will report back in October.

Australia: Will the ACT really decriminalise all drugs? We ask the experts

This survey is a part of a larger research project by the Civil Society Forum on Drugs aiming to assess the state of implementation of the EU Action Plan on Drugs 2017-2020 in the EU Member States and beyond. It is addressed to civil society organisations working in the field of drug policy.
The Civil Society Forum on Drugs (CSFD) is an expert group of the European Commission. Its members are selected by the Commission for a three-year mandate based on their competencies, knowledge, and expertise. One of its thematic working groups is concerned with the EU drug strategies and action plans.
Following the survey conducted at the beginning of the Action Plan 2017-2020 implementation (report can be accessed here), the CSFD continues the monitoring of accessibility and quality of key demand reduction and harm reduction measures. This survey aims to collect the data allowing for the evaluation of the current situation and identify the potential changes taking place during the last three years. Its results, complemented with other elements of this research project, will be published on the CSFD website.
Please, fill in the questionnaire providing answers according to your best expert knowledge. If you have any questions, please contact Iga Jeziorska, the Chair of the Working Group on the EU Action Plan, at:iga.kender-jeziorska@euro-yoda.org Thank you for your contribution!

Survey: Civil society perspectives on the implementation of the EU Action Plan on Drugs

Haryati Jonet, known as Yatie, has been using drugs since she was a teenager.

At the age of 15, she was thrown out of her home. Pregnant and a lone she began using drugs.

“My first taste of drugs was when I was 15. I was involved with drugs problematically, for 20 years,” says, Jonet, now 46.

Jonet is a member of the International Network of People who use drugs, a global NGO working to promote the health and defend the rights of people who use drugs. She was featured in a video presented during a side-event of the 64th session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs. The event focused on why people should be at the centre of any policy towards decriminalisation of drug users.

Participants heard speakers explain why and how people who use drugs should be at the centre of advancing policy towards decriminalisation of drugs as well as the findings of a new report on the subject.

Experts: Drug policy needs a human rights-based approach

There exists a lack of published academic research with and for young people who use drugs, including research focused on harm reduction. This is despite a majority of the global population of people who use illicit drugs being adolescents and young people—according to the latest (2018) statistics provided by the UN World Drug report—and the fact that they are disproportionately impacted by a range of drug- and drug policy-related harms. Sub-optimal services for young people exacerbate this. Youth-specific harm reduction programs, general service providers, policymakers and peers would all benefit from more perspectives and data from youth who use drugs.

—a peer-reviewed publication established in 2004 and affiliated with Harm Reduction International, the National Harm Reduction Coalition and the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association—is partnering with Youth RISE and 

 for a special series: “Young People, Drugs and Harm Reduction.” We are now seeking research submissions with a view to publishing this work throughout the coming year. We will also be holding a number of events with authors to discuss their research and findings with the wider community.

The initiative, partially funded by the Robert Carr Fund, aims to center the voices of young people who use drugs and include them in the scientific process. It aims to address evidence gaps by providing an academic forum to highlight the diverse voices of young drug users in research, service delivery and policy formation. It also seeks to identify how certain barriers currently prevent the publication of such research.

Please consider submitting your work on “Young People, Drugs and Harm Reduction” to this special series, and spread the word amongst your colleagues and partner organizations to do the same. The submission platform can be accessed here; please read the submission guidelines first. Please ensure the correct collection series title is chosen from the “additional information” tab, and also indicate in the covering letter that the manuscript is to be considered for the “Young People, Drugs and Harm Reduction” thematic series. For more information, please feel free to contact the editors of the 

There’s too little research on harm reduction and youth. Help us put that right.

The Bill proposes strictly regulated coca leaf production in existing production areas with a strong emphasis on sustainable development and supporting marginalised and indigenous communities involved in coca production.

The Bill was debated in the Senate committee (consisting of 22 senators - with 20 present) last week and again this week. It won a first procedural vote allowing the debate to happen with 15 senators in favor and 5 against. The debate itself led to some amendments. Among them; the possibility that any interested person could grow coca within the designated areas (in the original proposal only indigenous communities and those already living in those areas were allowed to grow), the inclusion of communities of African descent as a priority population, and the elimination of any reference to gender, and the Peace Agreement.

Letting external actors grow coca plants in designated areas would make the proposed regulation easier to enforce, but also risks reducing the benefits for historically impacted communities (it is unclear whether it would include corporate actors). There was a concern that the cocaine regulation part of the Bill could be sacrificed; the thinking being that a Bill focusing on coca-leaf regulation alone might have a better chance of being passed into law. But in the end this did not happen. The final committee vote on the amended Bill passed unanimously by 12-0 (those opposed to the Bill left the room attempting, unsuccessfully, to ensure there would not be enough Senators to hold a vote).

Historic win for coca/cocaine regulation bill in Colombian state

From the State Assembly of Putumayo, Colombia

The State Assembly of Putumayo, Colombia has appealed to the US Department of State Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs to cease US support and financing to the Colombian government for the forced eradication of coca via the aerial spraying of glyphosate.

Aerial spraying has consistnely demonstrated an inherent risk of severely damaging the local biome. This impacts the prospect of growing alternative crops, which Colombian farmers depend on for their livelihoods. Through the aerial spraying of glyphosate, there is no sustainable path for the environment that farmers may utilize to transition away from producing coca.

The application of glyphosate causes long-term damage to all affected parts of the Amazon jungle. It poisons the soil; contaminates rivers; sickens livestock, amphibians and fish; and adversely impacts the region's biodiversity. At the human level, local residents within the fumigated areas have experienced a wide range of alarming health concerns. These range from skin conditions, eye damage, spontaneous abortions and complications in prenatal development.

By 2015, 242,065 of Putumayo’s 363,967 residents had experienced forced displacement from their homes, primarily fleeing areas affected by aerial spraying. During this same period, 1,790 small-hold farmers were forced to abandon their land entirely, due either to environmental damage or armed coercion, according to the National Information Network from Colombia’s National Victims Unit.

Governmental support for crop substitution, as well as protection from armed groups who profit off of the production of coca in the region, would better serve the interests of the farmers, the Colombian government, and the region's overall security. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, cultivators in Putumayo overwhelmingly support voluntary substitution away from coca, with 23,523 families agreeing to voluntarily eradiate 9,542 hectares of coca in exchange for support transitioning to legal livelihoods – the largest number of families from any department in Colombia. This negotiated, non-violent approach is the only sustainable path toward the true construction of peace in Putumayo.

Colombia's Putumayo Department Legislative Assembly calls on the US State Department and Congress to stop support for forced eradication programme

The damaging impacts of punishment for drug possession that disproportionately impact Black lives are wide ranging. Imprisonment leads to isolation, an exacerbating factor for drug misuse, addiction, and relapse. It also raises the risk of early death from a wide variety of causes.

Besides leading to incarceration, an arrest for possession of even a small amount of cannabis—a much more common outcome for Black youth than White youth—can leave the individual with a criminal record that severely limits their future opportunities such as higher education and employment. This excess burden of felony drug convictions and imprisonment has radiating impacts on Black children and families. Parents who are arrested can lose custody of their children, entering the latter into the child welfare system. According to another analysis by the Pew Charitable Trusts, one in nine African American children (11.4 percent) and 1 in 28 Hispanic children (3.5 percent) have an incarcerated parent, compared to one in 57 White children (1.8 percent).

This burden reinforces poverty by limiting upward mobility through impeded access to employment, housing, higher education, and eligibility to vote. It also harms the health of the incarcerated, their non-incarcerated family members, and their communities.

Addiction should be treated, not penalized, says NIDA Director

The overdose crisis continues to affect communities and families across Canada. Tragically, we have seen significant increases in overdose deaths and related harms during the COVID-19 pandemic, including in Toronto where overdoses deaths increased significantly between January 1 and November 30 last year. The Government of Canada continues to support increasing access to safer supply projects in communities across Canada to help prevent drug overdoses during the pandemic and beyond.

Today, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health, and John Tory, Mayor of Toronto, announced more than $7.7 million for three projects to increase access to safer supply and provide a new harm reduction and treatment option for people living with opioid use disorder in Toronto. These innovative projects will provide a pharmaceutical alternative to the toxic illegal drug supply and help prevent overdoses.