This UNGASS demonstrates the impact civil society pressure can achieve. The drug policy reform movement will continue to grow into a formidable global social movement towards 2019. The collective demand for change will grow ever louder leading to sustainable and seismic breakthroughs at national, regional and ultimately UN levels.
We have collated some of the amazing articles and blog posts that have been produced on the UNGASS 2016. Click on the links to access the original pieces.
The UNGASS last week revealed the willingness of some countries to admit the failure and negative consequences of the ‘war on drugs’ approach to drug policy, and to move forward to explore alternatives for the sake of the health, human rights, security and development of communities.
Realizing that simply telling people not to use drugs and arresting them when they do wouldn’t slow HIV infections, health workers advocated for a new approach: harm reduction.
One year ago, IDPC elaborated five main “asks” for the UNGASS on drugs. The UNGASS is now just a few weeks away – so how close have we come to realising these demands?
As a contribution to the 2016 UNGASS, the INCB has published a report on access to controlled medicines, entitled "Availability of International Controlled Drugs: Ensuring Adequate Access for Medical and Scientific Purposes: Indispensable, adequately available and not unduly restricted".
To encourage debate around the needed changes in drug policy, TB/HIV Care Association, with funding from Open Society Foundations, organised the RUN2016 SA Drug Policy Week from the 1st to the 4th of February 2016, with the slogan “we need to talk about drugs”.
