Transform exists to promote sustainable health and wellbeing by bringing about a just, effective and humane system to regulate and control drugs at local, national and international levels.

Transform fue creada para promover una salud y un bienestar sostenibles mediante la promoción de un sistema justo, eficaz y humano para regular y controlar las drogas al nivel local, nacional e internacional.

Transform a été créé pour promouvoir une santé et un bien-être durables à travers la promotion d’un système juste, efficace et humain pour réguler et contrôler les drogues au niveau local, national et international.

Transform

 The role of cities in promoting more just and effective drug policies


Cities are increasingly recognised as crucial drivers of innovation in drug policy. As interest in a new approach to deliver more just and effective drug policies grows, cities face significant challenges in finding room to design new drug policies and in their implementation, due to political resistance, public opposition, and the rise of populist ‘zero tolerance’ and ‘tough on drugs’ politics across Europe.

This webinar will address the important role of cities in forming progressive drug policies and discuss how cities can collaborate and push for positive change in cooperation with international partners and institutions.

The role of cities in promoting more just and effective drug policies

There was another landmark moment for cannabis reforms last month, ss Germany's upper house voted to bring its 80 million citizens one step closer to legally regulated cannabis access. This follows on from Malta’s recent establishment of a regulated non-medical cannabis availability (through non-profit membership associations), Luxembourg legalising possession and home growing, and ‘research pilots’ of legal retail production and sales in the Netherlands and Switzerland. These European countries have become the new leaders in ending the historic failings of prohibition, with Germany the most politically significant yet.

Transform has supported these reform processes over recent years, acting in an advisory role for the Luxembourg and Maltese Governments, and though ongoing engagement with senior policymakers in Germany, Czechia, and Switzerland. Our efforts continue to support and inform the development of cannabis policies throughout Europe that center public health and social justice. Last year, the newly updated third edition of Transform's 

 was translated into German and distributed to key policymakers.

What are the cannabis reforms happening in Germany?

After several years of debate and political wrangling, Germany’s upper house (the Bundestag) has passed a 

 with a majority (407 to 226). The new Act decriminalises possession of up to 25g of cannabis (50g at home), allows for private cultivation of up to three cannabis plants for personal use, and establishes a framework for licensed not-for-profit membership-based associations (also known as Cannabis Social Clubs) to grow and supply cannabis amongst their members (max 500 per association).



In theory the law will come into force on April 1st. However, it still needs to be passed by Germany’s lower house (the Bundesrat) that represents the 16 German Lander (the sub-national jurisdictions under Germany’s federal government). Some of these more conservative regional Governments, notably Bavaria, are opposed to the reform and may hold up the process. A particular issue has been raised by regional justice ministries regarding the law’s requirement to delete previous criminal records for cannabis (offence expungement), with concerns that the process may overburden their judicial systems. This may mean there would be a ‘mediation committee’ between upper and lower chambers to discuss possible changes to the law - with the expungement element potentially at risk which would be a huge blow for ensuring justice. Whilst it seems very unlikely the new law will be derailed completely, implementation could potentially be delayed until October. A worst case scenario is a longer delay, pushing the reform beyond next year’s general election which, should the current coalition dissolve and the Christian Democrats (who opposed the reform) win, could potentially lead to it being abandoned or, if already passed, repealed.

German cannabis legalisation explained

We, the undersigned organisations, are deeply concerned about the drastic intensification of anti- drug operations in Sri Lanka leading to significant human rights violations.

On 17 December 2023 the Acting Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennekoon, with the endorsement of Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles, spearheaded an operation titled “Yukthiya”, with the stated aim of controlling “the drug menace”. The operation is ongoing as of 10 January 2024, with at least one thousand persons arrested daily.

This operation is unfolding in a context of already severe repression against persons who use or are suspected of using drugs, who suffer discrimination and stigma within the Sri Lankan criminal justice system and society.

Alongside the Sri Lankan police, members of the armed forces have been supporting this operation, during which several human rights violations have been reported. These violations include alleged arbitrary arrests, primarily against individuals from marginalised socio-economic communities; searches conducted without warrants or reasonable suspicion; and degrading treatment including strip searches in public as well as cavity searches. The searches and arrests have been televised, in violation not only of the right to privacy (and of basic human dignity) but also of a person’s right to be presumed innocent. According to lawyers, persons are being arrested even when no drugs are found in their possession, simply for having been arrested for drug offences or having been sent to compulsory rehabilitation in the past. The arrests of main livelihood earners and mothers have adversely impacted the ability of families to meet their basic needs during a time of economic crisis in Sri Lanka, and the wellbeing of children.

Persons are being arrested primarily under Section 54A of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, an offence which is non-bailable. As a result, those arrested are bound to spend time (sometimes months) in pretrial detention, thereby exacerbating already poor conditions of imprisonment in an overburdened prison system. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has previously stated that the existing prison conditions and treatment of incarcerated persons are “inhumane and degrading.”At present, as per statistics issued by the Department of Prisons, the level of overcrowding of the prison system is at nearly 200% - with punitive drug policies playing a significant role: as of 2022, 63% of convicted persons were sentenced for drug-related offences.

The total reported number of arrests pursuant to operation Yukthiya has exceeded 29,000 as of 9 January 2024, while nearly 1,500 people are in administrative detention in police custody for further investigation.  At least 1,600 more persons have been sent for compulsory drug rehabilitation, in violation of several fundamental rights; including the right to the highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to consent to and withdraw from medical treatment. “Drug treatment” in these centres is abstinence-based, essential harm reduction services are not available, and persons undergo severe withdrawal symptoms without any medical assistance while in detention. The use of violence to discipline and punish has been reported in at least two compulsory drug rehabilitation centres which are within the purview of the Bureau of the Commissioner General for Rehabilitation and are operated by the military, which is in itself a violation of international standards.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in its statement at the conclusion of its visit to Sri Lanka in 2017 expressed concern regarding the involvement of military personnel in drug treatment and rehabilitation, the fact that strenuous physical exercise was the core component of compulsory drug treatment, and at the lack of trained professionals to monitor the health of people in detention. Furthermore, the statement highlighted the irregularities in the judicial process by which persons were sent to drug rehabilitation centres without a medical assessment.

More broadly, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has highlighted that by denying persons access to substitution therapies, states are subjecting “a large group of people to severe physical pain, suffering and humiliation, effectively punishing them for using drugs and trying to coerce them into abstinence.” The Special Rapporteur has further stated “forcible testing of people who use drugs without respecting their autonomy and their right to informed consent may constitute degrading treatment, especially in detention settings. States are obliged to respect the enjoyment of the right to health, including by refraining from using coercive medical treatment. The requirement of informed consent, including the right to refuse treatment, should be observed in administering any treatment for drug dependence.”

Since the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session on drugs, there is international consensus on pursuing a holistic and health and human rights-based approach to drugs, which encompasses supply and demand reduction as well as harm reduction. The 2019 Ministerial Declaration on drugs – the current global drug policy document - as well as multiple resolutions of the UN General Assembly, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, and the UN Human Rights Council reiterate and recommend a similar approach.

A punitive and militarised approach to drug control contravenes recognised international human rights standards and guidelines, is ineffective to protect individual and public health, and ultimately fails to make communities safer.

Africa Network of People Who Use Drugs (AfricaNPUD) (Africa)

Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) (Asia)

Association for Humane Drug Policy (Norway)

Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation (CDPE) (Canada)

Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) (Argentina)

Corporación Acción Técnica Social (Colombia)

Correlation - European Harm Reduction Network (Europe)

Drug Harm Reduction Advocacy Network Nigeria (Nigeria)

Foreningen Tryggere Ruspolitikk /Safer Drug Policies (Norway)

GREA - Groupement Romand d'Etudes des Addictions (Switzerland)

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Poland)

International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)

International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) (Global)

International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD) (Global)

Skoun, Lebanese Addictions Centre (Lebanon)

Zimbabwe Civil Liberties and Drug Network (Zimbabwe)

Sri Lanka: Stop abusive anti-drug operation and release those arbitrarily detained

Together with many cities in the world, the beautiful city of Amsterdam struggles with the effects of drug-related crime. Therefore, as mayor of Amsterdam, I organise the international conference 

‘Dealing with Drugs – Cities and the quest for regulation’. 

The objective of this conference is to explore how -and not if- further regulation of the drug market can provide a solution, and which steps can be taken towards a more realistic approach of drug policy. This conference will take place on January 26, 2024, at the Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Illegal drug trafficking poses a significant threat to cities all over the world. In Amsterdam it threatens our rule of law. The city grapples with daylight assassinations, explosions, cases of mistaken identity murders and fatal attacks on lawyers and journalists. The ruthlessness in which these crimes occur is shocking.

Cities worldwide face similar challenges. For decades, a global war on drugs has been waged. Unfortunately, the path we tread has proven insufficient: drug production and consumption continue to rise, illegal financial flows persist, violence remains unchecked, human rights are violated, and successive generations of youth are drawn into criminality, while the safety net wears thin.

Although victories are achieved in the war on drugs through the diligent investigative work of our partners, the battle is never fully won. This recognition extends beyond academic circles to include former politicians, policymakers and law enforcement.

I advocate a realistic drug policy. This conference represents our first step in that direction. By engaging in candid conversations with international experts, experienced individuals, NGOs and scholars, we aim to move beyond the question of whether regulation can be a solution and focus on 

 it can be achieved. I invite you to join us to and explore alternative approaches, learn from international experiences, overcome challenges and consider the role that cities can play.

I am looking forward to welcoming you at this conference.

Dealing with drugs - Cities and the quest for regulation

Recent explorations into the science of psychedelics and their therapeutic potential have fuelled a rapidly expanding discussion on their role in society. Yet, while attention has been focused on their medical use, non-medical use — particularly in recreational settings — has been marginalised in the public debate. 

This guide from Transform Drug Policy Foundation aims to address this gap and help inform emerging developments at this critical moment in psychedelic policy evolution. It maps out how the classic psychedelics can be responsibly legally regulated in a postprohibition world, making concrete proposals for a four-tiered regulatory framework: 

Private use, including home cultivation, foraging and not-for-profit sharing 

Membership-based not-for-profit associations 

Flexible licensing models for production and retail sale 

Regulation of commercial guided or supervised use 

Drawing on Transform’s more than two decades of experience in global drug policy analysis and advocacy, this guide sets out recommendations for establishing a just and effective system of legal regulation, addressing challenging questions in the debate including corporate capture mitigation, equity, Indigenous rights, psychedelic exceptionalism, and international treaty law.

How to regulate psychedelics: A practical guide

Transform invites you to join the virtual launch of its new publication, 

How to Regulate Psychedelics: A Practical Guide

Psychedelics have recently gained more public attention, but for the most part, discussions have narrowly focused on medical and therapeutic uses. Other reasons for using, including the increasing recreational use of psychedelics, have been largely marginalised. From foraging magic mushrooms to selling LSD in shops, Transform has set out proposals to fill this gap.

Steve Rolles and Ester Kincová will be hosting a webinar to discuss the key challenges in regulating psychedelics and how they decided on a proposed regulatory models, and to answer some of your questions.

So please join us on Tuesday, November 14th at 17:15 GMT (12:15 EST). To register, 

Book launch - How to regulate psychedelics: A practical guide

Despite the billions spent annually on punitive enforcement in an attempt to deter drug use, and the concept of deterrence sitting at the heart of UK and global drug enforcement thinking, it is now clear there is little or no meaningful deterrent effect from arresting, criminalising or punishing people who use drugs.

As long ago as 2006, the UK’s Science and Technology Select Committee found “no solid evidence to support the existence of a deterrent effect, despite the fact that it appears to underpin the Government’s policy on classification” The UK Government responded that it “accepts that there is an absence of conclusive evidence

” Despite the threat of criminalisation people still use drugs - in the UK, three million people did so last year.

In the nearly two decades since that committee report, no such evidence has emerged, despite the Home Office’s commitment to 

consider ways in which the evidence base in the context of the deterrent effect can be strengthened.”

In fact, the UK Home Office’s 2014 report “

” which sought to correct this absence of evidence, instead concluded that “Looking across different countries there is no apparent correlation between the toughness of a country’s approach and the prevalence of adult drug use

” The most recent evaluation of the UK’s drugs strategy noted: “there is, in general, a lack of robust evidence as to whether capture and punishment serves as a deterrent for drug use

Criminalisation does not deter people from taking drugs 

As organisations that work in drug policy and harm reduction, we welcome the evidence-based proposals in the new report published by the Scottish Government proposing a road map for the future of drug policy and law in Scotland. We share the view of the report that drug policy based on health and human rights achieves better outcomes for individuals, their families, communities and wider society.

In recognition of the damaging global impact of criminalisation, the United Nations 

 a legal and policy position that promotes the reduction of harm and the decriminalisation of people who use drugs. We welcome this report as a step towards the UN’s position, and the development of effective policy and services in Scotland.

Ending criminal sanctions for people in possession of drugs for personal use; the provision of a full range of harm reduction services and support; and improvement in the accessibility and acceptability of treatment services for people who experience drug dependency are all required to address the public health emergency that Scotland has been in for some years.

Scotland has made progress on all these fronts, and yet the prevalence of people experiencing drug dependence, and the number of drug related deaths remain very high by international standards, underpinned by persistent broader health inequalities. Further innovation and investment is clearly required.

We further support the proposed evidence-led review into how the use of drugs, their production and supply could be regulated. This review would inform a debate around wider reforms to drugs legislation.

We welcome the recognition of the harmful role that criminalisation, poverty and stigma, play in the lives of so many. People who use drugs, especially those who experience dependence, face discrimination every day, and the Scottish Government’s desire to end the exclusion of this group from equality legislation is to be commended.

We also welcome the Scottish Government’s acknowledgment and commitment to centring those with living and lived experience in policy making and implementation.

UK legislation and regulations, especially the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, serve as an impediment to many of the urgently needed evidence-based reforms highlighted in the report, including the decriminalisation of drug possession; the provision of supervised drug consumption facilities and drug safety checking services; and even heroin assisted treatment.

Scotland has developed innovative responses using its own legal system, police force, healthcare system and civic society. Progress has already been made in terms of the extension of recorded warnings for drug possession, policing arrangements and the legal basis for injecting equipment provision services and its world-leading take home naloxone programme. Scotland must also use these same assets to deliver supervised drug consumption rooms and drug checking services as a matter of urgency.

Drug-related deaths are at an all-time high, in Scotland and across the UK. The UK Government must either work to reform legislation to enable the vital reforms proposed in this report across all four nations, or sufficiently devolve powers to allow each country to enact these policies themselves in order to save lives, and support communities.

INPUD – International Network of People who Use Drugs

EuroNPUD – European Network of People who Use Drugs

Jason Kew, Senior Innovative Practice Officer,

IDPC joins NGO coalition's response to Scottish Government's report on drug policy reform

Accra, Ghana, was recently host to a visionary conference on the future of cannabis in the country. The event, organised by 

the International Drug Policy Consortium,

, brought together over 50 participants from the drug policy reform and economic justice sectors, policymakers and cannabis farmers across Ghana.

The two-day conference on 25 - 26 April titled “

An Equitable Roadmap for the Legal Regulation of Cannabis in Ghana that Protects Livelihoods and Supports Sustainable Development

” sought to explore drug policy reform beyond the Narcotics Act 1019 (2020) and look towards establishing a shared, equitable vision for the legal regulation of medical and adult-use cannabis.

Three key areas were addressed: the historical and current harms caused by prohibition; the significant risks of international corporate capture of future legal trade; and, the opportunities of legal regulation to prioritise social and economic justice and achieve a sustainable transition for those working in the trade.

Through participatory and cross-sector workshops, participants were invited to envision models of legal regulation for industrial hemp, medical and adult-use cannabis using 

Health Poverty Action’s Social Justice Lens

. The models of regulation developed sought to address the harms of prohibition and strengthen a wide range of social justice areas, such as governance, public health, environmental protection and human rights.

The models of regulation developed sought to address the harms of prohibition and strengthen a wide range of social justice areas, such as governance, public health, environmental protection and human rights.

This process culminated in a draft vision presented to policymakers on day two. The vision highlighted some clear shared goals, notably in relation to gender equality, avoiding corporate capture and progressive taxation. Participants strongly highlighted the gender dimension, with farmers proposing that the market regulations adopt a gender-sensitive approach to address the issues of disproportionate harm and exclusion experienced by women under prohibition, as well as the lack of comprehensive childcare for agricultural workers. Many suggested that the revenues raised from taxes from the new cannabis market should support the provision of childcare, removing barriers in women's access to stable livelihoods in farming.

They also called for the legal market to be equitably taxed, and for measures to be implemented to impede the diversion of fiscal revenue into tax havens. In the same vein, participants called for the reinvestment of taxation into serving national and community needs, particularly public health and harm reduction programmes.

Participants learnt about a range of legal regulatory models being used around the world, all with particular priorities and unique results. Dasheeda Dawson

Founding Director of Cannabis NYC, delivered a special report on day two, inspiring stakeholders with the community-led campaign for social and restorative justice at the heart of New York's cannabis reforms.

The meeting was the first of its kind in West Africa to bring together the expertise and knowledge of Ghanaian trade unionists and economic justice experts with the drug policy community. Participants learnt about other trades in Ghana, such as cashew, biofuel and cocoa, that have all been captured by oppressive and harmful tactics of exploitation from international foreign corporations. A key question voiced loud and clear was whether Ghana would continue its colonial mandate and legacy of producing raw materials for the metropole or could cannabis rewrite the textbook?

A key question voiced loud and clear was whether Ghana would continue its colonial mandate and legacy of producing raw materials for the metropole or could cannabis rewrite the textbook?

To ensure that economic justice is at the heart of any new legal framework for cannabis, measures must be put in place to prevent commercialisation and corporate monopolisation. Our economic justice colleagues urged farmers and civil society to organise themselves into associations and trade unions. Whether these unions should be specific to cannabis or join existing agricultural unions was a critical question to be given further attention. There was strong support for stakeholders to be better equipped with knowledge on how corporations behave and a commitment to continue working on a shared vision of future markets through more intersectoral meetings. After a comprehensive presentation on 

 from Steve Rolles, Senior Policy Analyst from 

 participants explored what cannabis corporation ‘takeovers’ might look like and what to anticipate and avoid.

Working on a shared vision helped farmers and civil society to identify risks that regulation might bring about. These were mainly the possibility of new markets facilitating land grabbing and eroding food security for the poorest communities. With an incoming climate crisis farmers agreed that Ghana must not find itself in a situation of planting more cannabis than food, and that sustainable farming methods and environmental safeguards must be prioritised in regulation.

Farmers felt that to ensure local farmers' participation, there is a need for transparency and accountability from the start by considering the inclusion of local content and standardisation in the certification process as it develops, not after. Most farmers believed it is critical to prevent the emergence of foreign or domestic corporate monopolies and use licensing to ensure the market prioritises small and medium-sized businesses.

Feedback from policymakers indicated that the workshop was timely and valuable, Many noted it was a relief to discuss the impacts of cannabis regulation from so many viewpoints and intersections in a non-judgemental space. This allowed everyone to approach the subject through common sense and logical perspective rather than from their specific area of expertise.

Almost all participants concluded that drug policy reform in Ghana must be addressed through multi-sector meetings like these, which allow for a diverse conversation. There was a strong consensus that prohibition was harming communities and an emphasis on seeking ways to avoid repeating the mistakes of other trades that have prioritised big business over people.

There was a strong consensus that prohibition was harming communities and an emphasis on seeking ways to avoid repeating the mistakes of other trades that have prioritised big business over people.

 in Ghana and paved the way for a multi-stakeholder journey towards legal regulation that protects livelihoods and supports sustainable development.

The meeting was made possible with financial support from Health Poverty Action.

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