3rd IDPC South East Europe Drug Policy Network Meeting, Thessaloniki, Greece

IDPC held the third meeting of the South East European Drug Policy Network in Thessaloniki, Greece in March 2011. 24 participants attended the meeting from NGOs and government public services throughout the region. This event followed two previous meetings held in Athens and in Macedonia last year. The main objective of these meetings is to shared knowledge and experiences from across the region, identifying common problems and key priorities for drug policy advocacy.

The network meeting was generously hosted by KETHEA, a Therapy Center for Dependent Individuals. Visits in small groups to KETHEA and OKANA (the Greek Organisation Against Drugs) were organised, giving participants the opportunity to learn about two of the largest providers of treatment and reintegration programmes in Greece.

Participants then gave reports on their visits. This was followed by Dr. Konstatinos Gazgalidis from OKANA and Dr. Gerasimos Papanastasatos from KETHEA presenting further information about their organisations and the opportunity for questions from the network.

A working group meeting was held beforehand and a summary of the decisions made were presented to the network. Ideas and proposals for the strategy and action plan of the Network for 2011-2012 were then considered. Relevant issues in the area of treatment and harm reduction, advocacy work and drug law developments were also discussed. The Network was also informed of events both at a national, regional and international level.

A report summarising the main discussions will be available soon.