Young People in Drug Policy Advocacy 3 – Youth Organisations for Drug Action

By Hannah Taylor / Drug Reporter

Youth Organisations for Drug Action (YODA) is a European network that brings together organisations at the forefront of harm reduction and drug policy reform.

YODA convenes independent organisations that are formally registered in their home countries to cooperate on projects and to share knowledge and support. YODA focuses on Europe due to the region-specific challenges that People Who Use Drugs (PWUD) and drug policy activists face, and aims to affect European drug policies.

“We felt there is a need for an increased presence of the young Europeans in the policy processes on the international level, and I think we have managed to achieve that,” shared Jan Stola, co-founder and coordinator of YODA.

What distinguishes YODA from other organisations, such as Youth RISE and SSDP, covered in parts 1 and 2 of this series, is that it’s an umbrella organisation for NGOs that work with young PWUD. YODA isn’t university-based, and most members are groups rather than individuals.