Western Europe

Events

18th Annual Conference of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP)

Manchester, United Kingdom

11 June 2025 - 13 June 2025

The deadline for abstract applications is 17th January 2025

Publications11 December 2024

Charter of Rights for People Affected by Substance Use - Scotland's National Collaborative

IDPC was delighted to join the launch of the Charter, welcoming its commitment to civil society engagement and encouraging political leadership to resource its implementation.

News11 December 2024

Little things mean a lot: 6h European Harm Reduction Conference video highlights

The gathering highlighted the many challenges facing the European harm reduction movement and opportunities to tackle them.

Blog27 November 2024

In Memoriam: Professor Dave Bewley-Taylor

Co-founder of IDPC, renowned scholar and beloved colleague and family man, Dave departed on 20 November 2024 after a long and valiant battle with cancer.

News13 November 2024

Coca leaf review: a reckoning for global drug control — IDPC statement at the 2024 CND thematic discussions

IDPC calls on the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) to right a historical wrong by supporting the critical review of the coca leaf and ultimately approve its descheduling.

Publications12 November 2024

Cannabis regulation, EU drug law, trade rules and the UN drug control treaties

TNI, GDPO and WOLA engage with six European countries to discuss trends towards reform in cannabis policy, offering innovative solutions for legal tensions, coordination and policy development.

Publications11 November 2024

Ireland: Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drugs Use - Interim Report

The interim report makes recommendations in favour of decriminalisation, enhancing treatment options, expanded harm reduction options, and addressing social inequity.

News11 November 2024

Racial profiling and drugs: the United Nations reprimand Italy

The UN Human Rights Council denounced the country's racialised drug policing and recommended the decriminalisation of simple possession and the de-prioritisation of people involved in retail.

News10 November 2024

Could the Netherlands become the first country to legalise MDMA?

In the Netherlands, rising drug-related violence and dangerous fluctuations in the contents of ecstasy pills spark recent calls for a legally regulated MDMA supply, with profits reinvested into harm reduction programmes.

Events

BOOST’s peer-to-peer capacity-building webinar series

Online

6 November 2024 - 27 November 2024

The webinars aim to enhance the knowledge and skills of community-based and community-led organisations, helping them apply good practice models, tools, and methods to scale up integrated screening, testing, treatment and care for communicable diseases across Europe.

Publications22 October 2024

“It should be hard to be a drug abuser”: An evaluation of the criminalization of drug use in Sweden

Stenström et al. evaluate the criminalization of drugs in Sweden—showing that it has not reduced problematic drug use or drug-related deaths and is, instead, expensive, ineffective and harmful.

Events

Geneva course on drug policy, public health, and diplomacy

Geneva, Switzerland / Online

27 January 2025 - 30 January 2025

A new course hosted online and in person at the University of Geneva will explore current events and evolving perspectives around international drug policy and controlled substances.

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