Decriminalisation, legal regulation & reform

Drug law reform

Publications11 November 2024

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.

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.

News7 November 2024

It's been 12 months since small amounts of illicit drugs were decriminalised in the Australian Capital Territory

Despite initial reservations, rates of drug use have remained similar while access to harm reduction services has increased.

Events

Addressing the fentanyl overdose crisis effectively: evidence from the border and beyond

Online

10 October 2024 - 10 October 2024

Join experts in a webinar hosted by WOLA as they explore adverse effects of militarised drug policies and the need for effective, rights-based solutions to the overdose crisis.

News3 October 2024

Call for expressions of interest: Director - IDPC Board of Directors

IDPC is seeking to appoint a new member of the Board of Directors to take up position in January 2025.

Publications1 October 2024

Intended and unintended effects of cannabis regulation in Uruguay

Queirolo et al. qualitatively explore the unintended emergence of a cannabis 'grey market' under Uruguay's decade-old legalisation model, highlighting key challenges in policy implementation.

Publications1 October 2024

Diversion or death? The moral framework shaping bifurcated punishments for drug offences in Indonesia

Hoyle and Harry discuss how frameworks of morality, compassion and traditionalism shape criminal justice outcomes and punitive responses, informing efforts to challenge harsh penal policy and capital punishment in the region.

News23 September 2024

Descheduling the coca leaf is a step toward decolonising drug policy - Statement at HRC57 panel discussion on the rights of Indigenous Peoples

The decision to include the coca leaf in the 1961 Single Convention was mired in colonialist and racist bias.

Publications17 September 2024

Cannabis policy reform in West Africa needs to be inclusive

Klantschnig et al. examine the intersection of cannabis and sociocultural livelihoods across West Africa, recommending rights and public health based policy reform.

Publications17 September 2024

Cannabis policy in Kenya: A call for an informed and inclusive national debate

Carrier et al. emphasise the religious, social and cultural importance of cannabis to Kenyan livelihoods and encourage further evaluation of cannabis policy to inform future action.lihoods, encouraging further evaluation of cannabis policy national debate.

Events

Legal reforms in Southeast Asia - Drugs and decriminalisation in Asia webinar series

Online

25 September 2024

This webinar aims to provide updates on recent legal reforms towards decriminalisation, and to discuss how they might support efforts towards harm reduction and human rights objectives.

Publications11 September 2024

“What I should be doing is harm reduction, if I’m doing my job right”: Engagement with harm reduction principles among prosecutors enacting drug policy reform in the United States

Rouhani et al. explore how US prosecutors use harm reduction principles to shape criminal justice outcomes for people who use drugs, revealing the potential for pro-drug policy reform.

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