Latest News

‘Colombia of Europe’: How tiny Albania became the continent’s drug trafficking headquarters
1 Feb 2019
'Albania is no longer a hub of cultivation. It’s become a centre of investment, distribution, and recruitment'

Rodrigo Duterte seeks to cut age of criminal responsibility to 12 as part of drug war
1 Feb 2019
Philippines president originally wanted children as young as nine to be culpable as part of brutal war on drugs

The ‘war on drugs’ is ineffective and violates human rights, say researchers and NGOs
21 Jan 2019
A 130 per cent increase in poppy growing, more than 72,000 deaths by overdose during 2017 in the United States alone (the highest level on record), nearly 4,000 prisoners with death sentences executed worldwide since 2009 for drug-related crimes: these are some of the alarming figures quoted in the International Drug Policy Consortium’s (IDPC) report published last October

Opioid addiction is a public health crisis—the way we're talking about it isn't helping.
20 Jan 2019
The misuse of and addiction to opioids is a public health crisis in the United States. Part of solving that crisis, say two Northeastern researchers, is changing how we talk about addiction.

Afghanistan: How does the Taliban make money?
8 Jan 2019
There are indications that the US is planning a significant withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan.

NZ’s great drug debate
8 Jan 2019
A perfect storm has led to New Zealand taking a serious look at how it deals with drugs. Laura Walters reports on last year’s great drug debate and what to look for in 2019.

In Rehab, ‘Two Warring Factions’: Abstinence vs. Medication
30 Dec 2018
A reluctant evolution is taking place in residential drug treatment for opioid addiction. Here’s a look at one center’s wary shift.

Troubling Report Shows Harm Reduction Provision Stalling Around the World
18 Dec 2018
The harm reduction movement has made major gains nationally and around the world. But, according to a new report by Harm Reduction International, efforts to spread harm reduction services still face major hurdles and funding shortfalls.

The systematic abuse of India’s female opiate users
17 Dec 2018
Women who use drugs are at increased risk from HIV and violence, but as they don’t explicitly feature in official national data, their needs largely go unmet.

Russia’s Harm Reductionists Are Once Again Under Attack
16 Dec 2018
“They gave it a few days, but then the feds and the Cossacks got together and came down on the dealing spots. They broke arms, legs, everything.”