Latest News
On this page you will find the latest relevant updates on a broad range of health and policy related topics, including HIV, hepatitis C, drug use, overdose prevention, harm reduction, drug treatment and criminal justice.
World AIDS Day
1 Dec 2021
World AIDS Day takes place on 1 December each year. It’s an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. Founded in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day.
1 Dec 2021
World AIDS Day takes place on 1 December each year. It’s an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. Founded in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day.
ICC authorises full inquiry into Rodrigo Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’
21 Sep 2021
‘Reasonable basis’ to believe crime against humanity committed in Philippines crackdown, say judges
21 Sep 2021
‘Reasonable basis’ to believe crime against humanity committed in Philippines crackdown, say judges
'Now We All Grow Poppies': Afghan Farmers Predict Roaring Opium Trade Under the Taliban
20 Sep 2021
Sources in Afghanistan have told IranWire that so far, the Taliban has failed to implement any restrictions on drug trafficking out of the country and the drug trade is now operating more freely than ever before. Farmers in the border regions are laying the groundwork to grow many times more poppies than before when the planting season gets under way next month.
20 Sep 2021
Sources in Afghanistan have told IranWire that so far, the Taliban has failed to implement any restrictions on drug trafficking out of the country and the drug trade is now operating more freely than ever before. Farmers in the border regions are laying the groundwork to grow many times more poppies than before when the planting season gets under way next month.
Profits and poppy: Afghanistan's illegal drug trade a boon for Taliban
16 Aug 2021
The United States spent more than $8 billion over 15 years on efforts to deprive the Taliban of their profits from Afghanistan's opium and heroin trade, from poppy eradication to airstrikes and raids on suspected labs. That strategy failed.
16 Aug 2021
The United States spent more than $8 billion over 15 years on efforts to deprive the Taliban of their profits from Afghanistan's opium and heroin trade, from poppy eradication to airstrikes and raids on suspected labs. That strategy failed.
An Anti-Opioid Panic Left Prisoners in Needless, Agonizing Pain
13 Aug 2021
The doctor who cut off the pain meds had been hired by the state after he was barred from working in emergency medicine for neglect and misconduct in a private emergency room.
13 Aug 2021
The doctor who cut off the pain meds had been hired by the state after he was barred from working in emergency medicine for neglect and misconduct in a private emergency room.
Out of harm's way. How transforming drug policy will redefine harm reduction
30 Jun 2021
Years ago, when I was part of a team introducing harm reduction programming into a country where at that time it was a new concept, we described our work as reducing the negative consequences of drug use. But over the years I have come to realise that the ills which harm reduction mitigates are not the consequences of drug use, but rather of drug policies.
30 Jun 2021
Years ago, when I was part of a team introducing harm reduction programming into a country where at that time it was a new concept, we described our work as reducing the negative consequences of drug use. But over the years I have come to realise that the ills which harm reduction mitigates are not the consequences of drug use, but rather of drug policies.
Perceived fear of losing children major barrier to women accessing treatment
26 Jun 2021
A new report from Trinity College has found that there is an urgent need for the expansion of gender-sensitive drug and alcohol treatment approaches that support the needs of women.
26 Jun 2021
A new report from Trinity College has found that there is an urgent need for the expansion of gender-sensitive drug and alcohol treatment approaches that support the needs of women.
Biden Could Have Taken the War on Drugs Down a Notch. He Didn’t.
17 Jun 2021
A little-noticed law could make it easier to punish people for low-level drug crimes — and put them in prison for longer with less proof.
17 Jun 2021
A little-noticed law could make it easier to punish people for low-level drug crimes — and put them in prison for longer with less proof.
Supreme Court blocks cutting prison sentences for low-level crack offenders
15 Jun 2021
After vicious war on drugs that disproportionately impacted Black Americans, people convicted of possessing only small amounts not eligible for reduced sentences despite retroactive law
15 Jun 2021
After vicious war on drugs that disproportionately impacted Black Americans, people convicted of possessing only small amounts not eligible for reduced sentences despite retroactive law
We Must Divest From the Failed Drug War Locally, Nationally and Globally
5 Jun 2021
By every measure, the global drug war has failed. It has failed to decrease drug use and sales. Drug-involved overdose deaths continue to soar around the world. And violence related to the illicit markets created by prohibition wreaks havoc on individuals and communities.
5 Jun 2021
By every measure, the global drug war has failed. It has failed to decrease drug use and sales. Drug-involved overdose deaths continue to soar around the world. And violence related to the illicit markets created by prohibition wreaks havoc on individuals and communities.