The criminalization of the coca leaf: a denial of rights
It is time to right the historical wrongs that led to the policy of subjecting the coca plant to absurd international controls BY DIEGO GARCÍA-SAYAN Published in El País on 07 March 2025 Less than two years ago, in July 2023, Bolivia sent an important official notification on
Accountability for Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines: Ending the War on Drugs
The Global Commission on Drug Policy acknowledges the arrest of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who was detained at Manila’s international airport on March 11, 2025, following an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity linked to his anti-drug campaign. During his presidency from
Ontario’s Harmful Backslide: A Threat to Lives and Canada’s Legacy in Harm Reduction
The Global Commission on Drug Policy is deeply concerned about the legislation tabled in Ontario, “Safer Streets, Stronger Communities Act”, which threatens to dismantle nearly half of the province’s supervised consumption sites (SCS) by March 2025. This decision marks a dangerous regression, potentially reversing years of progress in evidence-based public
Ahead of World AIDS Day Global Commission on Drug Policy new report says the HIV and Hepatitis epidemics cannot be ended without drug policy reform and the real participation of people who use drugs everywhere
Globally nearly 1 in 5 people who inject drugs are living with HIV and over a third live with Hepatitis C Wednesday, November 22, 2023 (Geneva, Switzerland)—Ahead of this year´s World AIDS Day, a new report published by the Global Commission on Drug Policy has sent a timely reminder that
Calling on Singapore to stop executions
The Global Commission on Drug Policy expresses its deep dismay over Singapore’s decision to continue to execute persons convicted on charges of drug trafficking. This week, in Singapore, two executions for drug-related offences are scheduled to take place. The two victims are: Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, a 56-year-old Singaporean Malay
Re : Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats
We the Global Commission on Drug Policy are gathered today, 6 July, in Edinburgh, Scotland for our annual plenary meeting. We are aware of the initiative being taken by the United States to launch a Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats. We acknowledge that an unconscionable number of people
World Drug Day – Statement by the Global Commission on Drug Policy
June 26 is a day dedicated to raising awareness about the consequences of repressive drug policies and practices on people across the globe. There is growing recognition around the world that drug prohibition has failed to achieve its goals of promoting the “health and the wellbeing of humanity”. History has
eBlog in response to The Economist article (December 2022): “America’s syringe exchanges might be killing drug users – But harm-reduction researchers dispute this”
By Chair Helen Clark (Rt.Hon.) of the Global Commission on Drug Policy The Economist usually publishes excellent, robust articles on drug policy. But in its 1 December issue, which somewhat ironically is World AIDS Day, was an opinion piece titled ‘America’s syringe exchanges might be killing drug users’. The unnamed
Drug prohibition has failed – time to support, not punish
By Richard Branson Read the op-ed on Virgin.com In the past, International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (June 26) has often been an opportunity for proponents of the failed war on drugs to celebrate arrests and showcase vast amounts of drugs seized from cartels and their traffickers –
