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 are dying from the consumption of synthetic drugs available through illegal channels.

We would hope, however, that what is proposed by the new Coalition is not based on the traditional prohibitionist approaches to drug control which have caused tremendous harm to people for decades and have proven to be ineffective.

We urge the Coalition to ensure that no action it takes will jeopardise access to medicine for pain relief, anesthesia, and palliative care.

The primary focus of international and national efforts on drug policy should be on saving lives and on reducing the harm caused by the consumption of illicit substances and by law enforcement efforts to stop that consumption.

Overall, the efforts of the new Coalition should not replicate the harmful and repressive environment created by the international drug control framework.