Highlights from the Global Commission
International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD) – 21 July 2026
The Human Cost Of Policy Shifts: A World In Turmoil.
Fourteen months after the withdrawal of U.S. foreign assistance, this report examines the escalating impact of funding cuts on harm reduction and community-led services worldwide. Based on a global survey, it documents worsening financial instability, widespread service disruptions, and reduced access to HIV, hepatitis C, and overdose prevention. It also highlights how increasingly punitive policy environments are driving people who use drugs further from essential services and calls for urgent, sustained investment in community-led harm reduction.
Viktor Mravcik, Jana Michailidu, Vendula Belackova, et al. – 23 June 2026
The New EU Drugs Strategy: Failure to Consult, Lack of Balance, and Reliance on Outdated Concepts
The article, with contributions from Global Commission on Drug Policy Commissioner Pavel Bém, analyzes the European Union’s new Drugs Strategy and Action Plan Against Drug Trafficking. It examines the strategy’s development process, stakeholder consultation, and the balance between supply reduction measures and public health approaches. The analysis reviews the positioning of harm reduction, consideration of alternative regulatory models, and the continued emphasis on prohibition and law enforcement within the broader context of evolving drug policy approaches.
Vanda Felbab-Brown – 24 June 2026
The Spiking Threat: Mexican Cartels in Europe, Canada, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, and Latin America
The report examines the international expansion of Mexican criminal groups, including the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación. It describes their involvement in global drug trafficking networks, including cocaine and synthetic drugs, such as methamphetamine, as well as related activities including money laundering and other illicit economies. The report analyzes the groups’ operations in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region, and discusses implications for public health, security, governance, and international cooperation.
Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS), Dejusticia, CEA Justicia Social, et al.– 9 July 2026
Castigo Extra: Violencia Hacia las Mujeres en la Lucha Contra el Crimen Organizado (Extra Punishment: Violence Against Women in the Fight Against Organized Crime)
The report examines the impacts of organized crime policies on women in contact with criminal justice systems in Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico. Drawing on interviews with affected women, it analyzes patterns of involvement in illicit markets, experiences during judicial proceedings and imprisonment, and the effects on families and children. The report highlights gender-related vulnerabilities linked to punitive approaches and examines issues including prison conditions, restrictive regimes, and barriers to alternatives to incarceration.
Beyond the War on Drugs: Reducing Harm to New Zealanders
Webinar – The Helen Clark Foundation, 16 March 2026
A webinar hosted by The Helen Clark Foundation exploring evidence-based approaches to reduce drug-related harm in New Zealand, with a focus on policy alternatives to punitive approaches.
Beyond Prohibition: Pavel Bém on Czechia’s Next Wave of Drug Policy Reform
Drug Reporter, 18 March 2026
An interview with Commissioner Pavel Bém discussing recent reforms in Czechia, highlighting public health- and human rights-oriented drug policy developments and lessons for international policy.
Samantha Pérez-Dávila, Clarissa Iliff, Richard Hahn – 9 July 2026
A Policy Playbook for Building and Fixing Adult-Use Cannabis Markets
The report examines challenges in the design and implementation of adult-use cannabis markets in the United States. It identifies key issues affecting market performance, including regulatory fragmentation, persistence of illicit markets, business compliance barriers, taxation approaches, and public health protections. The report outlines regulatory principles and policy options across federal, state, and local levels, addressing market structures, product safety, enforcement, consumer protections, equity considerations, and evaluation mechanisms to support evidence-informed cannabis regulation.
Harm Reduction Is Doing Better Than You Think
Center for Justice Innovation, 9 July 2026
This episode of New Thinking, from the Center for Justice Innovation explores the evolution of harm reduction from a grassroots, drug-user-led movement emerging during the HIV/AIDS crisis to an increasingly recognized public health approach. Daliah Heller, Vice President of Overdose Prevention Initiatives at Vital Strategies, discusses three decades of experience in the field and the importance of shifting responses to drug use away from punishment and prohibition toward evidence-based approaches that save lives and reduce harm.
Do Dope. Then Hope. Featuring Dr. Carl Hart
Killer Mike YouTube channel, 9 July 2026
In this episode of Conversate with Killer Mike, neuroscientist and psychologist Dr. Carl Hart joins Killer Mike for a wide-ranging discussion on drug policy, neuroscience, and public perceptions of drug use. Drawing on decades of research and lived experience, the conversation explores the legacy of the “war on drugs,” the role of science in shaping public policy, and the importance of evidence, critical thinking, and open dialogue in addressing complex social issues.
UNITE Global Summit
International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
International Youth Day
Stop the Deaths Conference
International Overdose Awareness Day
Human Rights Council (HRC) 63rd Regular session
LEPH 2026 – 8th International Conference on Law Enforcement and Public Health
World Day Against the Death Penalty
World Health Summit (WHS)
Geneva Course on Drug Policy, Public Health and Diplomacy
World Cities Day
