It gives me great pleasure to lead our report this week with news of the world premiere of "The Exile Nation Project: An Oral History of the War on Drugs & the American Criminal Justice System.” Written, produced and directed by our very own Charles Shaw, the film is the culmination of several mon
Drug addiction in Russia has reached epidemic proportions, but the government is refusing to address the problem head on, preferring instead to inveigh against external forces like the USA, NATO and the war in Afghanistan. Jarrett Zigon, who works with drug addicts in St Petersburg, considers the
We lead this week with promising news of a new Global Commission on Drug Policies, led by world political leaders, intellectuals and businessmen including Richard Branson, in an effort to achieve more human and rational drug laws.
We lead this week's report with news of the disquieting appointment to the ACMD of Dr Raabe, an anti-harm reduction proponent with disturbing views on homosexuality. The Government have traditionally ignored the medical and scientific evidence on this key issue of social policy, and such an appoin
ODR recently published the story of an intelligent, educated Russian woman who is HIV+ and drug dependent. This was followed by her cry from the heart, asking where the medication is that will help her and millions of others in Russia. Her recent success in finding her voice, writing and being act
We lead this first report of 2011 with a look back at the top stories of last year - a year which saw; the continuation of the Mexican tragedy; the failure to confront widespread Afghani opium production; and a rising clamour for a new paradigm and an end to drug prohibition. We look forward to ke
This week we lead with news of an horrific abuse of power by undercover narcotics agents which saw the unlawful killing of an innocent 92 year old woman and attempt to cover up the crime. The Report also discusses US prison reform, the new UK Government Drug Strategy with analysis from some of the
openDemocracy Russia recently published the harrowing tale of a Russian drug-dependent woman Irina Teplinskaya, and her campaign to make medication available to HIV positive people. Here she describes the protest actions organised in support of the campaign.
This week, we lead with news of the MAPS Conference, taking place this weekend in Los Angeles and featuring openDemocracy's very own Charles Shaw among a long list of celebrated speakers and artists. This is followed by an inspired article by friend of the Drug Policy Forum, John Sinclair, who dis
