• NZ: Narrow cannabis result proves need for reform – Helen Clark

    “The country is split down the middle on a particular concept of legalisation. And I think there’s every ground now for the government to be looking very carefully at this, beginning to discuss with other parties, including obviously the Green Party, on where to go from here. “What I found as one who got quite involved in the debate was a lot of…

  • Election Day was a major rejection of the war on drugs

    We still don’t know with certainty who will be the next president of the United States. But this year’s election results have given us a lot more clarity on one thing: American voters, even conservative ones, are ready to reel back the US’s war on drugs. In every state where a ballot measure asked Americans to reconsider the drug war,…

  • US: Oregon decriminalizes possession of street drugs, becoming first in nation

    Oregon made history Tuesday in the movement to reconsider the nation’s war on drugs by becoming the first state to decriminalize small amounts of heroin and other street drugs. Voters overwhelmingly supported Measure 110, a coup for the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance, the same criminal justice reform group that backed Oregon’s successful marijuana legalization effort in 20 […]

  • Election 2020: Jacinda Ardern says new Government will look at allowing pill testing of illicit drugs at festivals

    Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says her new Government is keen to allow more legal pill testing at music festivals. Her comments come after Justice Minister Andrew Little ruled out further liberalisation of drug laws following the preliminary “no” vote on the cannabis referendum. […]

  • Is it time for a drug policy intervention?

    Currently, Australia criminalises people for having a health problem, addiction, but the country needs an alternative to this if there is to be any expectation that it can slow or reverse these trends. The need for change is upon Australians, and the three-pillar approach must become more responsive. Ultimately, the harm reduction leg of this wobbly policy-making stool must include…

  • Helen Clark appointed chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy

    Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has been appointed the chair of the 26-member Global Commission on Drug Policy. Clark succeeds the former President of the Swiss Confederation, Ruth Dreifuss, who has served as chair since 2016. Since its establishment in 2011, the Global Commission has advocated for evidence-informed drug policy. […]

  • HRA Budget Submission Media Release – 2 Sept 2020

    Media-Release-HRA-Budget-Submission-2020Download […]

  • Canberra pill testing site moves closer as ACT govt agrees to investigation

    Canberra could have an Australian-first pill-testing site in Civic this summer. The government agreed to explore the idea in the ACT Legislative Assembly on Thursday. The pill testing pilot in the city entertainment area would operate on weekends and be informed by expert health advice […]

  • There is a better approach to recreational drugs

    Drug use is not a fringe activity and the current prohibition strategy is not a deterrent. Much like during the United States’ Prohibition Era from 1920 to 1933, an enormous black market responds to the high volume of demand. The current system places the police and courts in an endless and costly war against a profiting organised crime world and…

  • Pollies push pill testing for Victorian music festivals

    Pill testing could be introduced at Victorian music festivals under a join proposal by The Greens and the Reason Party. If passed by Victorian Parliament, the joint bill would see the establishment of a mobile pill testing service as well as a fixed-address laboratory likely located in Melbourne. The pill testing model, which has been in use in Europe since…