Criminal justice responses to drugs vary in severity around the world. Irrespective of the sanctions, demand for drugs has grown exponentially, with supply and production reaching unprecedented levels.9 Markets for internationally controlled substances, such as cocaine, amphetamines, and cannabis, continue to flourish.

Governments must act boldly to mitigate the harms of prohibition by regulating drug markets and upholding human rights. This includes establishing Overdose Prevention Centers (OPCs), drug checking, safer supply models, providing naloxone and expanding Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT) programs. The urgency of these responses is heightened by North America’s overdose crises, which have claimed the lives of over a million people in the US over the last two decades10 and 40,000 in Canada in the past eight years.11 Policymakers in Europe and beyond are rightly concerned about a similar crisis, given the rise of synthetic opioids, including nitazenes, which can be more potent than fentanyl and are increasingly found mixed with heroin and other substances.12 

To address the underlying causes of drug dependency, it is critical that services be (1) tailored to the needs of diverse groups, including women, young people, LGBTQIA+ communities, racial and ethnic minority groups, people in detention, and people who use stimulants and other non-opioid substances; (2) integrated into other social and legal support services; and (3) designed and delivered with effective involvement of people who use drugs. Additionally, harm reduction support needs to be significantly scaled up.