Drug policy
Policy regarding the control and regulation of psychoactive substances
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We include updates on Legality of cannabis by U.S. jurisdiction, Barry Seal, Legality of cannabis, Legal status of psilocybin mushrooms, Purdue Pharma, Cannabis in Thailand, Legal status of ayahuasca by country, Psilocybin decriminalization in the United States, Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States, John Ehrlichman, Timeline of cannabis laws in the United States, Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons, Narco-state, Andrew C. Thornton II, Legal history of cannabis in the United States, Harry J. Anslinger ... and more.
| March 31 2025 |
Supervised injection site
Ontario is scheduled to close ten drug Supervised Consumption Sites and has banned further establishment of new SCS.
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| 2025 |
War on drugs
President Donald Trump signs an executive order classifying drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, signaling a new approach to the war on drugs that focuses on counterterrorism.
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| March 2025 |
Supervised injection site
A study in British Columbia, Canada examined the association of safer supply and decriminalization policies with opioid overdose outcomes, concluding that neither policy appeared to mitigate the opioid crisis and both were associated with an increase in opioid overdose hospitalizations.
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| March 2025 | A study in British Columbia, Canada examined the association of safer supply and decriminalization policies with opioid overdose outcomes, finding neither policy appeared to mitigate the opioid crisis. |
| February 20 2025 |
War on drugs
The executive order was officially enacted, formally designating specified drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
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| February 20 2025 |
War on drugs
The executive order was officially enacted, officially designating the listed drug cartels as terrorist organizations. Canada also joined in designating these drug cartels as foreign terrorist groups.
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| January 15 2025 |
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938
FD&C Red No. 3 (Erythrosine) was banned for use in the United States, marking a significant regulatory action under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
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| January 2025 |
War on drugs
Two former executives of a Chinese chemical company were convicted of a scheme to import fentanyl precursor chemicals into the United States.
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| 2024 |
War on drugs
A drug-related wider conflict broke out in Ecuador.
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| 2024 |
War on drugs
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) requested $461 million from a $46 billion federal budget spanning approximately 50 federal agencies.
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| December 2024 |
War on drugs
A Chinese national in Chicago was sentenced to 10 years in prison for laundering $62 million in drug money for Mexican traffickers, involving currency swaps between the United States, China, and Mexico.
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| October 2024 |
Supervised injection site
An official supervised injection site is planned to open in Glasgow, marking the first officially sanctioned facility in the United Kingdom.
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| October 2024 |
Supervised injection site
The first supervised injection site in Latin America opened in Bogota, Colombia, marking a significant milestone in harm reduction strategies for the region.
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| June 27 2024 | The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P. to overturn the settlement, deciding the proposed settlement was illegal as the Bankruptcy Code does not permit liability relief for non-bankrupt parties, and remanded the case to the lower court for further review. |
| May 2024 | DULF founders Jeremy Kalicum and Eris Nyx are charged with possession with intent to distribute. |
| April 2024 |
War on drugs
A US House committee report revealed that Chinese companies making fentanyl precursors can still receive state tax rebates and financial benefits after exporting the product.
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| April 30 2024 |
War on drugs
Justice Department announced a proposal to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, initiating a formal rulemaking process under the Controlled Substances Act.
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| February 2024 |
Project Weber/RENEW
The Providence City Council approved the establishment of Rhode Island's first supervised injection site, to be operated by Project Weber/RENEW and VICTA, located near Rhode Island Hospital's campus.
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| January 2024 |
War on drugs
DEA confirmed review of cannabis classification as a Schedule I narcotic, with the Department of Health and Human Services suggesting cannabis has medical use and lower abuse potential.
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| 2023 |
Supervised injection site
The Lord Advocate of Scotland announced a policy of not criminally prosecuting individuals using approved supervised drug consumption sites, with Police Scotland confirming they will exercise discretion in not prosecuting site users.
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| 2023 |
War on drugs
US State Department announced plans to launch a global coalition to address synthetic drug threats, with more than 80 countries expected to join.
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| 2023 |
War on drugs
The US-Ecuador Defense Bilateral Working Group was formed to address the drug situation in Ecuador, and a memorandum of agreement was signed to strengthen the Ecuadorian military.
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| 2023 |
War on drugs
International Coalition on Drug Policy Reform and Environmental Justice published a report linking drug policy to climate justice.
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| 2023 |
War on drugs
The UN high commissioner for Human Rights criticizes decades of punitive 'war on drugs' strategies as ineffective. The annual US federal drug war budget reaches $39 billion, with cumulative spending since 1971 estimated at $1 trillion.
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| 2023 | City council voted to deny VANDU a $7,500 grant for an arts program, making it the only grant out of 84 recommended grants to be denied, due to the organization's misuse of public funds in 2022. |
| November 2023 |
War on drugs
President Biden and General Secretary Xi Jinping reached an agreement for China to crack down on the export of precursor chemicals and pill presses to the Western Hemisphere.
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| September 2023 |
War on drugs
President Biden added China to the 'majors list' of countries, citing its production of precursor chemicals for illicit drugs.
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| May 2023 | The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York endorsed the $6 billion settlement, with the Sackler family giving up ownership of Purdue and all profits to be sent to a fund for opioid addiction prevention and treatment. |
| May 2023 |
Supervised injection site
Pennsylvania senate passes a bill to ban supervised injection sites statewide with a 41-9 vote, with Governor Josh Shapiro expressing support for the bill.
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| April 2023 |
War on drugs
Anne Milgram, DEA head since 2021, testified to Congress that two Mexican drug cartels pose the 'greatest criminal threat the United States has ever faced', highlighting the fentanyl crisis.
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| January 31 2023 |
Legal status of methamphetamine
In British Columbia, Canada, possession of up to 2.5 grams of certain drugs was decriminalized under a Health Canada mandate.
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| 2022 |
Supervised injection site
Governors of California and Vermont vetoed supervised consumption site bills.
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| 2022 |
Supervised injection site
Globally, over 100 drug consumption rooms (DCRs) were operating across multiple countries including Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and the USA.
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| 2022 |
War on drugs
Biden signed the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, the first standalone cannabis reform bill at the federal level, allowing easier medical cannabis research.
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| 2022 |
War on drugs
Thousands of US truck drivers are removed from driving due to positive cannabis tests, highlighting a conflict between state cannabis legalization and federal Department of Transportation's zero-tolerance policy.
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| 2022 | VANDU received a $320,000 grant from the City of Vancouver for street cleaning services in the Hastings Street encampment, but ultimately misused the funds by diverting $160,000 into its general funds without providing the contracted services. |
| 2022 | VANDU received a city grant for street cleaning, which was later rescinded after the organization allegedly used the funds for purposes other than the contracted work. |
| December 2022 |
Supervised injection site
Completion of the 11-month period of operation for the San Francisco health department's supervised injection site, which served drug addicts throughout the year.
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| October 6 2022 |
War on drugs
President Biden pardoned all federal convictions for simple cannabis possession, affecting 6,500 people convicted between 1992 and 2021, and thousands in the District of Columbia.
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| July 2022 |
Supervised injection site
As of July 2022, European countries reported the following number of supervised injection facilities: Belgium (1), Denmark (5), France (2), Germany (25), Greece (1), Luxembourg (2), Netherlands (25), Norway (2), Portugal (2), Spain (13), and Switzerland (14).
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| July 2022 |
Project Weber/RENEW
Rhode Island became the first state in America to legalize supervised drug consumption sites, marking a significant milestone in harm reduction policy.
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| June 2022 |
Project Weber/RENEW
Project Weber/RENEW was honored as Grand Marshals for the Providence PrideFest and Illuminated Night Parade, recognizing their significant contributions to the LGBTQ+ community and harm reduction efforts.
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| March 2022 | U.S. bankruptcy judge Robert Drain approved a settlement involving eight states plus the District of Columbia, requiring the Sacklers to pay between $5.5 and $6 billion to a trust for opioid creditors, while shielding them from personal civil liability. |
| January 2022 |
Supervised injection site
San Francisco health department established a center that transitioned from a social services linking service to a supervised drug usage site, which operated for 11 months with drug addicts using the facility.
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| January 2022 |
Project Weber/RENEW
Project Weber/RENEW collaborated with U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha, Local Initiatives Support Corporation Rhode Island, and the Nonviolence Institute to teach a Community Leadership in Nonviolence and Substance Use Prevention class for students at Blackstone Academy Charter School.
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| 2021 | McKinsey reaches a settlement with 47 state attorneys general, the District of Columbia, and five territories, paying $537 million and agreeing to discontinue work with certain narcotics manufacturers. |
| 2021 |
Supervised injection site
A peer-reviewed study of the first two months of the OnPoint NYC (OPC) operation was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
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| 2021 |
War on drugs
US forces left Afghanistan after spending approximately $9 billion on the 20-year anti-drug campaign, with the Taliban returning to power.
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| 2021 |
War on drugs
The Mérida Initiative was replaced by the Bicentennial Framework for Security, Public Health, and Safe Communities, concluding the original drug trafficking cooperation program.
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| 2021 |
War on drugs
Gustavo Gorriti, journalist and founder of IDL-Reporteros, wrote a critical editorial in the Washington Post analyzing the 50-year impact of the war on drugs in Latin America. He highlighted how the drug trade created an economic revolution, increased corruption, and transformed anti-drug systems into self-perpetuating economies dependent on the very problem they were meant to combat.
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Harm reduction, Supervised injection site, Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, Project Weber/RENEW, Legal status of methamphetamine, Purdue Pharma, War on drugs & Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.