Drug Policy Reform

Harm reduction services are cost-effective, supportive of healthier communities, and safer. It's time for governments worldwide to follow the facts, not antidrug prejudice.

Over the past decade, Open Society’s Global Drug Policy Program has supported reformers all over the world as they organize against the worst effects of the failed “war on drugs.” The future is bright, but challenges remain.

Thanks to some crucial recent rulings from the Mexico Supreme Court, as well as the hard work of reformers and civil society groups throughout the country, Mexico is finally rethinking how it regulates cannabis.

While the world moves on, Sri Lanka continues to drift toward the brutal and criminal “war on drugs” policies championed by the Philippines’ strongman. These heinous policies must be abandoned—before it’s too late.

A new report shows how, after decades of needless destruction, a grassroots movement in Colombia is breaking from the failed “war on drugs” and devising new strategies for increasing prosperity and strengthening peace.

The outspoken, beloved Brazilian politician may have been violently taken from our world. But her legacy—her tireless dedication to empowering the marginalized and dispossessed—will endure.

Too many of the country’s institutions are simply not equipped with the medicine, expertise, or guidance they need to help young people who are using drugs.

New research shows that the HIV epidemic among people who inject drugs is worse than we thought. National governments must reject the “war on drugs” and invest in harm reduction policies—before it’s too late.