Three new videos from the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union. In one of them, former US President Bill Clinton calls for harm reduction, an approach to substance misuse and other social issues of which the most well-known example is needle exchange programs.

Three new videos from the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, filmed at the Vienna AIDS 2010 conference this month. In one of them, former US President Bill Clinton calls for harm reduction, an approach to drugs (and other social issues) that recognizes that some people will engage in potentially risky behaviors, such as injection drug use, but seeks to reduce the risk that those behaviors will leave to the spread of HIV or other harmful outcomes.

stopthedrugwar.org

Mehr als 12.500 Menschen haben bisher die "Wiener Erklärung" unterzeichnet. Bei der Wiener Aids-Konferenz sind etwa 1.000 Unterschriften dazu gekommen, unter anderem von Georgiens First Lady.

orf.at
old zack

The First Lady of Georgia announced at a breakfast event at the AIDS 2010 conference today that Goergia would sign the Vienna Declaration, the first country to do so. It is the official declaration of the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010).

transform-drugs.blogspot.com

The British Medical Journal this week publishes a special edition on drug titled: 'Drug users and HIV: treat don't punish'. the cover feature includes a special commentary section on drugs, HIV/AIDS and harm reduction to coincide with the huge AIDS 2010 conference in Vienna that kicks off this Sunday (see this blog for details and Transform's involvement in the Global Village's Drug Policy Networking Zone).

The special edition of the BMJ features five commissioned commentaries, including; 'Alternatives to the war on drugs' by Transform's Steve Rolles, one of the first detailed explorations in a mainsteam medical journal of legal regulatory models as alternatives to existing unregulated criminal drug markets, specifically from a public health perspective. The full text (also available on the BMJ site here, with rapid responses here) is copied below as it appears online.
The issue also includes Professor Tim Rhodes, Anya Sarang, Peter Vickerman, and Professor Matthew Hickman, on ‘Policy resistance to harm reduction for drug users and potential effect of change’; Richard Hurley on ‘How Ukraine is tackling Europe’s worst HIV epidemic’ and an editorial on ‘Evidence based policy for illicit drugs’ by Prof Evan Woods (who was on BBC R4's Today program this Friday discussing these issues and talking about the Vienna Declaration). These are unfortunately only available in extract without a login.

transform-drugs.blogspot.com

Former presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazil), Ernesto Zedillo (México) and César Gaviria (Colombia) today announced their endorsement of the Vienna Declaration, the official declaration of the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010, www.aids2010.org) taking place from 18 to 23 July 2010.

The Vienna Declaration (www.viennadeclaration.com) seeks to improve community health and safety by calling for the incorporation of scientific evidence into illicit drug policies. The declaration was opened for endorsement by academics and members of the public on 28 June 2010.

eurekalert.org

The 18th International AIDS Conference in Vienna, July 18 – 23 marks an important moment in the history of drug policy that might just be the beginning of the end of the “War on Drugs”. The policy document that will be the centre piece of the conference is the Vienna Declaration which calls on governments around the world to develop policies related to psychoactive substances that are based on scientific evidence and public health principles rather than continuing the costly and ineffective approach based on the criminalization of drugs and punishment of drug users. The Declaration is an important benchmark in that it marks a scientific consensus among those studying drug policies, infectious diseases, public health and human rights that current drug policies are causing more harm than drug use itself.

whyprohibition.ca

In response to the health and social harms of illegal drugs, a large international drug prohibition regime has been developed under the umbrella of the United Nations.1 Decades of research provide a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of the global “War on Drugs” and, as thousands of individuals gather in Vienna at the XVIII International AIDS Conference, the international scientific community calls for an acknowledgement of the limits and harms of drug prohibition, and for drug policy reform to remove barriers to effective HIV prevention, treatment and care.

democracyinaction.org
old zack

The Vienna Declaration is a statement seeking to improve community health and safety by calling for the incorporation of scientific evidence into illicit drug policies. We are inviting scientists, health practitioners and the public to endorse this document in order to bring these issues to the attention of governments and international agencies, and to illustrate that drug policy reform is a matter of urgent international significance. We also welcome organizational endorsements.
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viennadeclaration.com