Addiction

A decade ago, Ontario's conservative government passed a law limiting disability benefits to people disabled by alcohol or drug addiction. Now, a provincial court has ruled that violates the province's human rights code.

By the time you read these words, the New York legislature has probably passed long-awaited reforms to the Rockefeller drug laws. Or not. An agreement between the state Assembly, Senate, and governor has been reached, but it ain't over until it's over -- and it ain't over yet.

The UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) met in Vienna this week to draft a political declaration and plan of action to guide international drug policy for the next decade. While the prohibitionists prevailed in the end, the voices of dissent are growing ever louder and more powerful.

Ibogaine received concerted attention for its addiction treatment and other properties at a recent conference in Boston. Here's a report.

Denmark is about to become the latest European country to cut to the chase and embrace heroin maintenance for particularly recalcitrant smack users.

The incoming Obama administration has made its agenda available online. When it comes to drug policy, there's some good, some bad, and some things missing.

The drug reform movement is not a monolith, and the rumored nomination of former Minnesota congressman, recovering alcoholic, and recovery advocated Jim Ramstad is showing where some of the fissures lie. But with an acting director appointed this week from ONDCP's current ranks, and with Ramstad himself jockeying for a different post, the exercise may be an intellectual one.

Anti-drug vigilantism is not unknown in India or some other parts of the world, but it's not usually cheered on by the press. This week, it was in India's Orissa state.

Drug user activists handed out brochures called for the legalization of drug use in some of Jakarta's most notorious dope-dealing hot-spots this week. It was the second user demonstration this summer in Indonesia.

Contrary to some popular narratives about drug use and its consequences, the vast majority of first-time drug users are not strung out a year after they first tasted the forbidden fruit -- no matter which drug it was.