Debunking the War on Drugs

Dear Drugreporter Supporters!

The Drugreporter team had a very active year in 2014: we produced 94 short movies from Switzerland to New Zealand, we organised video advocacy trainings in two countries, we organised media campaigns to raise awareness on the benefits of harm reduction, we created several infographics and published 142 news articles on our website.

Please read our annual report and learn more!  

Drugreporter, through its network of activists from several European countries, will provide you even more videos and news updates about major drug policy developments in 2015. 

Our latest movie, supplementing the report of the Open Society Foundation, tells the story of Dutch drug policy model and hihglight its successes, as well as challenges ahead of it. 

Please help us to advance drug policy reform and harm reduction all over the world with its innovative advocacy tools - make a donation today on GlobalGiving!

Best regards,

Peter Sarosi
Drug Policy Program Director

Dear Drugreporter Supporters!

We would like to update you on our recent efforts to Debunk the War on Drugs!

In October 2014, Drug User activists from all around the world gathered in Budapest, to learn from the HCLU - Drugreporter, how to make movies to advocate for drug policy reform and harm reduction. The training was organised jointly with the International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD). You can read our detailed report by clicking here.

The activists, who were all former or current drug users, came from Nepal, Sweden, India, Indonesia, Australia, Georgia, Canada, Lithuania,  the Russian Federation,  the UK, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine. The course was held at the European Youth Centre, a residential educational establishment belonging to the Council of Europe. Watch pictures of the training by clicking here.

On the first day, participants learned how video can be used effectively for advocacy purposes. We watched a number of films, and discussed how to prepare video advocacy strategies.

The second day was about production: how to set up and use the camera they were given to take home. Participants learned the basics of composition and framing, and how to conduct interviews. In the afternoon, they broke into groups, with a variety of filming missions in the city, all related to harm reduction in Budapest.

On the morning of the third day, we taught the participants how to deal effectively with the media.

In the afternoon, and on the last day, the participants learned how to edit, using the footage they'd shot the day before.

The participants gave very good feedback on the training. We hope they will use their newly-acquired skills to the full, and make many movies to fight for the human rights of drug users.

We keep posting important movies related to the war on drugs. We recently published a video interview with Dr. Zee, the man who discovered mephedrone, the legal high or “”new psychoactive substance” that is also know as Meow- Meow. 

The human rights challenges of sex workers are very similar to those of drug users. The Drugreporter publishes movies about sex work time to time. Recently, we made movies about two very different approaches to sex work: a summary video about the regulation model of sex work in New-Zealand, and a presentation video on the Swedish Model of Criminalising the Clients of Sex Workers.

Your support is vital for us - please make a donation today on Global Giving and help us to debunk the global War on Drugs!  

Links:

• Report of the HCLU-Drugreporter and INPUD Joint training on Vide