The HIV Legal Network recently launched a pair of new resources designed to provide information about Canada’s confusing and racist drug laws, for Black and Indigenous people. For Indigenous communities, these “Know Your Rights” resources were produced in partnership with CAAN, Communities, Alliances and Networks. For African, Caribbean, and Black communities, we worked with the … Read more
The creation of our annual report always gives us a unique opportunity to look back at a year’s worth of important work with hindsight, clarity, and pride. As you will see in Raising the Bar — our 2023/24 annual report — our successes and challenges don’t begin and end with the flip of a calendar … Read more
Across Canada, African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) people face state-sanctioned violence that is deeply rooted in the legacy of slavery and the enduring presence of anti-Black racism, which manifests in Canada’s drug laws. Black people are racially profiled and disproportionately criminalized and targeted by drug laws, which are themselves rooted in colonialism and the oppression … Read more
Drug policy in Canada is rooted in racism and colonialism, and Indigenous communities have experienced long histories of drug policy harms. Among Indigenous people living with HIV, transmissions are attributable to injection drug use at a much higher rate than for non-Indigenous populations, while Indigenous peoples have also suffered a disproportionate proportion of fatal overdoses … Read more
Submission on sex work, women who use drugs and gender-based violence, and HIV criminalization. Joint submission with the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition on drug policy and harm reduction, with sections on women and gender-diverse people in relation to (1) gender-based violence; (2) HIV prevention, access to culturally appropriate and gender-sensitive harm reduction services, and drug decriminalization; … Read more
This model law establishes balanced means and methods of regulating the circulation of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their precursors, and plants containing said substances (hereinafter “narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances”), to achieve the following interconnected objectives: • Protecting the life and health of all citizens, including people who use drugs • Ensuring state and public … Read more
Drug policy affects the health of queer people and communities. The health of queer people who use drugs must not be overlooked in our fight for sensible drug policy. And 2SLGBTQ+ rights organizations must not ignore the rights and health of queer people who use drugs. Our new resources aim to raise awareness and build … Read more
This paper examines the legal and policy measures needed to scale up safe supply at supervised consumption services in Canada.
Rapid Q&A prepared by the HIV Legal Network on May 7, 2024.
Joint submission by the HIV Legal Network and the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition Secretariat of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) regarding increasing calls in Canada for involuntary care and detention of people who use drugs.