In my capacity as Chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy I had the honour to give a keynote speech at this year’s Harm Reduction Conference.

“Since the Global Commission on Drug Policy was established in 2011, it has advocated for policies on drugs which are based on research evidence, human rights, and health and well-being. Harm reduction plays an essential role in the approach for which we advocate. From the earliest days of harm reduction, those in frontline service provision understood that the harms caused by drug use could be mitigated without being conditional upon cessation of drug use.”