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In order to plan activities for 2014, KSAN and ECAD visited our partners in Minsk at the end of March and have now 3 prevention trainings planned for the coming 4 months, with a focus on young girls, pregnant women, social workers/coordinators at schools and youth leaders. While in Minsk, our group joined a national TV talk-show on the dangers of Spice that took lives of 9 teenagers in just a couple of months. Belarussian society is staggered by the news and the police, addiction specialists, rectors, parents and students demonstrate a variety of reactions regarding this cheap deadly alternative to cannabis. Young students who died were barely 14 years old, came from socially positive environment and were absolutely sure that a non-listed substance, a "fake" drug, could NOT harm their healthy bodies.
According to Eurobarometer from 2011, new psychoactive substances had been tried at least once by circa 5% of young people in the EU. In Ireland this number is 16%, while in Poland, Latvia and Great Britain it is almost 10%. The sheer demand for support to parents and teachers revealed lots of gaps in prevention methodology and a strong will of Mothers Against Drugs to capitalize on the best practices available to ECAD and KSAN. We are looking forward to exciting work together!
(Left to right: Britt Fredenman, Leena Harakè, Åke Setrèus, Iryna Lukyanovich and Janina Romanova)
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Substance use amongst Icelandic adolescents is lowest in Europe and Reykjavík City shared this success story on the 19-20th of March at a two-days international conference "Cities for Youth". Many ECAD cities and their policy makers, researchers and prevention practitioners demonstrated how evidence based substance use prevention method actually works in changing adolescent attitudes towards alcohol, smoking and drugs.
ECAD had since 2006, with the introduction of the drug prevention programme "Youth in Europe", promoted the Icelandic model over 20 ECAD member cities across several European countries.
Could your city benefit from this work? Contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Youth in Europe in Bucharest: a success
"The substance use and social factors in Bucharest 2012-2013" is a research based on on data from "Youth in Europe" Drug Prevention Programme in the Capital of Romania showing to all of us a successful story available now to every city.
The report focuses on the findings for Bucharest: comparison of the main variables for other cities partaking in the study, showing results on levels of tobacco-, alcohol- and substance use and hence reporting on key social beneficial factors, such as parental, peer and organized recreational influences.
Rich of tables and figures, the book introduces a Preface by Professor and MP Ben-Oni Ardelean.
E.A. Sarbu, O. I. Bunaciu, D. Maris (Editors), The substance use and social factors in Bucharest 2012-2013, Risoprint Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca, 2014, pp. 104.
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Some weeks ago, ECAD joined a new progressive drug policy platform, Drug Policy Futures. It focuses on a drug policy based on evidence, shared responsibility, public health and public safety. We choose not to be a part of false dichotomy of a "war on drugs" or "legalisation". Drug Policy Futures supports policy based on reputable science and principles of public health and safety, which reject both legalization and incarceration.
Alternatives? Yes!
Legalisation? No!
New Drug Policy Futures platform calls for an end to a polarised drug debate at the United Nations
As the United Nation’s host the 2014 Commission of Narcotic Drugs this week in Vienna, a new drug policy platform, Drug Policy Futures, was formally launched. The public-health oriented platform, which was conceived by civil society delegates who attended last year’s United Nation’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs, aims to challenge the opinion that drug policy is a simple choice between a “war on drugs” or a legal market of substances which are harmful to health. Rather, organisations such as Actis from Norway, one of the founders of Drug Policy Futures claim that drug policy today should better prevent initiation of drug use, respect human rights, strike a balance between supply and demand as well as ensuring that controlled drugs are available for legitimate scientific and medical purposes. Amongst these things, the platform also advocates for the flexibility that countries have already under the existing UN Drug Control Conventions, flexibility which is not always being used to its’ full extent.
The launch of the new Drug Policy Futures platform comes at a time with dignitaries from all across the world are meeting at the United Nations in Vienna to attend a High Level Review of the world’s drug problem. Notable guests and participants include Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden, UN Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, the Chairperson of the 57 th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Ambassador Khaled Shamaa, Permanent Representative of Egypt to the UN in Vienna, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, and the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, and many other dignitaries.On top of that, around 1,500 high-ranking individuals from Member States, inter-governmental organizations, civil society, and the media will be present. The Review is a major milestone in preparations for the UN General Assembly Special Session on the world drug problem in 2016.
Yesterday saw the Informal Civil Society Hearing take place ahead of the scheduled UN High Level Review meeting, during which many civil society delegates agreed that countries are not doing everything they could do under the current legal framework.
Frans Koopmans, whose organisation De Hoop Foundation, The Netherlands is one of the first signatories of Drug Policy Futures said “Drug Policy Futures isn’t about advocating for the status quo in countries where there are clear abuses of human rights, but neither is it about advocating for reforms which have no evidence behind them, or for actions which may be harmful to health. Basically, all countries should be required to implement effective drug demand reduction programmes, based on what is known today about what works”.
Stig-Erik Sorheim, Actis, Norway and Co-ordinator of Drug Policy Futures noted “Two years from now, the United Nations will carry out a review of global drug control and we must ensure the debate is informed by evidence from the public health and justice fields. It’s important that we don’t just hear from groups who seek to regulate drugs, who have not spelled out in any great detail what the public health consequences of such moves would be. At a time when drug use is fairly stable across Europe, we must make sure that NGO’s and civil society are mobilised to advocate for evidence-based strategies which promote public health, safety and the wellbeing of families, communities and society but which also ensure individuals with drug problems are provided with the best possible healthcare”.
Although it has only been launched formally this week, already over 35 NGO’s from across the globe have already officially signed up to the policy principles. Organisations interested in joining Drug Policy Futures to advocate for evidence-based strategies to promote public health can log onto www.drugpolicyfutures.org, where they can also sign up to the platform if they agree with the basic policy principles.
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This week is a CND week and the 57th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs was embarked on by the UN drug policy bodies and member states` representatives in Vienna.
Last week ECAD as a member of Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs, organized 2 events at the launch of the High Level Segment of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna.
The VNGOC had its IIIrd informal Civil Society Hearing. The Hearing was held on 12 March in conjunction with UNODC and WHO. It was co-chaired by H.E. Ambassador Khaled Shamaa, Chair of the 57th Commission on Narcotic Drugs and Michel Perron, Chair of the VNGOC, and was addressed by Mr. Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of UNODC.
The main focus of this event is to provide UN bodies, governments and UNGASS 2016 with a nuanced advice of the NGO community, ensuring that UN do not get a false dichotomy as a result of the CND, but receives coherent policy advice in an evidence-based discussion.
Read a basic summary of the IIIrd Informal Civil Society Hearing here (PDF)
Second significant event was a High-Level Briefing(picture) on the conclusions of the IIIrd ICSH and the 2014 UNODC Scientific Consultation addressing drug use through a Health based aproach on March 13. The Briefing was opened by Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden, with honourary participance by the UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, Mr. Raymond Yans, President of the INCB, Mrs. Nora Volkow, Director General for NIDA, USA, as well as many state officials and ambassadors. Also policy advice contributions were made by many members of the VNGOC. ECAD was represented by Mr. Yevgeny Bryun, a leading specialist in addiction treatment of the Moscow City Government and the head of NGO Russian Narcological League, ECAD National Representative in Russia (far right in the picture).
Many experts and officials commended NGOs for their relentless and often unthankfull work in the field. A clear political statement of Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Swedenset the scene of the High-Level Briefing:
- "Drug policy should be based on zero-tolerance, focusing on prevention, treatment, control and recovery... "
- "We must support and defend UN Conventions on drugs. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child."
- "We cannot let narcotic drugs be a part of our lives."
- "Civil Society plays a vital role in preventing drug abuse. My vision is a society free from narcotic drugs."
ECAD shares this vision and we are proud that our member cities in 31 European countries would agree with the statement of Her Majesty Queen Silvia.
Please return to this page during the week, we will update you on the launch of new platforms and documents pertaining to international drug policies and ECAD work.
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The City of Varna, an active ECAD member in Bulgaria, holds an international conference on 4-6 June, 2014.
The topic is "Cannabis and new drugs. Challenges and responses".
This conference is an ECAD activity.
Conference language is English and the timing is perfect to hold ECAD network meetings just before the summer season in Bulgarian Golden Sands.
Please follow our updates under "Conferences" in the meny to the left, the preliminary programme is already published.
Book your participance at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
WELCOME!
Subcategories
The ECAD Mayors' Conference
28th Mayor's Conference - Invitation - May 11th and 12th, 2023 - Malta
On May 11th and 12th, the 28th ECADs Mayor's Conference will take place at Dolmen Hotel in Qwara, Malta. We warmly invite you to join us and expand your knowledge on prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and recovery. The conference will highlight best practices and research in the field. It will offer the opportunity to network with other ECAD members, representatives from local authorities, and non-governmental organisations. Registration is free for the first person attending from your organisation!
Additionally, the conference allows for a unique experience as it includes a full day of field visits on May 12th. All participants are invited to Komunita’ Santa Marija, which will be sharing information on their services, and their experiences, and will engage in discussions.
The Agenda has now been published! The deadline to register is April 22nd
Day 1
DATE | TIME | VENUE
11/05/2023 | 09:00 – 17:30 | The Oracle Conference Centre - Dolmen Hotel Qawra, St. Paul's Bay
08:30hrs – 09:00hrs| Registrations
09:00hrs – 09:05hrs| Welcome Address by the President of Local Councils’ Association - Mr Mario Fava
09:05hrs – 09:15hrs| Welcome Address by ECADs Chairman of the Board from Kristiansand, Norway - Mr Viggo Lütcherath
09:15hrs – 09:20hrs| Welcome Address by the Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government - Hon. Alison Zerafa Civelli
09:20hrs – 09:40hrs| Inspirational speech – “Push yourself to do it because no one else is going to do it for you” by the President Northern Regional Council & LCA Executive Member - Mr. Clifford Galea Vella Maslennikov
09:40hrs – 10:30hrs| Panel Discussion and Presentation – Discussing the Local Context
The prevention team within Sedqa would like to present the following studies.
Study 1: The Role of a Workplace Policy in Addressing Employees’ Substance Misuse Difficulties.
Aim: To explore the probability of an employee seeking support for a substance misuse difficulty elicited by the workplace ethic fostered by management. Through this paper, we seek to determine a possible correlation between the implementation of a substance misuse policy at the workplace, and employees’ probability to seek guidance and support from their employers for a substance misuse-related difficulty.
Study 2: A Substance Misuse Policy in the Workplace: Senior Leadership Teams’ Attitudes
Aim: To explore how senior leadership teams’ (SLTs) attitudes inform the drafting of a substance misuse policy and how those attitudes inform job retention procedures in the case of an employee disclosing a substance misuse difficulty. Uncovering SLTs’ attitudes toward addiction is essential to understand how these beliefs inform workplace policy aims and actions on substance misuse.
Keynote speakers representing Sedqa Prevention team:
Mr Jareth Grima – Social Worker
Ms Sheryl Spiteri – Prevention Team
Ms Stephanie Mizzi Cascun – Prevention Professional.
10:30hrs – 11:00hrs| Coffee Break
11:00hrs – 11:45hrs| Mr Jon Sigfússon Planet Youth – Evidence-based drug prevention.
Mr Sigfússon is the international programme director for the evidence-based Planet Youth Guidance primary community-based health promotion intervention. Over the course of 20 years, Mr Sigfússon directed the Icelandic Centre for Social Research and Analysis (ICSRA).
11:45hrs – 12:30hrs| Mr Matej Košir - Strategies and tactics to prevent cannabis legalisation in Slovenia - The power of prevention science and advocacy.
Mr Matej Košir has been working in prevention and advocacy in the field of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs for around 25 years. Since 2006, he has been involved in more than 30 European projects in the fields of health, justice, education, youth and research as a project or work package leader.
12:00hrs – 14:00hrs| Seated Buffet Lunch
14:00hrs – 14:45hrs| Profs. Christian Thurstone, MD - The impact of legalisation in Colorado, USA – challenges faced by [local] authorities and communities.
Profs. Thurstone is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado and a child psychiatrist who specialises in addiction treatment. He published some of the first papers on the potential effects of marijuana legalisation on youth and has devoted his professional life to preventing and treating adolescent substance misuse.
14:45hrs - 15:30hrs| Ms Mulka Nisic - Recovery Cities - Creating sustainable connections and networks in cities.
Ms Mulka Nisic has been involved as a Regional Project Manager and International Relations Officer at the NGO Celebrate Recovery, and Secretary General of the Recovered Users Network-RUN.
15:30hrs - 16:00hrs| Conclusive Remarks
16:00hrs – 17:30hrs| ECAD Plenary for ECAD Members only
19:30hrs – 23:00hrs| Welcome Dinner at The Pavilion Suite, Westin Dragonara St Julian’s - Separate Registration is required in the application form.
Day 2
DATE | TIME
12/05/2023 | 09:15 – 19:00
09:15hrs – 09:30hrs| Transport leaves from Dolmen Hotel & Salini Resort to Komunita Santa Marija
09:30hrs – 09:45hrs| Registration and Welcome Coffee
09:45hrs – 10:15hrs| Introduction to the services offered by Komunita’ Santa Marija.
10:15hrs – 11:00hrs| Sharing of good practices and discussion
11:00hrs – 11:30hrs| Tour around Komunita’ Sanata Marija premises
11:30hrs – 12:00hrs| Transport to Ħagar Qim in Qrendi
12:00hrs – 13:15hrs| Ħagar Qim Visit
13:15hrs – 13:30hrs| Transport to Xgħajra
13:30hrs – 16:00hrs| Lunch (you will have time for a short stroll by the seaside)
16:00hrs – 18:00hrs| Cultural Visit in Mdina – Visiting the National Museum of National History
18:00hrs – 19:30hrs| Visiting Dingli Cliffs
19:30hrs - 15:30hrs| Transport to Salini Resort and Dolmen Hotel
27th Mayors Conference - Gothenburg and online 2022
The 27th Mayors' Conference and 8th World Forum took place in Gothenburg and online 13-14th June 2022.
The World Forum and Mayor’s Conference is a meeting place for people from all continents who are working to prevent drug abuse, ensure evidence-based and gender-sensitive practices, increase access to treatment, and to promote recovery and reintegration services. This global forum is one of its kind where NGOs, self-help groups, treatment centres, scholars, local, regional, and national authorities, politicians and other decision-makers, and others from around the world will meet to share evidence and best practice experiences. This year’s World Forum will include three main tracks: Prevention, Treatment/Recovery, and Advocacy, which will stretch over 1,5 days followed by the WFAD Congress and ECAD Mayors plenary session.
We are proud to announce that the Forum was inaugurated by UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly and will be joined by experts from around the world.
Read more on the website: https://2022.wfad.se/ and access the full report here. 
26th Mayors Conference - Cork 2019 
25th MAYORS´ CONFERENCE
and 6th World Forum Against Drugs 
Conference materials
Kevin Sabet, PhD, Director, Drug Policy Institute, University of Florida, President, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), USA
Speech at the WFAD /ECAD 25th Mayors Conference, Gothenburg, May 15, 2018 (Video 5min.)
Supply reduction in Peril? A lot of the worlds`s drug supply emanates from a war-torn Columbia.
Dr. Michael Jonsson, FOI, Swedish Defence Research Agency
Text to the slides (PDF)
In Columbia, a peace deal has been struck, which gives hope for a closure of insurgency and violence. (PDF)
Thomas Pietschmann, Dr, Drug Research Section, Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs
The International drug control system, global/regional and national drug patterns and trends, and supply reduction efforts at the international level (PDF)
Photo: Götaplatsen @ Klas Eriksson
Annual Mayors` Conference and the 6th World Forum Against Drugs will take off on May 14-15 in Gothenburg this year.
This joint event will address a growing interest to the effective prevention practices, full recovery and alternatives to incarceration and to life-long dependency on drug treatment.
The conference will create a room for elaborating a practical guide to how a recovery city will look like, this will be grounded on the recent evidence-based research. Sheffield Hallam University (UK), Ghent University (Belgium) and the City of Gothenburg have already started working on this guide in practice.
In order to find out more and to register please visit a joint webpage here.
MAYORS` CONFERENCE 2017
ECAD 24th Mayors` Conference materials
On June 12-13, the city of Kaunas hosted ECAD 24th Annual Mayors`s Conference 2017
Safe Cities Without Drugs. Preventing, Protecting, Policing
Key-note speakers:
David W. Spencer, Field intelligence Manager, Drug Enforcement Agency, European Region
Supply reduction and dismantling drug trafficking organizations: In what ways can local communities benefit (PDF)
Kim Nilvall, Swedish National Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence section, Organized crime
Police work in socially disadvantaged areas in Sweden: Impact of drugs on urban crime (PDF)
Torsten Stodiek, Deputy Head, Strategic Police Matters Unit, Community Policing Advisor, Transnational Threats Department, OSCE
Preventing terrorism and countering violent extremism and radicalisation that lead to terrorism:
A community and intelligence led policing approach (PDF)
Jon Sigfusson, Director for Icelandic Centre of Social Research and Analysis, Reykjavik University, ICSRA
Youth in Europe and Planet Youth (PDF)
Laimonas Vasiliauskas, Senior Specialist, Serious and Organized Crime Department, EUROPOL
European Illicit Drug Market (PDF)
Antonio Boscini, Health Director, San Patrignano Community, Rimini, Italy
Recovery and social reinsertion: San Patrignano Community model extended (PDF)
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME (PDF)
FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT (PDF)
Conference Booking Form
Kaunas Castle
Picture: @Rokas Tenys
Warm welcome to Kaunas, Lithuania!