Wola Podcast

On March 14-22, 2024, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) held its 67th annual session in Vienna, Austria. The session saw a landmark vote that may have important repercussions for drug policy, in Latin America and elsewhere.   The commission approved a U.S.-led resolution encouraging countries to implement “harm reduction” measures to respond to drug overdoses and to protect public health.   The vote marks a major breakthrough in civil society’s decades-long advocacy to center harm reduction, especially since the U.S. government has a history of blocking all such resolutions, and since the Commission has a longstanding tradition of enactment by a “Vienna Consensus” without votes.   This episode features three guests who helped lead civil society’s robust participation at the CND:   Ann Fordham, executive director of International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) Lisa Sanchez, executive director of México Unido Contra la Delincuencia (MUCD) John Walsh, director for drug policy a