Addiction Policy & Public Health

Drug policy frameworks decisively shape clinical outcomes and population mortality. The session covers decriminalisation outcomes from Portugal, Oregon Measure 110 reversal, British Columbia's drug-policy experiment, supervised consumption sites in Vancouver and New York, drug-checking services for fentanyl-xylazine, methadone deregulation post-COVID and the rural impact, the fentanyl supply crisis and Mexican-cartel dynamics, and population-level harm-reduction strategies. Discussion addresses sentencing reform, the bipartisan Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act, international harm-reduction frameworks (UNODC, WHO), and the ethical and policy implications of involuntary treatment expansion in California, Oregon and Washington post-2024 ballot initiatives.