 Hello, this is Peter Charosi and you are watching Drug Reporter News. The wall of shame, why crack consumption rooms are needed in Paris? An estimated 13,000 people use crack cocaine in the wider Paris region. There are a group of about 400 extremely marginalised users who can often be seen consuming in parks, causing a public nuisance. Despite this, in the 30 years since crack arrived in Paris, the government has only ever offered ad hoc non-solutions to the problem, rather than having any kinds of comprehensive long-term strategy. In September 2021, the police heard it hundreds of crack users onto buses, shipped them to Port de la Viet and literally bricked up the tunnel which would have allowed them to walk back towards the most vassier parts of the city. This wall, an ugly and very physical manifestation of the authorities' attempts to separate these crack users from the rest of society, has been nicknamed the wall of shame. Drug Reporter's new documentary, co-produced with the International Network of People Who Use Drugs and Essued the French Drug User Union, gives a detailed analysis of the case of crack in Paris. Canada's government has announced that it will allow the province of British Columbia to try a three-year experiment in decriminalising possession of small amounts of drugs, reported the Guardian. The government hopes that this will help reduce a record number of overdose deaths by easing a fear of arrest by those who need help. For too many years, the ideological opposition to harm reduction has cost lives. Since 2016, there have been over 9,400 deaths due to toxic illicit drugs. In 2021 alone, more than 2,200 lives were lost in this province. The policy approved by federal officials doesn't legalise the substances, but Canadians in the Pacific Coast province, who possess up to 2.5 grams of illicit drugs for personal use, will not be arrested or charged. As of January 31, 2023, adults 18 and over in British Columbia will no longer be subject to criminal charges for the possession of up to 2.5 grams of certain illegal drugs for personal use, and the drugs will not be confiscated. Minister Malcomson and I want to be very clear, this is not legalisation. Italy's recent decision to ban Ayahuasca In March 2022, the Italian government made Bani Stereopsis Cappi and Psychotria Viridis the two principle ingredients of the Amazonian brew Ayahuasca, schedule one control substances, reported the International Centre for Ethnobotanical Education Research and Service. Ayahuasca is used as a ceremonial spiritual medicine by shamans and became popular in Europe as such. Schedule one is a category created by the International Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 that includes components declared to have no medical or scientific use and pose high risks for public health. The reason given for the policy change was that Ayahuasca, as well as three of its components, presents risks to public health. Some drug policy reform groups have asked the ministry to share bibliographic references for the evidence used in the decision. They say the real solution is regulation and not prohibition. Australia. Pills testing really does reduce the risk of harm for drug users. Festival goers for Canberra's grew-in-and-demoom festival were told the event would no longer be offering a free drug-checking service after pill testing in Australia, which provides the testing service, had public liability insurance withdrawn without explanation from insurers, reported the conversation. Drug-checking, a harm reduction intervention with clear benefits, was officially permitted by the Government of the Australian Capital Territory in 2018 as a result of decades-long advocacy. According to research, hundreds of samples were tested at the last festival in Canberra, saving the lives of seven young people by alerting them that their pills contained dangerous substances. New US drug control strategy in the midst of the overdose crisis. The Biden administration's first full-fledged national drug control strategy was released in May, with the country in the midst of a drug overdose crisis of unprecedented severity, with more than 106,000 fatalities in the past 12 months alone, reported by John Walsh from VOLA. The 152-page document, which was submitted to Congress, details the administration's proposals to address the nation's drug problems by enhancing drug treatment, investing in harm reduction, tackling drug trafficking, and improving data collection and evaluation. This is the first drug strategy in the history of the nation that contains a separate chapter on harm reduction. That strategy is intended to save the most number of lives possible. So that's where Naloxone comes in. That's where fentanyl test strips comes in. And that's where certain service programs come. The reason people haven't died for most practical purposes in an auto-expression site is because of Naloxone. Because people are able to get the antidote widely available. We want to make sure that, first of all, that everyone in the across the country has that same opportunity. The plans, recognition, and adoption of syringe service programs is an especially significant step as part of the administration's strategy for U.S. drug policy. This was Drug Reporter News for today. Thank you for joining us. If you like this initiative, please make a donation today for the Rice Reporter Foundation, the organization producing this show on our website, drugreporter.net. Thank you for joining us. What we've been able to achieve has been done with your help. Now we go on to the next stop, making a final commitment. Now we need your support again. 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