 Good evening. Join me. This is Drug and Report Air News. Promise. Life. Drug and Report Air News. Love and hope and trust and confidence. Tonight, there's something special to talk about. So, won't you join us? Hi, I'm Washi Fahyit and you're watching Drug Reporter News, an online series where we provide you with updates about recent developments in harm reduction and drug policy reform around the world. So, what happened in the EU recently? On the 18th of December, the European Council adopted the new EU drug strategy for the years 2021-2025. This document is a revised version of the drug's agenda proposed by the European Commission in July. The first version has been criticized by member states and civil society for having too much focus on law enforcement. On top of the chapters on supply reduction and demand reduction, the new document added a dedicated chapter on harm reduction and takes into consideration the impacts and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, has pledged an extra £250 million over the next five years to address the current public health emergency of drug-related deaths. In a ministerial statement on drug's policy to the Scottish Parliament yesterday, the First Minister said the additional funding was a part of a national mission to end what is the current national disgrace. 1,264 people died of a preventable drug overdose in 2019, a record number for the six-year running. Every single one, 1,264 in total, was a human being with dreams and aspirations, talent and potential. They were all someone's mother, father, daughter, son, brother or sister. Each of them left a hole in the lives of those who loved them, they mattered. And while we can't help them now, we must do much more to make sure others don't suffer the same fate. Ms Sturgeon also said there is a strong evidence from other countries that safe consumption rooms which allow users to take drugs under supervision help prevent fatal overdoses. In the United States, in a letter to Biden's transition team last week, 212 harm reduction and healthcare organizations across the country called on his administration to take strong action on the drug war and the overdose crisis in its first 100 days. Professionals call on the incoming Biden administration to reorient the Office of National Drug Control Policy to dismantle the war on drugs and prioritize harm reduction treatment and recovery. They recommend to allocate federal funding on certain services to withdrawal litigation, challenging supervised drug consumption sites to scale up opioid substitution treatment and to make naloxone available over the counter. In Asia, despite the proven ineffectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent to drug use or sale, its use for drug offenses has continued with Bangladesh expanding the death penalty to cover the manufacture and trafficking of Yaba or methamphetamine. It is reported by Gideon Lesko in his opinion piece on inquire.net. Sri Lanka's former president, Maithri Pala Sirisana, sought to reinstate the death penalty for drug traffickers last year and Indonesia continues to hand out death sentences for drug-related offenses. There are about 4.35 million people who inject drugs in Asia, yet as a new report from Harm Reduction International reveals, the services for this huge population of people are grossly insufficient. Only 14 of the 25 countries and territories in the region have existing needle and syringe programs, a proven and effective public health intervention that decreases overdose deaths as well as the spread of HIV and tuberculosis. This has been Drug Reporter News with Orsi Fahe. Don't forget to subscribe to Drug Reporter News on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and tune in next time. Thank you for your help. Now we go on to the next stop, making a final commitment. Now we need your support again. Support drug and report there.