On 17 March the National Bureau for Drug Prevention in cooperation with the civil society partners and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Poland to the UN in Vienna organized the side-event on the Second International Urban Drug Policy Conference and the Warsaw Declaration adopted during the meeting.

The speakers presented previous experience in the area of cooperation among stakeholders (civil society representatives, government institutions, local governments) in the European countries on the drugs and drug addiction prevention. Well-planned and implemented urban drug policies should be based on intersectoral cooperation initiatives which could lead to create an effective national drug policy.

The event attended by nearly 30 participants presented also the Warsaw Declaration, which is result of cross-sectoral working groups of experts dealing with drug policy in urban areas of major European cities. The Warsaw Declaration is a statement from representatives of municipal and national governments, decision makers, law enforcement, civil society, people who use drugs, harm reduction and treatment providers, and academics. It builds on the seven key principles set out in the 2010 Prague Declaration, one which followed the first international meeting focused on substance use in the urban environment and the exchange of experiences in implementing evidence-informed policies to best mitigate its harms. This declaration aims to contribute meaningfully to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS 2016) and to the broader drug policy debate beyond this event. The Warsaw Declaration text is available here