Invitation to a panel discussion on European drug policy

We cordially invite you to a high-level panel debate organised by the Institute for Rational Addiction Policy (IRAP), founded by former National Drug Coordinator Jindřich Vobořil, on the occasion of the opening of an office in Brussels on the topic:

Is the EU's approach to addictions based on evidence?

Despite decades of research, the harm reduction approach in EU addiction policy remains marginal. With safety concerns often outweighing evidence-based measures, is the EU committed to science-based approaches?

Date:

March 18, 2025, 10:30 -15:00

Place:

Radisson RED Hotel, Brussels

Former Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski, a member of the IRAP Honorary Council, will open the event.

We will welcome key European policymakers, security experts, and representatives from international organizations and NGOs, including:

• European Policy Centre
• GLOBSEC
• European Network of People Who Use Drugs (EuroNPUD)
• European Observatory of Cannabis Consumption and Cultivations (OECCC)
• European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA)
• Czech Hemp
• European Kratom Alliance (EKA)

PROGRAMME

10:30 – 11:00 Registration and morning coffee

11:00 – 11:30 Opening remarks and introduction of IRAP’s Honorary Board

− Aleksander Kwaśniewski, former President of Poland, Commissioner of the Global Commission on Drug Policy

− Jindřich Vobořil, Chairman of IRAP’s Board of Trustees, former National Drug Coordinator, Advisor to the Czech Prime Minister

11:30 – 12:30 Panel Discussion

− Jindřich Vobořil, Chairman of IRAP’s Board of Trustees, former National Drug Coordinator, Advisor to the Czech Prime Minister

− Ivan Langer, former Minister of the Interior and Vice-Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, currently Chairman of the CEVRO University

− Ganna Dovbakh, Executive Director of Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA)

− Michael Fanta, Chief Analyst at the Center for Economic and Market Analysis (CETA)

− Ethan Nadelmann, Founder of the Drug Policy Alliance (Closing Remarks)

12:30 – 13:30 Questions and Answers Follow-up discussion with invited MEPs, NGOs, media, industries, think tanks

13:30 – 15:00 Lunch and Informal networking

The event is endorsed by the members of the IRAP Honorary Board:

- MUDr. Pavel Bém – physician, psychiatrist, and politician with significant experience in public health and addiction science

- Wim van den Brink – emeritus professor of psychiatry and addiction at the Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam

- Václav Dejčmar – Czech entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist

- Kitty Chopaka – renowned advocate for cannabis law reform, pioneer in cannabis education and policy development in Thailand

- Aleksander Kwaśniewski – Polish politician, President of Poland from 1995 to 2005

- Ethan A. Nadelmann – founder of the Drug Policy Alliance and a leading proponent of drug policy reform in the United States and abroad

- David Nutt – leading British neuropsychopharmacologist, specializing in research on the effects of drugs on the brain and behavior

- MUDr. Petr Smejkal – renowned Czech epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist

- Bohuslav Sobotka – Czech politician, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 2014 to 2017