Invitation to a panel discussion on European drug policy

We cordially invite you to a high-level panel debate organised by RATIO - Think tank for rational addiction policies, 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 RATIO 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 RATIO’s Honorary Board

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

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

11:30 – 12:30 Panel Discussion

− Jindřich Vobořil, Chairman of RATIO’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 RATIO 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