Policy Impact Unit
The Policy Impact Unit works in partnership with drug policy stakeholders – including people who use drugs, affected communities, civil society, and policymakers – to support the development of evidence- and rights-based drug policies in Canada and around the globe.
Project Contents
Overview
The Policy Impact Unit has an established record of supporting local, national, and international drug policy development through research and outreach employing a translational research approach.
From Research to Policy
In adopting a translational approach, the Policy Impact Unit seeks to provide relevant policy guidance based on evidence- and right-based approaches to drug policy. Knowledge users – such as policymakers from local to international levels, affected communities, and civil society – play a key role in informing research questions and priorities for investigation and outreach by the Policy Impact Unit. Recent focuses for research and outreach include the regulation of adult cannabis markets and drug policy evaluation at national and international levels.
Are you seeking support to maximize the effectiveness of drug policy development? The Policy Impact Unit is available to provide input and consultation to policymakers, as guided by the best available evidence and practice. If interested, please reach out to policyimpact@cdpe.org.
International Engagement
At the global level, the Policy Impact Unit conducts advocacy at United Nations (UN) proceedings on global drug control with particular emphasis on the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), World Health Organization, and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Alongside national and global civil society partners, the Policy Impact Unit conducts outreach and policymaker engagement to support the adoption of international drugs policies that advance the health and human rights of people who use drugs and other communities affected by drugs and drug policy. From organizing high-level events with Member States, to serving on official government delegations to UN meetings, the Policy Impact Unit works in partnership with knowledge users to advance policy priorities within the international drug control regime.
Civil Society Inclusion
The Policy Impact Unit supports a number of initiatives to foster greater and more meaningful inclusion of civil society and affected communities in the development and evaluation of drug policy approaches. Select examples include contributing to the CND Blog and serving on the Executive Committee of the New York NGO Committee on Drugs, a global committee that supports civil society engagement on drug policy at the UN and represents 100+ organizations.
Financial Supporters
Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction | Canadian Institutes of Health Research | Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse | Health Canada | MAC AIDS Fund | Open Society Foundations
Partners
Canadian Association of People who Use Drugs | Canadian Drug Policy Coalition | HIV Legal Network | Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy | Drug Policy Alliance | Global Drug Policy Observatory | Government of Canada | Instituto RIA | International Drug Policy Consortium | New York NGO Committee on Drugs | Toronto Public Health | Transform Drug Policy Foundation | University of Toronto
Project Contact
Nazlee Maghsoudi
nazlee@cdpe.org
Related Content
- Submission to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs: Review of Bill C-5, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Also Available in French)
- Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health on Racism and the Right to Health
- Submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on Racial Discrimination and the Right to Health
- Submission to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on People in Canada of African Descent
- Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights: Review of Bill C-5, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Also Available in French)
- Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the List of Issues in Relation to the Combined Fifth and Sixth Reports of Canada
- Ensuring Equity, Reducing Harms, and Supporting Human Rights in Drug Policy: Brief to the Minister of Health and Canadian Delegation to the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (65th session)
- Submission to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on HIV, Human Rights, and Drug Policy in Canada
- Submission to the UN Committee Against Torture on the List of Issues Prior to Reporting in Canada
- Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee on the List of Issues Prior to Reporting in Canada
- Protecting Vulnerable Communities in the Midst and Wake of COVID-19: Brief to the Minister of Health and Canadian Delegation to the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (64th session)
- Submission to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on People in Canada of African Descent
- Detecting and Responding to New Psychoactive Substances: Experiences of Frontline Health Services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (UN Statement)
- Supporting Health and Human Rights in Drug Policy: Brief to the Minister of Health and Canadian Delegation to the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (63rd session)
- Supporting Health and Human Rights in Drug Policy: Brief to the Minister of Health and Canadian Delegation to the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (62nd session)
Press Releases:
- UN Green Lights Medicinal Cannabis, Fails to Challenge Colonial Legacy of its Prohibition
- Canada’s Legal Cannabis Industry Lacks Diversity, A New Policy Brief by the Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation and the University of Toronto Finds
- New Report from Canada’s Drug Futures Forum Outlines Recommendations for the Next Decade of Drug Policy in Canada
- New Policy Brief Provides Guidance to States on Aligning Regulation of Recreational Cannabis Markets With International Legal Obligations

Systematic Reviews on Drug Policy
The CDPE is synthesizing the evidence on the effectiveness of drug policies and interventions to reduce drug-related harms.
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Drug Policy Metrics Map
The CDPE has conducted an international cross comparison of illegal drug policies to create an online tool – the Drug Policy Metrics Map – to demonstrate the alignment and gaps between the metrics that countries use to assess the success of their drug policy and the actual drug policy-related outcomes they experience.
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#CannabisClaims
#CannabisClaims is a campaign addressing common misconceptions related to cannabis use and regulation.
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Redressing Inequities in America’s Drug Policies: An Evidence-Grounded Call for Bold Action
In this brief for the Biden-Harris Administration, the CDPE and the Health in Justice Action Lab outline key actions to enhance the equity and effectiveness of drug policy in the United States.
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How Diverse is Canada’s Legal Cannabis Industry? Examining Race and Gender of its Executives and Directors
The aim of this project was to examine the race and gender of c-suite level executives and boards of directors of licensed cannabis producers and their parent companies operating in the Canadian cannabis industry, in order to assess whether the promise of an equitable legal cannabis market has been achieved.
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Impact Evaluations of Drug Decriminalisation and Legal Regulation on Drug Use, Health and Social Harms: A Systematic Review
Given increasing interest in quantifying the impact of drug law reform, as well as a lack of systematic assessment of outcomes beyond adolescent cannabis use to date, we conducted a systematic review of original peer-reviewed research evaluating the impacts of (a) legal regulation and (b) drug decriminalisation on drug availability, use or related health and social harms. Our primary aim is to characterise studies with respect to metrics and indicators used. The secondary aim is to summarise the findings and methodological quality of studies to date.
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Canada’s Drug Futures Forum: Summary of Proceedings and Final Recommendations
This report synthesizes dialogue generated by speakers at the Canada’s Drug Futures Forum and outlines recommendations for the next ten years of Canadian drug policy from over 200 attendees including policymakers, public health officials, law enforcement professionals, researchers, people who use drugs, and community organizers.
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Recreational Cannabis Regulation & International Law: Scenarios for States Parties to the UN Drug Conventions
This policy brief from the CDPE and the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto provides guidance to national governments seeking to align domestic legalization and regulation of recreational cannabis markets with their international legal obligations.
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New York NGO Committee on Drugs (NYNGOC)
The New York NGO Committee on Drugs (NYNGOC) provides a platform for discussion of drugs and drug-related subjects and interfaces with the United Nations to collaborate on solutions to global drug issues.
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