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Digital lecture: Drugs, Medicines, and Human Rights

Digital lecture: Drugs, Medicines, and Human Rights

The research group HUMANHARM and The Association for Safer Drug Policies (https://saferdrugpolicies.com/) invite to a guest lecture and discussion with Prof. Brigit Toebes on drugs and medicines in a human rights perspective. This will be a digital event.

Prof. Brigit Toebes (University of Groningen) will give a talk on drugs, medicines, and human rights. Following her presentation, there will be a discussion between Prof. Toebes and Dagfinn Hessen from The Association for Safer Drug Policies.

The event is part of the research project “Human Rights in Opioid Substitution Treatment” funded by Stiftelsen DAM. (https://dam.no/prosjekter/menneskerettigheter-i-legemiddelassistert-rehabilitering/)
Link to the meeting:
https://vid-no.zoom.us/j/69164430499?pwd=cGZ6aFVaaFpSZUY1NGZLeFdhNmJEdz09

There is no registration, all you need to do is click the link.


Brigit Toebes is professor of health law in a global context at the Faculty of Law at University of Groningen and scientific director of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health. Her research is at the intersection of health law, international law and human rights. Within this, Toebes is particularly interested in 'public health law' as a field that is developing rapidly, and in which international standards play a crucial role. She facilitates research into the regulation of behavioural risk factors such as smoking, unhealthy diets, alcohol consumption and drugs. In 2022, Toebes was awarded the Legal Specialist Award by the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL). Key publications include “Health and Human Rights” (2022, 2e ed), “Human Rights and Tobacco Control”, and “Research Handbook on Global Health Law” (2018). Toebes also serves as a member of the advisory board for the research project “Human Rights in Opioid Substitution Treatment” at the Faculty of Social Studies at VID. Recently, Toebes has been appointed as the chair of the Dutch state committee on the medical use of MDMA. This committee is tasked with advising the government on the regulatory options concerning the use of MDMA in therapeutic settings (e.g. in case of PTSD). In her talk, she will draw on the experiences from this work.

Dagfinn Hessen is a lawyer and criminal defense attorney specializing in drug laws. He is one of the founding members of The Association for Safer Drug Policies and has been employed there as Chief Scientific Officer since 2017. The association is a Norwegian, nationwide membership organization advocating for a Norwegian and international drug policy based on harm prevention, harm reduction, personal responsibility, and human rights.