People who use drugs are facing crises around the world. On top of increased risk for hepatitis C, HIV and toxic drug poisoning, the harm reduction programs that literally save their lives are under threat. In the face of repression and ever-shifting government priorities, cross-border solidarity is more vital than ever to defend the present and future of harm reduction. This is the context in which thousands of people came together in Bogotá, Colombia, for the 28th Harm Reduction International Conference (HR25) in April. Attendees included frontline service providers, researchers, policy-makers, politicians, United Nations representatives, people who use drugs, sex...

Arriving in Bogotá at the Harm Reduction International Conference, I felt the threads of my life weave together in a way I hadn’t expected. I’ve spent years working in harm reduction in Canada while maintaining deep ties to Colombia, where much of my family still lives. But I saw something revolutionary during my recent visit: a nation once synonymous with the war on drugs now leading the global charge toward a more compassionate and pragmatic approach. The cost of failure Colombia has had a long and complex relationship with drugs, one fraught with pain and grief. For decades, the U.S.-backed...