International Drug Users Day 2025
International Drug Users Day 2025 (IDUD2025) brought together drug user-led organisations worldwide, each using the day to promote dignity, rights and visibility. From street actions and festivals to political advocacy and wellness gatherings, the campaign showed the strength of a global movement grounded in lived experience.
This year, INPUD received 69 applications for IDUD2025 mini-grants from drug user-led organisations across the globe, and 10 organisations received USD 500 mini-grants to implement IDUD2025 activities.
The grant recipients were ACORED from Costa Rica, LANPUD Mexico from Mexico, GANMANDOHOU from Benin, the Lace Boot Initiative for Women Who Use Drugs (LaBWWUD) from Zimbabwe, Women in Response to HIV/AIDS and Drug Addiction (WRADA) from Kenya, XADUD from Spain, ITANPUD from Italy, VOLNa from Ukraine, the Community Advocacy Reform Movement (GRAM) from Indonesia and Overdose Awareness and Response St John’s (OARS) from Canada.
Latin America & the Caribbean
Costa Rica — ACORED
Costa Rican Association for Harm Reduction (ACORED) — in collaboration with the Costa Rican Association for the Study and Intervention on Drugs (ACEID) — hosted Costa Rica’s first national IDUD Festival in San José. Around 65 participants attended a 5-hour celebration featuring spoken word, comedy, music, cultural performances and community bingo. Their online campaign expanded the reach dramatically, with nearly 20,000 organic viewsand over 9 hours of total video watch time. Instagramproved to be the most effective marketing channel, accounting for over 90% of total reach.
Mexico — LANPUD Mexico
LANPUD México held two peer-led gatherings for gay and bisexual men who use crystal meth within chemsex settings. The first meeting brought together 27 participants for 8 hours of discussion on safer use, mental health and sexual health. A related social media campaign reached thousands. Across the six Instagram posts promoting and documenting LANPUD México’s IDUD2025 activities, the campaign generated strong engagement with a total of 582 likes and 270 shares. The highest-performing post — an early promotional video — received 175 likes and 81 shares.
Africa
Benin — GANMANDOHOU
GANMANDOHOU organised a wellness and empowerment day for 25 women who use drugs in Cotonou. Hairstyling, makeup and manicure sessions helped create a space of dignity, visibility and confidence-building. The initiative also highlighted the women’s talents in hair and makeup and emphasised the need for ongoing social support and opportunities for reintegration into society.
Zimbabwe —LaBWWUD
The Lace Boot Initiative for Women Who Use Drugs (LaBWWUD) celebrated IDUD2025 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, with a harm reduction and rights-focused gathering. The event included safety workshops and peer support for women and gender-diverse people who use drugs. Event updates were shared via WhatsApp with invited participants, though technical issues affected Facebook posting.
Kenya — WRADA
Women in Response to HIV/AIDS and Drug Addiction (WRADA) produced a collective advocacy video featuring women who use drugs from across Africa. The video highlighted key issues around rights, health and social justice, amplifying the voices of women in the community and strengthening their visibility in advocacy spaces.
Europe
Spain — XADUD
As part of the Raval(s) Festival on 7 November, XADUD collaborated with Metzineres to commemorate IDUD2025. Along Luna Street, they set up participatory games and large-format posters highlighting their activities over the past year, each linked to audio recordings sharing experiences and manifestos. The intervention emphasised the importance of activism, community networks and breaking stigmafor women who use drugs. The public engaged actively with the installations, reflecting on the barriers faced by women who use drugs. The day concluded with a guided walking tour about sex work in the Raval, attended by more than 25 people, further raising awareness of XADUD’s work and impact.
Italy — ITANPUD
In Italy, ITANPUD marked theIDUD2025 amid a restrictive political context where civil society and harm reduction networks were excluded from the Government Conference on Drugs in November 2025. To assert the visibility and role of people who use drugs, ITANPUD hosted a Zoom session with 20 participants, featuring activists sharing their experiences and emphasising youth involvement, followed by a live event in Rome, which brought together 50–60 people to discuss rights, decriminalisation and drug user-led organising. They also held street outreach sessions in Turin, which focused on harm reduction and public visibility.
Ukraine — VOLNa
Ukrainian Network of People Who Use Drugs (VOLNa) produced a powerful set of advocacy and visibility materials for people who use drugs across Ukraine, creating five “business card” videos representing resource centres in 24 regions plus Kyiv, alongside a separate advocacy-focused video shown to 100 national network leaders at the 9th National Conference of People with Drug Addiction, which strengthened nationwide advocacy for decriminalisation. The project significantly expanded the visibility of Ukrainian drug user leadership, advocacy work, and resilience in the context of ongoing war and emergencies.
Asia
Indonesia — GRAM
The Community Advocacy Reform Movement (GRAM) organised a peaceful protest at the Supreme Court, advocating for the rights of people who use drugs and challenging Police Regulation No. 8/2021, which allows arrests and forced rehab based solely on positive drug tests, often accompanied by extortion, torture and neglect of health rights. GRAM filed a judicial review petition calling on the National Police to amend the regulation. This action highlighted GRAM’s ongoing commitment to human rights, harm reduction and legal advocacyfor people who use drugs.
North America
Canada — OARS
Overdose Awareness and Response St John’s (OARS) ran their weekly overdose prevention session in Downtown St. John’s, providing food, warmth and a safe space for people who use drugs. With the mini-grant from INPUD, OARS funded a mobile OPS van to help volunteers and peers stay safe during cold nights. The event hosted 8 participants and contributed to ongoing community support and harm reduction efforts.
A Global Movement of Resistance and Visibility
The International Drug Users Day 2025 campaign showed how strongly communities are pushing back against criminalisation, building peer-led support and celebrating the resilience of people who use drugs. Across the globe, the activities brought hundreds of people together, reached tens of thousands online and generated lasting advocacy tools — from videos and street installations to political actions that will continue driving change.