Reducing Drug‑Use–Related Offenses Through Health‑Centered Approaches

This webinar explores how therapeutic justice offers more effective, humane, and sustainable solutions for reducing drug-use–related offenses in communities. Through a health-centred approach, it will examine how strategies alternative to detention, imprisonment, and coercive sanctions, as well as treatment courts, deflection and pre-arrest diversion, and rehabilitation and reintegration models, help break cycles of criminality associated with problematic substance use. The webinar will present international evidence, conceptual frameworks, and practical experiences demonstrating that addressing drug use as a public health issue, rather than a strictly criminal matter, improves community safety, reduces recidivism, and strengthens social inclusion.

The webinar will be in English and Spanish, with interpretation available via GoToWebinar.

Intended audience:

Health professionals (physicians, psychologists, social workers)
Public policy decision-makers in health and justice
Civil society organisations and NGOs
Academics and researchers in criminology and public health
Students of law, psychology, and social sciences

Learning outcomes:

By the end of the webinar, participants will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles of therapeutic justice and their application in drug-use contexts.
Analyse how health-centred approaches contribute to reducing drug-related offenses.
Identify key strategies such as deflection, diversion, alternatives to incarceration, and treatment courts, and their impact on reducing recidivism.
Assess international models that integrate justice and health to improve community safety.
Recognise essential elements of rehabilitation and reintegration that strengthen long-term recovery and reduce the burden on policing and judicial systems.
Explore opportunities to implement or adapt therapeutic justice approaches within their own institutional or community contexts.

Presenter:

Magistrate Luis Osuna Sánchez,

Magistrate Luis Enrique Osuna Sánchez has dedicated his career to humanising the legal system through Therapeutic Jurisprudence (TJ). He holds a Law degree from the University of Sonora, a Master’s in Fiscal and Financial Law with honours, and a specialisation in Human Rights and Administrative Justice. He completed postgraduate studies at La Trobe University’s Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution and is a doctoral candidate at Deakin University in Australia. His training includes programs at the Complutense University of Madrid, ITAM, IPADE, Tec de Monterrey, and the Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators of Australia.

Since 2015, he has served as a Magistrate of the Federal Court of Administrative Justice (TFJA). He is President of the National College of Magistrates of the TFJA, Vice President of the Ibero-American TJ Association, President of the Mexican TJ Association, a member of the Global Advisory Group of the International Society of Therapeutic Jurisprudence, and Scientific Director of the Euroamericana-International Foundation (2024–2026). He is also an Academician of the Mexican Academy of Tax Law, a full member of the National Bar Association of Mexico, a titular member of the Pan-American Institute of Procedural Law, and a counselor at the Mexican Council for Professional Certification in Psychology.

Jac Charlier

Executive Director of the Center for Health and Justice at TASC and Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Police, Treatment, and Community Collaborative (PTACC). PTACC is the leading global alliance dedicated to the deflection and pre-arrest diversion movement. Recognized as one of the international leaders in Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI), Jac has developed frameworks and strategies to connect individuals with health and treatment services instead of entering the criminal justice system. His work advances the integration of public safety and public health, promoting models that reduce recidivism and the impact of problematic substance use. He is the author of key publications on deflection, including the influential proposal “Deflect Instead of Arrest.”

Dr. Yvonne Olando

Director of Public Education and Advocacy at the National Agency for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), Kenya. A prominent figure in the fight against drugs and alcohol in Kenya, she promotes the implementation of models that combine community programs, restorative justice, and treatment services as alternatives to imprisonment. She is also an expert in adolescent treatment and in addressing adolescents in conflict with the law.

Sanita Suhartono

Sanita Suhartono is an Associate Drug Control and Crime Prevention Officer at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section. She supports the coordination and implementation of UNODC’s global programmes focused on the treatment and care of drug use disorders. With a background in international development and public health, she has contributed to the development of key technical tools and initiatives, focusing on increasing quality assurance mechanisms for the treatment of drug use disorders, including strengthened health and justice collaboration to promote drug treatment as an alternative to conviction or punishment. Since joining UNODC in 2016, she has held positions at headquarters in Vienna and the Regional Office for Eastern Africa, advancing effective approaches and interventions for people who use drugs and with drug use disorders, in line with the International Standards for the Treatment of Drug Use Disorders.

Moderator:

Berenice Santamaría

Berenice Santamaría, Consultant with the International Delegation of the Proyecto Hombre Association (Spain). Master’s degree in Criminal Procedural Law; specialist in drug policy, crime prevention, criminal justice reform, therapeutic justice, and treatment alternatives. Certified in Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT) for drug users in conflict with the law.

References:

Therapeutic Justice and Treatment Courts

David B. Wexler & Bruce J. Winick – Judging in a Therapeutic Key: Therapeutic Jurisprudence and the Courts.
Wexler, D. B., Oyhamburu, M. S., & Fariña Rivera, F. (2020). Therapeutic Justice: A New Legal Paradigm. Madrid: Wolters Kluwer. In this volume, Fariña authors the chapter “The Cognitive Interview as a Tool of Therapeutic Justice.”
West Huddleston – NADCP field reports (e.g., “Painting the Current Picture” series) and leadership in the expansion of treatment courts.

Public Health and International Standards

UNODC – International Standards for the Treatment of Drug Use Disorders.
EMCDDA – Reports on alternatives to incarceration and program evaluation.

Diversion and Deflection (Police-Led)

Jac Charlier – Diversion and deflection frameworks; Co-Founder of PTACC (Police, Treatment, and Community Collaborative); practical guides for deflection to treatment and services.
PTACC – Models, tools, and case studies on police-community deflection implementation.

Clinical Training and Substance Use Disorder Treatment

SAMHSA – Best practice guidelines for treatment and coordination with justice systems.

Webinars and online events delivered and hosted by the International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP) are provided for informational purposes only. They are educational in nature and do not constitute medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.