ReGeneration’s activities in the Support. Don’t Punish campaign

On Tuesday, 26th July 2018, the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the NGO ReGeneration, in cooperation with the Belgrade night club Drugstore, organized an event as part of the Support. Don’t Punish campaign. The event, starting at 8 PM, was held in the Drugstore night club in Belgrade; the stand was placed in the lobby, next to the door leading to the main area, and opposite it, in front of the coat check, was displayed new informative material on the most common psychoactive substances and acute health issues the consumption there of could result in. A large poster of the campaign, in front of which visitors could, if they so wished, be photographed by members of ReGeneration’s with the Support. Don’t Punish logo as an act of support, was also placed in the lobby. Also, those who wished to could complete a short questionnaire regarding the usage of (new) psychoactive substances prepared by our team.

The visitors could then enter the main club area, where our guest Marko Milosavljević was the DJ support. To the backdrop of Marko’s music, the rest of the event passed in informal socialization and discussion. In casual conversation, the guests and visitors from various countries and of various educational profiles – anthropologists, healthcare professionals, psychologists, artist, etc. – touched upon many issues regarding the consumption of PAS and NPAS among the youth not just in Serbia and the region but globally as well, such as legislature, public policy, harm reduction strategies and public and media discourse on (N)PAS consumption. ReGeneration is determined to continue the tradition of organizing different events on the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking with the goal of raising awareness and informing the general public.

Support Don’t Punish objectives were also promoted on the Pride Parade in Belgrade, by the Re Generation and YODA members. As Pride Parade had the topic of HIV prevention, we though it is important to support members of other vulnerable populations in fight against discrimination and stigmatization of all of us.

Before and after the event NGO Re Generation representatives were also present in media presented the goals of the Support Don’t Punish Global campaign to general public in addition to campaign that was recent initiated, as an answer to death of three young persons, related to the use of psychoactive substances, that inspired Re Generation to even more and bit aggressive advocate for the harm reduction programs in the recreational settings. #DAZNAMŠTARADIM is the campaign aiming to support and push for the implementation of nightlife outreach programs as a necessity.