Social Justice Lecture Series : Ecological Harm Reduction: Reimagining Drug Policy with Clemmie James
In this powerful and eye-opening talk, expert Clemmie James will reveal how drug prohibition is not only failing to reduce harm, but is also quietly driving deforestation, environmental destruction, and social injustice across some of the most fragile ecosystems on the planet.
This lecture is hosted by the Drugs, Policy and Social Change (DPSC) Research Network. You can learn more about our work here: Drugs, Policy and Social Change (DPSC)
It is the second event for the new Manchester Metropolitan University School of Sociology and Criminology Social Justice Lecture Series.
What if drug policy wasn’t just a health or legal issue, but a climate issue too?
In this powerful and eye-opening talk, Clemmie reveals how drug prohibition is not only failing to reduce harm, but is also quietly driving deforestation, environmental destruction, and social injustice across some of the most fragile ecosystems on the planet.
Focusing on the global coca and cocaine economy, this talk uncovers how prohibition has created a vast, unregulated market that fuels illegal mining, land grabbing, and violence, particularly in regions like the Amazon. The communities most affected are often Indigenous peoples and smallholder farmers, who are criminalised for their traditional practices while being pushed off lands that are critical to protecting biodiversity and tackling climate change.
But this isn’t just a story of harm, it’s also about possibility.
Clemmie introduces the concept of “teacher plants” such as coca, cannabis, and poppy, plants that have been used for generations in Indigenous cultures for healing, spirituality, and sustaining relationships with the natural world. Rather than recognising their value, modern drug policies have reduced them to illicit commodities, breaking vital cultural and ecological connections.
The talk also explores an innovative new approach: Ecological Harm Reduction, developed by the International Coalition for Drug Policy Reform and Environmental Justice. This fresh framework challenges us to rethink drug policy as part of a wider system of environmental and social justice, one that protects ecosystems, respects Indigenous knowledge, and supports sustainable, community-led economies.
At a time of escalating climate crisis, Clemmie makes a compelling case: without rethinking prohibition, efforts to protect the planet may continue to fall short.
Join us for a thought-provoking discussion that connects drug policy, climate justice, and Indigenous rights and invites us to imagine a future rooted in care, balance, and sustainability.
Clemmie James, Global Co-ordinator for the International Coalition for Drug Policy Reform and Environmental Justice
Clemmie James is a global coordinator, cultural agitator, and environmental justice campaigner working at the intersections of power, stigma, and systemic harm.
Across her career as a social and environmental justice campaigner, Clemmie has consistently worked with issues kept in the margins —those that require deep reframing to undo prejudice and moral panic. Her work has spanned drug policy, suicide, Gypsy and Traveller rights, abortion access, and illicit economies, tracing how stigma is weaponised as a tool of social control.
Event Timings
4.30 Registration and reception
5:00 Welcome, Housekeeping and Introductions
5:10 Talk: Clemme James
6:00 Discussion and Q & A
6:30 Event Close
Location: Geoffrey Manton Building, Ground Floor
Thursday 11th June 2026, 4:30-6:30pm
