In August of 2018, SA-DARC, in collaboration with International Drug Policy Consortium, UK and Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), U.S. , organised a “Compassionate Conversations on Drugs, Addictions and Policy” which was meant to foster open discussions between community members, professionals, and policy makers. Experts in addiction medicine, law enforcement, community health, general public participated in this drug policy forum to share insights. It featured individuals with lived experiences of addiction and recovery to share their stories and lessons learned. Topics included harm reduction, the stigma around addiction, and successful policy examples from various regions. The sessions were mainly intended with a focus on creating compassionate approaches to discussing addiction, effective communication strategies,and advocacy training.