On June 18, 1971, US President Richard Nixon launched the “war on drugs.” But instead of improving public health and well-being in the United States by cracking down on drug use, it destroyed the lives of millions of people, both at home and abroad, especially in Latin America, Central Africa, and Southeast Africa. Asian. The question now is how to repair the damage.
Non-whites have been disproportionately affected, despite having drug use and sales rates similar to those of Caucasians.
Nixon’s approach to drug use is fundamentally punitive. As a result, he puts great pressure on law enforcement and the penal system, while sending millions of people to jail for non-violent crimes. In 2020, US law enforcement recorded more than 1.1 million arrests for drug-related offenses, the majority for simple possession.
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Non-whites have been disproportionately affected, despite having drug use and sales rates similar to those of Caucasians. Worldwide, about one in five people incarcerated are serving sentences related primarily to non-violent drug-related offences.
In addition, the war on drugs has prevented the effective regulation of their production and distribution. This facilitates the access of minors to prohibited substances and generates exorbitant profits for criminal organizations that terrorize local communities. The war on drugs is a victory for corruption and a disaster for the rule of law.
All this devastation has not prevented drug abuse: an estimated 271 million people around the world use drugs prohibited by international treaties, while stigma and criminalization make life more dangerous and unhealthy for users. .
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Currently, some 35 million people who use drugs need mental or physical health care, and seven million suffer from infectious diseases related to intravenous drug use (HIV and viral hepatitis). More than 500,000 people die each year from overdoses or adulteration, and overdose death rates are increasing.
Today, the futile and destructive war on drugs is well established and widely recognized, with experts, public officials and civil society organizations around the world reviewing their positions.
An increasing number of countries are mobilizing to implement humanitarian reforms in drug policy. In October, US President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of people who had been convicted of federal cannabis possession charges since the start of the war on drugs.
While these steps are certainly welcome, they are just the beginning. Reforming international drug control models and undoing some of the damage of the war on drugs will require a humanitarian approach, focused on non-pathologizing interventions that promote individual and public health.
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This includes mental health, which is closely linked to drug abuse. Efforts to update and standardize mental health assessment criteria and standards of care are essential.
Only then can inequalities in access to healthcare between regions be identified and addressed. In more general terms, national drug policies should be aligned with international efforts.
International organizations such as the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which have been working for decades to address the health consequences of drug use and the war on drugs, have long advocated this approach.
In 2005, the Italian Red Cross, the International Council for Security and Development and the Rome-based Villa Maraini Foundation came together to promote a framework for dialogue and cooperation on the development and implementation of humane drug policies and effective. The set of principles that produced this effort—the Rome Consensus for a Humanitarian Drug Policy – was signed by 121 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
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In 2020, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies – together with the C4 Recovery Foundation, the Levenson Foundation, the Police, Treatment, and Community Collaborative and the Knowmad Institute – built on this achievement with the Rome Consensus 2.0. The aim was to gain new signatories from around the world and offer a blueprint for policies and best practices for the next decade.
Prevention, treatment, harm reduction and management of overdose are important pieces of the puzzle.
As the Consensus points out, we have the necessary tools, guidance and evidence to “reduce and overcome the avoidable and unacceptable health and social damage associated with the world drug situation”. Prevention, treatment, harm reduction and management of overdose are important pieces of the puzzle.
Rome Consensus 2.0 recognizes that success can only be achieved if we “advocate at all levels to ensure more investment and public awareness to implement more humane and effective drug policies”. Ending the stigma and discrimination faced by people who use drugs is therefore vital for progress.
By fostering a more accurate, nuanced, and holistic understanding of drugs and their use among the public (including, crucially, health professionals), educational campaigns can go a long way toward making progress toward this goal.
These campaigns should recognize, to begin with, the socio-cultural, historical and even religious dimensions of drug use. The use of ‘sacred plants’ (and substances that modify states of consciousness) has been documented for centuries as a treatment for ailments and in spiritual practices.
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In addition, a growing body of research indicates that certain psychoactive substances have the potential to treat mental health disorders. Far from being synonymous with addiction, some types of drugs can help treat it. Casual and responsible drug use is often possible, never escalating into abuse.
The war on drugs is a fight without winners. The only way out is to adopt a new approach focused on saving lives, alleviating suffering and maintaining human dignity. No one’s human rights, whether they use drugs or not, should be in question.
MARTIN IGNACIO DIAZ VELASQUEZ
© PROJECT SYNDICATE
BERLIN
One Young World Ambassador and Co-Founder and CEO of the Knowmad Institute.
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