U.N. Faces Complex Challenges Fighting Ilegal Drug Markets

By an IPS Correspondent Reprint | | Print |

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 7 2012 (IPS) - “Despite enormous resources spent to fight drug control, there is enough evidence demonstrating lack of effectiveness of the current approach,” said Mike Trace, chair of International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) at a panel discussion Friday on “Drug policy reforms at the national and local levels.”  The meeting was organized by the Permanent Mission of Guatemala, in collaboration with the IDPCA and the Social Science Research Council.

He said: “Eliminating the criminal liability for petty drug crimes would release money that can be spent on health services that prove to be efficient and cost effective in terms of preventing drug related harms.”

The meeting followed the recent decision to hold a Special Session of the General Assembly in 2016 on the subject of drugs. The last meeting was held in 1998, when it highlighted the necessity for governments and international community to rethink drug policies.

In fact, all governments now face increasingly complex challenges in deciding how to respond to the problems caused by illegal drug markets and use in their territories.

“Drugs policies should focus on containing the scale of the illegal market, while at the same time minimising the associated harms — drug related crimes, risks to public health, and the social impact on families and communities,” stressed Ethan Nadelmann, Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit organisation Drug Policy Alliance.

Trace added: “Governments must therefore start by assessing which drug-related harms have the most negative impact on their citizens in order to design and implement effective drug policies.”

The term “harm-reduction” often refers to health promotion measures such as needle exchange programmes, drug prevention, treatment and other social support programmes, but also encompasses pragmatic measures that aim to reduce a wide range of drug-related harms for the individual, the community and the overall population.

A growing number of initiatives at local and national level – with Colorado and Washington becoming the first political jurisdictions anywhere in the world to legalizing marijuana for recreational use —  directly challenges the consensus that formed the basic tenets of the international system.

The IDPC Policy Guide reminds that the compliance of drug control policies with human rights obligations is a key principle for the development and review of drug policies.