The Daily Populous Saturday December 7th, 2024 morning edition
Authored by marijuanamoment.net and submitted by OregonTripleBeam

The United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights is calling on the international community to move away from punitive, criminal drug policies, saying that the global war on drugs “has failed, completely and utterly.”

“Criminalisation and prohibition have failed to reduce drug use and failed to deter drug-related crime,” Commissioner Volker Türk said on Thursday at a conference in Warsaw that included leaders and experts from across Europe. “These policies are simply not working—and we are failing some of the most vulnerable groups in our societies.”

Türk urged a shift to a more evidence-based, human rights-centered approach to drug policies “prioritising people over punishment.”

“We need to start treating the person, not punishing the drug use disorder,” he said, according to a UN press release. “Historically, people who use drugs are marginalised, criminalised, discriminated against and left behind—very often stripped of their dignity and their rights.”

Rather than ostracize or punish drug users, Türk said their perspectives should be included in discussions about how to craft policies that minimize harm. “We are destined to fail unless we ensure their genuine participation in formulating and implementing drug policy,” he said.

The ‘War on Drugs’ destroyed lives and damaged communities. Criminalisation and prohibition have failed to reduce drug use and deter drug-related crimes. We need new approaches prioritising health, dignity and inclusion, guided by the Int.Guidelines onHuman Rights & Drug Policy. pic.twitter.com/WbRPaSWZGk — Volker Türk (@volker_turk) December 5, 2024

“The evidence is clear. The so-called war on drugs has failed, completely and utterly,” the UN official added. “And prioritising people over punishment means more lives are saved.”

Türk posted a short video statement to social media highlighting his comments at the Warsaw conference.

“The so-called war on drugs has destroyed countless lives and damaged entire communities,” Türk said in the video statement. “We have record numbers of drug related deaths, more people than ever with drug use disorders and higher levels of the illegal production of many drugs. Criminalization and prohibition have failed to reduce drug use and failed to deter drug related crime. These policies are simply not working, and we are failing some of the most vulnerable groups in our societies.”

“We need a transformative approach,” he continued, “and the International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy provide a framework for developing human rights-based approaches that prioritize health, dignity, and inclusion. Instead of punitive measures, we need gender-sensitive and evidence-based drug policies grounded in public health. Instead of scapegoating with must ensure inclusive access to voluntary medical care and other social services.”

Türk’s comments come on the heels of a statement earlier this year from UN special rapporteurs, experts and working groups earlier that asserted the drug war “has resulted in a range of serious human rights violations, as documented by a number of UN human rights experts over the years.”

“We collectively urge Member States and all UN entities to put evidence and communities at the centre of drug policies, by shifting from punishment towards support, and invest in the full array of evidence-based health interventions for people who use drugs, ranging from prevention to harm reduction, treatment and aftercare, emphasizing the need for a voluntary basis and in full respect of human rights norms and standards,” that statement said.

The UN experts’ statement also highlighted a number of other UN agency reports, positions, resolutions as well as actions in favor of prioritizing prevention and harm reduction over punishment.

It pointed, for example, to what it called a “landmark report” published by the UN special rapporteur on human rights that encouraged nations to abandon the criminal war on drugs and instead adopt harm-reduction policies—such as decriminalization, supervised consumption sites, drug checking and widespread availability of overdose reversal drugs like naloxone—while also moving toward “alternative regulatory approaches” for currently controlled substances.

That report noted that “over-criminalisation, stigmatisation and discrimination linked to drug use represent structural barriers leading to poorer health outcomes.”

Advocacy to reform the global war on drugs comes as international bodies and national governments across the world consider adjusting their approaches to drug control and regulation.

Late last year, for example, 19 Latin American and Caribbean nations issued a joint statement acknowledging the need to rethink the global war on drugs and instead focus on “life, peace and development” within the region.

A year ago, a separate UN special rapporteurs report said that “the ‘war on drugs’ may be understood to a significant extent as a war on people.”

“Its impact has been greatest on those who live in poverty,” they said, “and it frequently overlaps with discrimination directed at marginalised groups, minorities and Indigenous Peoples.”

In 2019, the UN Chief Executives Board (CEB), which represents 31 UN agencies including the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), adopted a position stipulating that member states should pursue science-based, health-oriented drug policies—namely decriminalization.

Despite shifting attitudes at the state and local levels on some drugs in the U.S., the country is still the leading global financier of international drug war efforts.

A new report published this week by two organizations critical of the war on drugs found that $13 billion in U.S. taxpayer money has gone to fund worldwide counternarcotics activities since 2015, often coming at the expense of efforts to end global poverty while at the same time contributing to international human rights violations and environmental harms.

AdGeHa on December 6th, 2024 at 19:46 UTC »

Irony, weed is more legal than ever and consumption is on the decline.

IUsedToBeACave on December 6th, 2024 at 19:13 UTC »

I'd like to congratulate drugs for winning the war on drugs.

nevermindaboutthaton on December 6th, 2024 at 19:12 UTC »

Looks like drugs won.

Mission accomplished?