Background

The drug policies promoted universally over the last decades by some countries have been embraced globally. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and its intergovernmental body the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) have been the stewards of the process. However, if it ever did, the choir is no longer singing from the same music sheet. Mainstream drug policies are at present under robust scrutiny.

Reformists advance that scientific knowledge defies mainstream approaches that, a fortiori, do not achieve the intended objectives. They claim that current policies perversely bring about considerable and unnecessary human suffering, ignoring that upwards of 80% of persons with serious drug problems are victims muffling their suffering due to severe trauma and abuse, often sustained during childhood. Some also claim that the vast majority of people who expose themselves to drugs do not become addicted and discontinue use or remain occasional or recreational users.

They also argue that current policies are extremely costly and that the bulk of the resources spent on law enforcement should be invested to far better results in harm reduction, prevention and education, and in improving health care and treatment of persons suffering from substance use disorders. Examples of policies adopted in certain countries seem to bear this out......