Historique
Article de Périodique
Vienna Declaration: a call for evidence-based drug policies. Comment (2010)
Auteur(s) :
WOOD, E. ;
WERB, D. ;
KAZATCHKINE, M. ;
KERR, T. ;
HANKINS C. ;
GORNA, R. ;
NUTT, D. ;
DES JARLAIS, D. C. ;
BARRE-SINOUSSI, F. ;
MONTANER, J.
Année
2010
Page(s) :
310-312
Langue(s) :
Anglais
Refs biblio. :
14
Domaine :
Drogues illicites / Illicit drugs
Discipline :
MAL (Maladies infectieuses / Infectious diseases)
Thésaurus mots-clés
POLITIQUE
;
DONNEE PROBANTE
;
SANTE PUBLIQUE
;
RECOMMANDATION
Thésaurus géographique
INTERNATIONAL
Résumé :
There remain crucial areas in public health in which the gap between evidence and public policy persists, and there are few more striking than in the global response to illicit drugs. In the USA, for example, annual federal budgets for drug-law enforcement have exceeded US$15 billion since the 1990s, and, at a global level, untold billions more have been spent on drug-law enforcement. Over the past several decades, considerable effort has also gone towards evaluating the “war on drugs” approach.
In this context, the evidence that drug-law enforcement has failed to prevent the availability of illegal drugs is unambiguous. National and international surveillance systems have shown a general pattern of falling drug prices and increasing drug purity. Furthermore, there is no evidence that intensifying the penalties for the use of drugs meaningfully reduces the prevalence of drug use. Not only has drug interdiction been shown to be ineffective in eliminating the supply of drugs, but the over-reliance on prohibition has also resulted in a range of unintended negative consequences, including the enrichment of organised crime, fuelling of drug-market violence, and record rates of incarceration of non-violent drug offenders. Drug law enforcement practices have also inadvertently increased HIV risks and human suffering, while exacerbating human-rights violations. [Extract]
In this context, the evidence that drug-law enforcement has failed to prevent the availability of illegal drugs is unambiguous. National and international surveillance systems have shown a general pattern of falling drug prices and increasing drug purity. Furthermore, there is no evidence that intensifying the penalties for the use of drugs meaningfully reduces the prevalence of drug use. Not only has drug interdiction been shown to be ineffective in eliminating the supply of drugs, but the over-reliance on prohibition has also resulted in a range of unintended negative consequences, including the enrichment of organised crime, fuelling of drug-market violence, and record rates of incarceration of non-violent drug offenders. Drug law enforcement practices have also inadvertently increased HIV risks and human suffering, while exacerbating human-rights violations. [Extract]
Affiliation :
British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6Z 1Y6