Report: UN's global 'war on drugs' has been a failure.
Report says the UN's global 'war on drugs' has been a failure.
Sunday, October 21, 2018The International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), a network of 177 national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) concerned with drug policy and drug abuse, is urging the UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs to consider a different approach to narcotics strategy for the next 10 years in the run-up to a March 2019 summit in Vienna, Austria.The United Nations' drug strategy of the past 10 years has been a failure, according to a major report by the IDPC, which has called for a major rethinking of global policy on illegal narcotics.
According to the report, drug-related deaths have increased by 145% over the last decade, with more than 71,000 overdose deaths in the United States in 2017 alone. At least 3,940 people were executed for drug offenses around the world over the last 10 years, while drug crackdowns in the Philippines resulted in around 27,000 extrajudicial killings.
In addition to fueling violence, the existing policy of criminalizing drug use has also resulted in mass incarceration, the report said. One in five prisoners are currently imprisoned for drug offenses, many on charges related to possession for personal use.The report also said that 33 jurisdictions retain the death penalty for drug offenses in violation of international standards.Last week Canada became the first country in the G7 group of industrialized nations to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.
Read the full article here: www.cnn.com/2018/10/21/health/…A DECADE OF DRUG POLICY - fileserver.idpc.net/library/Sh…
1 - Should the war on drugs be ended? Why or why not? 2 - Should all drugs be legalized, regulated, and taxed instead? Why or why not? If not, what drugs should not be legalized and why? 3 - Should all non-violent drug users receive treatment instead of punishment? Why or why not? 4 - Other thoughts?Comments37
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Finally! Somebody acknowledges the abject failure of that policy!
1. Hell, yes! We've already seen similar things happen under Prohibition! What did anyone expect?
2. Legalized, yes. Regulated and taxed, no. Every time we give government power over our lives, shit hits the fan.
3. Yes, but only of their own accord. Change has to happen from within.
4. It is about time somebody acknowledged the War on Drugs doesn't work!
1. Hell, yes! We've already seen similar things happen under Prohibition! What did anyone expect?
2. Legalized, yes. Regulated and taxed, no. Every time we give government power over our lives, shit hits the fan.
3. Yes, but only of their own accord. Change has to happen from within.
4. It is about time somebody acknowledged the War on Drugs doesn't work!
Canadian experience shows that the war on drugs will end, because drugs will win.
1. Yes. Otherwise people would resort to finding other ways to emulate the effects of drugs. Look at the UK, where first they criminalised cannabis, so people resorted to finding "legal highs" (salvia, if you're lucky) which were far more dangerous. The UK criminalised those too. I wouldn't be surprised if that caused people to just go to more dangerous drugs instead. Banning everything is not going to be a viable solution, neither is going on "wars" on drugs.
2. Not all of them. Drugs like heroin and cocaine shouldn't be legalised for example, but possession (not supply) shouldn't be met with severe punishments. For drugs like cannabis and LSD... well, if alcohol and tobacco are legal (and those have been responsible for many alcoholics and nicotine addicts) then why shouldn't those drugs be legal? They are less harmful, after all.
3. Yes. I think they are victims of the drugs first and foremost. They should be treated like it.
4. I don't think it's at all surprising that this "war on drugs" has had negative effects on health, human rights etc.
2. Not all of them. Drugs like heroin and cocaine shouldn't be legalised for example, but possession (not supply) shouldn't be met with severe punishments. For drugs like cannabis and LSD... well, if alcohol and tobacco are legal (and those have been responsible for many alcoholics and nicotine addicts) then why shouldn't those drugs be legal? They are less harmful, after all.
3. Yes. I think they are victims of the drugs first and foremost. They should be treated like it.
4. I don't think it's at all surprising that this "war on drugs" has had negative effects on health, human rights etc.
Any thing the UN fails in doing results in catastrophe...Based on past events.
You can't think of a single good thing the UN has done?
Those good things though few have only been done by substantial small amount of individual who joined the UN to do good and ended up only helping in the short term of the long term of problems.
So... eliminating smallpox had no long term benefit?
Admittedly the UN has done some historical accomplishments
The UN has only existed since the 1940s. Exactly what counts as only "historical" to you?
Or where exactly you can find information on such subjects...From what I've found so far on the internet about the "accomplishments" are a bit questionable considering recent global events...2 Examples: Protecting the Ozone and promoting arms control.
Did find the smallpox being exterminated credible.
Did find the smallpox being exterminated credible.
anything the UN does is bad. believing in them is a bad idea and only fools believe them or the fact they are here to help. since they haven't bothered to repair the walls on all borders, be more cautious to watch imports/exports... well the UN is bad about drug and human trafficking themselves so why would they want to stop that. until they decide to stop the real enemies, then they can't even start to end the war on drugs. no drugs should be legalized. first offenders who get caught with drugs should be forced rehab, the second chance you go to jail. for those who push the illegal drugs they should be arrested and trialed for a degree of murder, they know they are pushing a killer.
Eliminating smallpox was bad?
On legalize la drogue!
I can't disagree with the figures in the report, but the entire document isn't written like a report; it's written like an argumentative essay. They use vague language in some of their statistics, such as "In some parts of the world, ~80% of women incarcerated are serving sentences for drug-related offenses." Even bolding the "~80% of women" portion. The entire report is a proposal to change policies and methods, not solely to publish findings, so keep that in mind when reading it or any news coverage stemming from it.
Shouldn't they all be legalized then? The thing is, no one's forcing you to use drugs at all. Same with Alcohol and Tobacco.
Yes the war on drugs has been a failure, at least those of us in the west. And most of the drugs from this failed campaign are heading to the West. We see the results of what happens when too many people want something that's against the law. We claim we learned our lesson with Prohibition in the USA in the 1920's but obviously that's not so. There is an old legal principle that when too many people disobey the law it becomes unenforceable, it no longer bears the force of law. And with that goes the respect for the law that keeps crime in check.
Fun fact: the worst drug of them all is - alcohol.
Thats because alcohol can destroy a human being in most respect, both physically and mentally.
Heroin can destroy you faster, but heroin cannot destroy you so completely.
Certain designer drugs can make you addicted faster, but their longterm effects are not as severe either.
Thats because alcohol can destroy a human being in most respect, both physically and mentally.
Heroin can destroy you faster, but heroin cannot destroy you so completely.
Certain designer drugs can make you addicted faster, but their longterm effects are not as severe either.
So, if the worst of all drugs is legal anyway - then whats the point of trying to "fight" the other drugs ? You wont get rid of them.
They should obviously be restricted accordingly. Especially awful stuff like heroin should only be given to people who are already addicted, and consumed under supervision of a doctor. This kills both the market for illegal drug trade and removes the crimes of addicts trying to get the money for the next shot. Also it removes the danger of getting an overdose. Reportedly even heroin addicts can lead a relatively normal life under these conditions, including doing a job.
Marihuana seems harmless enough that it could be legalized. Especially its a cheap pain treatment. I'd still put a hefty tax on that (you can grow it at home though), and disallow smoking it in public areas. You can still consume it publically in form of cookies etc, so other people are not affected.
Likewise I would like to introduce nikotine cookies for smoking addicts, since thousands of people die every year from passive smoking.
Evidence please.
Nothing more to say here.
Ironically, the Philippines does not have the death penalty.
I hear the Filipino cops are pretty brutal.
Not generally no. Most are beat cops, the killing is done by special groups and maybe others. I doubt we'll ever know who does most of the killing, it gets really murky. But it does have an effect on the peace and order situation as the country was on its way to being a narco state.
People showing up tightly wrapped in plastic bags is very chilling. Specially if you don't know if that was the method of death. Suffocation, not wasting ammo but also recycling of used plastic bags. Dying by bullet is almost a mercy.
People showing up tightly wrapped in plastic bags is very chilling. Specially if you don't know if that was the method of death. Suffocation, not wasting ammo but also recycling of used plastic bags. Dying by bullet is almost a mercy.
alleged drug pushers are being killed in the Philippines though. over four thousand have been killed ever since Duterte was in office.
police argue that the individuals in question "fought back" so they had to be shot.
police argue that the individuals in question "fought back" so they had to be shot.
The war on drugs in the philippines is not a UN one, nor is it a war on drugs but instead more of a threat levelled at government critics.
1 -- yes
2 -- no. See china when opium was legal. Productivity was almost zero.
China also doesn't have treatment clinics either. It's really easy to make argument 2# when there are no faculties to get better.