Global Drug Policy - 1635 Words

The global policy on drugs has one main concern, as maintained in the first clause of the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs: promoting the health and welfare of mankind (United Nations, 1961). The convention and global drug policy actors have asserted through the years that drugs pose a threat to this concern, and so an integrated effort to reduce supply, demand and trafficking of said narcotics is the desired course of action (High Level segment Commission on Narcotic Drugs, 2009). It seems that this course of action became an end of itself instead of a mean to an end of health and welfare, as mounting evidence shows that the actions taken to achieve this have not only been ineffective in reducing supply, demand and trafficking; they have also created severe violations of human rights, alongside criminalization, a hazard to public health, and drug cartels which pose a very real threat to peace and security. Member states have not been oblivious to the fact that the measures taken have been counterproductive, and an increasing number of states are dissatisfied with the results of this policy (Doward, 2013). Some have addressed this by decriminalizing possession and use of drugs and introducing harm reduction programs, considering the issue of demand not a criminal issue but a public health one. The evidence in favor of such programs was acknowledged by international bodies such as WHO and UNODC, emphasizing that reducing demand should be done through means ofShow MoreRelatedYoung Advocates International Advocate Basic Human Rights in Nigeria1538 Words   |  6 Pagesthrough advocacy. Introduction The international drug control effort began fifty years ago with the aim of eradicating the abuse of certain drugs by controlling their supply. A complex international system of enforcement grew on this belief in supply control. Five decades on, the empirical data is available and overwhelming; the system has failed. Worse still, it has become increasingly clear that the human rights costs of pursuing many of its policies render them unjustifiable. From mass incarcerationsRead MoreWar On Drugs And Drugs1952 Words   |  8 PagesWar on Drugs The war on drugs has come a long way without any remarkable success. America has been dealing with the drug menace for many years to a point that four of its presidents have declared the war on drugs part of their main agenda. Sadly, it has been a lost war in various perspectives. Drug abuse continues to be a daily topic with drug abusers flooding not only the American society but also many countries’ hospitals, prisons and courts. The drug trade has continued to cause violent crimesRead MoreThe War On Drugs : Illegal, Healthy Or Unhealthy And Safe Or Unsafe1762 Words   |  8 Pagesor illegal, healthy or unhealthy and safe or unsafe; Drugs form a very significant part of the global society today. As the world s drug problem persists, issues continue to haunt communities. The US government has spent and will continue to spend billions of precious tax dollars every year on the war against drugs. And the parties that insist that criminalizing drugs is the way persist, however, there is much more reason to decriminalize drug use. Wilson’s argument against decriminalization is basedRead MoreThe War On Drugs : A New Us National Security Doctrine1442 Words   |  6 Pageswar on drugs, which as a social issue has had a unique effect on the security agenda of states. The modern war on drugs began in the 1970’s when Nixon declared it a nation wide problem and began to focus on both the supply and demand aspects of drug use. As a geo-political problem the war on drugs can be explained in two ways. The first way, as outlined in Waltraud Morales’s article The War on Drugs: a New US National Security Doctrine? explores how the United States uses the war on drugs as a frontRead MoreThe United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Is Combating Drugs, Terrorism, and Criminal Activity529 Words   |  3 PagesThe United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is the unit of the United Nations (UN) charged with combating illicit drugs, terrorism, and other criminal activity. It is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and has twenty-one field offices and a liaison office in New York. The agency has approximately 500 members across the globe who develop and enforce drug control policies that are responsive to their individual needs. The UNODC’s work program consists of three major pillars. The first of theseRead MoreFailure Is A Compromising And Alarming Idea. When Thinking1575 Words   |  7 Pagesidea. When thinking about the drug control policy of the past half-century, failure is the only conclusion that one can come to. A dated history of combatting drug abuse with punitive measures has not led to the annihilation of illicit drug use. It has not created safer societies. It has led to the stigmatization and isolation of a substantial proportion of society and stimulated drug crimes. Now it is time to look back and address the negative consequences of past drug control strategies. It is timeRead MoreFighting Drug Cartels On The Americas712 Words   |  3 Pages Committee: UNODC Country: Nigeria Topic: Fighting Drug Cartels in the Americas Delegate: Angel Rivera Fighting Drug Cartels in the Americas Background Drug cartels have arisen as a major crisis for the future in the Americas. Individuals indulge themselves on drugs for many reasons such as tradition, attempting to escape poverty, and generating revenue for rebellious activities. Drug trafficking has proven to be ludacris, with the increasing involvement of corrupt government officials in theirRead MoreThe Constant Gardener, The 2005 Intellectual Thriller Directed By Fernando Meirelles1721 Words   |  7 Pagesto pharmaceutical companies, and strongly illustrates how important it is for public health officials to regulate and monitor drug companies that are actively involved in the health care industry. In this film, we see the British and Swedish pharmaceutical corporations exploit the health conditions of Africans living in Kenya, and use them to test a new anti-tuberculosis drug. The main character in the film, Justin Quayle, begins his own investigation after the murder of his wife and her research partnerRead MoreThe Trafficki ng Of Smuggling Drugs1246 Words   |  5 PagesSmuggling Drugs in Airports Over the recent past, there has been major growth in illegal trafficking of humans, firearms and most importantly drugs (UN, 2012). These kinds of trafficking are characterized by greater organisation levels. They are also denoted by the presence of criminal groups and chains. Though these activities are not new, both the geographic area and scale of the present problem is unprecedented. The value of illegal trade in 2009 throughout the world was about $1.3 trillion (JennerRead MoreIN12966 Page 1 ID: IN12966 To: The Government of Indonesia From: Asian Policy Advisory and Advocacy1500 Words   |  6 PagesThe Government of Indonesia From: Asian Policy Advisory and Advocacy Foundation (APAAF) Scenario: A (Domestic Drug Policy) Date: February 28, 2014 Word count: word count â€Å"The D Question: Why Decriminalisation of Drug Use is the Way Forward for Indonesia† About the APAAF The APAAF is a regional think tank employing researchers from multiple disciplines such as humanities, law, pure sciences and medicine in order to provide comprehensive and effective policy recommendations to governments, civil society