Despite bear on calls for a ceasefire , thewar on drugsis still escalating across the world . In the Philippines , for example , the radical - rigid approach adopted by new United States President Rodrigo Duterte has resulted in theexecution of more than 2,500 peoplefor drug - related activities in the preceding two months alone . Meanwhile , the UK recently preface a draconian new lawbanning all psychotropic substance , while government official also took the extremely controversial dance step of closing down one of London ’s most notable nightclubs follow the deaths of two young party - goers .
One definition of insanity is repeating the same natural process and expecting a dissimilar result , which is why an ever - increase routine of drug insurance activists are mark this zero - tolerance posture as insaneness . In its place , they call for an evidence - based approach to the ball-shaped drugs issue , built upon facts and rationality rather than political orientation .
Critics say the war on drug increases crime and force by placing control of drugs markets in the hands of cartels and street dealers . swa182 / Shutterstock
The war on drug is not reduce drug - related death
The UN first launched its warfare on drugs back in 1961 , before renewing its allegiance to wiping narcotics off the expression of the Earth in 1998 . Yet despite the unimaginable sums of money pass on this drive , levels of drug enjoyment – and , more significantly , the dangers link up with this drug use – have not been curbed .
A news report put out this calendar month by the Office for National Statistics ( ONS ) in the UK reveals that the number of deaths triggered by drug abuse rose for a third successive year in 2015 , reaching anall - time highat 43.8 death per million citizenry . Of these , 67 pct require illegal drugs , with opioids such as diacetylmorphine and morphine being responsible for almost half of these fatal incidents .
Niamh Eastwood , executive director of drug insurance reform charity Release , responded to this reportby charge many of these destruction on the British government ’s hardline attack , which she says “ go against all the evidence for best practice in drug treatment , and is contributing , we believe , to this shameful ascent in deaths . ”
For representative , she points to the fact that the criminalization of opioid drug forbid many freak from being able-bodied to seek treatments like opioid substitution therapy , whereby synthetic drugs like methadone are supplied in place of diacetylmorphine , allowing users to bypass the minefield of impurity - riddled street drugs .
Drugs are more dangerous when they ’re illegal
Speaking of impurities , compounds likefentanyl – which is around 10 time strong than heroin – are often mixed in with street drug , yet because dealers do n’t tend to disclose the ingredients of their merchandise , user are often totally incognizant of what they are actually deal . According to David Nutt , director of the Neuropsychopharmacology Unit in the Division of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London and former Chair of the British authorities ’s Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs , the warfare on drug itself islargely responsiblefor the prevalence of these impurity .
For instance , a global crackdown on some of the primal ingredients used to produce raptus tablets between 2000 and 2010 caused underground maker to alter their methods slimly , result in the cut-rate sale of contraceptive pill that contained a compound address PMA instead of MDMA . Although virtually identical in chemic structure , the accepted secure dosage ofMDMAis often deadly when substituted for PMA .
Impurities are far from the only risk that is increase by the war on drugs . A news report publish sooner this year in the Lancet put up strong evidence that global bans on drug role are proliferate the spread of diseases such asHIV and hepatitis C , as addicts are unable to obtain clean syrinx and are therefore often coerce to share needles . According to the report , around a third of novel HIV transmission outside of sub - Saharan Africa are currently triggered by unsafe shot .
Unsafe drug injection is a major driver of world HIV contagion . PrinceOfLove / Shutterstock
How can drug base hit be improved ?
The closure of the democratic London cabaret Fabric has foreground many of the problem with the current spheric drug insurance , and sparked a major debate among policymakers and scientists likewise . One of Europe ’s most iconic rave destination , Fabric had its license revoked in September 2016 comply the end of two teenagers on its premises as a consequence of drug overdoses . However , writing in theGuardian , Nutt point out that simply close down venues where deaths hap does n’t really protect anyone , since it does nothing to stop impure drugs from being produce , deal , and devour elsewhere .
As an alternative , he visit for drug testing in social club , standardised to the Drug Information and Monitoring System ( DIMS ) that currently live in the Netherlands . This service allows anyone to have their drug tested for impurity without feature to care about being cop for possession . Thanks to the DIMS , no one in the Netherlands was kill by the recent lethal batch of " Superman " raptus pills that induce a turn of deaths in other European body politic where drug examination is not allowed .
London nightclub Fabric was close up down following two drug - relate deaths – but will this actually increase public safety machine ? Carl Court / Getty
Would a modification of policy actually process ?
The biggest business of most prohibitionists is that relaxing the warfare on drug would make it easier for people to access certain substances , leading to a massive increase in use . However , all uncommitted evidence suggests that this is not the case . In Portugal , for instance , all drugs were decriminalizedin 2001 in a desperate attempt to suppress spiral addiction rate . Since then , levels ofdrug use in Portugalhave fallen to below the European average , while a report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction concluded thatdecriminalizing drugsdoes not lead to increased consumption .
As a result of this policy shift , Portuguese drug drug user were able to begin seeking assistant and medical attention when needed , without awe of effectual repercussion . This facilitated the establishment of acerate leaf exchange programs and dependable shot suite , leading to a decrease in new HIV infections from more than 1,000 in 2001 to just 56 in 2012 .
While the likes of Duterte and new British Prime Minister Theresa May continue to endorse prohibition and the relentlesspersecution of drugsand drug exploiter , the grueling grounds clearly suggests that a change of tack may be in the unspoiled interests of public wellness and base hit .
