I have been engaged in drug reform policy for some time. This means following whatever latest science is published, or at least trying to. Ofc, since i dont have time to follow the all the relevant journals, what i can do is read the review reports and papers published. I have read two of such recently.<\/p>\n
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http:\/\/www.globalcommissionondrugs.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n This one is about the effects of The war on drugs on HIV thruout the world. With the conclusion being that it is very bad:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Summary is:<\/p>\n The global war on drugs is driving the HIV\/AIDS pandemic<\/p>\n among people who use drugs and their sexual partners.<\/p>\n Throughout the world, research has consistently shown<\/p>\n that repressive drug law enforcement practices force drug<\/p>\n users away from public health services and into hidden<\/p>\n environments where HIV risk becomes markedly elevated.<\/p>\n Mass incarceration of non-violent drug offenders also<\/p>\n plays a major role in increasing HIV risk. This is a critical<\/p>\n public health issue in many countries, including the United<\/p>\n States, where as many as 25 percent of Americans infected<\/p>\n with HIV may pass through correctional facilities annually,<\/p>\n and where disproportionate incarceration rates are among<\/p>\n the key reasons for markedly higher HIV rates among<\/p>\n African Americans.<\/p>\n Aggressive law enforcement practices targeting drug<\/p>\n users have also been proven to create barriers to HIV<\/p>\n treatment. Despite the evidence that treatment of HIV<\/p>\n infection dramatically reduces the risk of HIV transmission<\/p>\n by infected individuals, the public health implications of<\/p>\n HIV treatment disruptions resulting from drug law<\/p>\n enforcement tactics have not been appropriately re-<\/p>\n cognized as a major impediment to efforts to control<\/p>\n the global HIV\/AIDS pandemic.<\/p>\n The war on drugs has also led to a policy distortion<\/p>\n whereby evidence-based addiction treatment and public<\/p>\n health measures have been downplayed or ignored. While<\/p>\n this is a common problem internationally, a number of<\/p>\n specific countries, including the US, Russia and Thailand,<\/p>\n ignore scientific evidence and World Health Organization<\/p>\n recommendations and resist the implementation of<\/p>\n evidence-based HIV prevention programs \u2013 with devastat-<\/p>\n ing consequences. In Russia, for example, approximately<\/p>\n one in one hundred adults is now infected with HIV.<\/p>\n In contrast, countries that have adopted evidence-based<\/p>\n addiction treatment and public health measures have seen<\/p>\n their HIV epidemics among people who use drugs \u2013 as well<\/p>\n as rates of injecting drug use \u2013 dramatically decline. Clear<\/p>\n consensus guidelines exist for achieving this success, but<\/p>\n HIV prevention tools have been under-utilized while harmful<\/p>\n drug war policies have been slow to change.<\/p>\n This may be a result of the mistaken assumption that drug<\/p>\n seizures, arrests, criminal convictions and other commonly<\/p>\n reported indices of drug law enforcement \u201csuccess\u201d have<\/p>\n been effective overall in reducing illegal drug availability.<\/p>\n However, data from the United Nations Office on Drugs<\/p>\n and Crime demonstrate that the worldwide supply of illicit<\/p>\n opiates, such as heroin, has increased by more than<\/p>\n 380 percent in recent decades, from 1000 metric tons in<\/p>\n 1980 to more than 4800 metric tons in 2010. This increase<\/p>\n coincided with a 79 percent decrease in the price of heroin<\/p>\n in Europe between 1990 and 2009.<\/p>\n Similar evidence of the drug war\u2019s failure to control drug<\/p>\n supply is apparent when US drug surveillance data are<\/p>\n scrutinized. For instance, despite a greater than 600 percent<\/p>\n increase in the US federal anti-drug budget since the early<\/p>\n 1980s, the price of heroin in the US has decreased by<\/p>\n approximately 80 percent during this period, and heroin<\/p>\n purity has increased by more than 900 percent. A similar<\/p>\n pattern of falling drug prices and increasing drug potency is<\/p>\n seen in US drug surveillance data for other commonly used<\/p>\n drugs, including cocaine and cannabis.<\/p>\n As was the case with the US prohibition of alcohol in<\/p>\n the 1920s, the global prohibition of drugs now fuels<\/p>\n drug market violence around the world. For instance,<\/p>\n it is estimated that more than 50,000 individuals have<\/p>\n been killed since a 2006 military escalation against drug<\/p>\n cartels by Mexican government forces. While supporters<\/p>\n of aggressive drug law enforcement strategies might<\/p>\n assume that this degree of bloodshed would disrupt the<\/p>\n drug market\u2019s ability to produce and distribute illegal drugs,<\/p>\n recent estimates suggest that Mexican heroin production<\/p>\n has increased by more than 340 percent since 2004.<\/p>\n With the HIV epidemic growing in regions and countries<\/p>\n where it is largely driven by injection drug use, and with<\/p>\n recent evidence that infections related to injection drug use<\/p>\n are now increasing in other regions, including sub-Saharan<\/p>\n Africa, the time for leadership is now. Unfortunately,<\/p>\n national and United Nations public health agencies have<\/p>\n been sidelined. While the war on drugs has been fueling<\/p>\n the HIV epidemic in many regions, other law enforcement<\/p>\n bodies and UN agencies have been actively pursuing an<\/p>\n aggressive drug law enforcement agenda at the expense<\/p>\n of public health. Any sober assessment of the impacts<\/p>\n of the war on drugs would conclude that many national<\/p>\n and international organizations tasked with reducing the<\/p>\n drug problem have actually contributed to a worsening of<\/p>\n community health and safety. This must change.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n