Drug War Woes

Brace yourself: The war on drugs is over and we lost. Okay, it’s probably not much of a surprise, but now it’s official, according to the Global Commission on Drug Policy, a high-level commission comprised of former presidents, public intellectuals and other leaders studying drug policies.

The group just issued a report of their findings (and recommendations), going so far as to say that the efforts to curb drug production and consumption have had a negative impact, leading "devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world."

It’s easy to point out what isn’t working, but drugs remain a huge global problem, so what can we do that would result in positive change? The commission, which includes former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson and Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, challenges the conventional wisdom about drug markets and drug use.

Recommendations include:

- End criminalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs but do not harm others

- Encourage governments to experiment with drug legalization, especially marijuana

- Offer more harm reduction measures, such as access to syringes

- Ditch "just say no" and "zero tolerance" policies for youth in favor of other educational efforts

Drug Treatment

Only time will tell if measures like these will have any sort of positive impact on the drug problem around the world. In the meantime, if you or someone you love is in need of drug treatment, call The Canyon at our toll-free number. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.