Finally, there appears to be hope. An international organization has spoken out against drug prohibition, and it’s up to us to raise awareness.
I first read about this in an article on thedailychronic.net. The organization is the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The full statement is avaiable on the IFRC’s own website.
I’ll summarize the key points here:
- Injectable drug use, when combined with prostitution to pay for drug habits (a consequence of prohibition is increased prices), increases the likelihood of spreading HIV, Hepatitis C, and other diseases;
- Recreational drug use is a health issue, not a crime issue, and criminalizing drug use only serves to make the problem worse;
- Drug prohibition simply does not work.
I’m glad the Red Cross “gets it.” How much longer until the world’s various governments, including law enforcement, figure it out?
[Edit 2023-10-10: Update long-dead links to archive.org copies.]