The worldwide war on drugs has been a “remarkable failure,” only serving to drive the spread of HIV among drug users and their sexual partners, suggests a new report published by The Global Commission on Drug Policy.
According to the report, injection drug use now accounts for about one-third of new HIV infections outside sub-Saharan Africa. Tough drug law enforcement policies around the world are driving that spread in a number of ways, including:
- Forcing drug users underground to avoid arrest, away from HIV testing and HIV prevention services
- Spreading the HIV pandemic in prisons, where drug use in often rampant, by needlessly incarcerating non-violent drug offenders
- Encouraging syringe sharing by restricting groups from offering sterile syringes to drug users
- Wasting funding on ineffective drug law enforcement efforts instead of investing it in proven HIV prevention strategies.
Source: CTV News.com - June 26, 2012