Politics

Why we should care about global drug policy advocacy

In the past five to ten years, and in particular in the lead up to the UNGASS, civil society has increased in strength and visibility in the global drug policy debate. This is an important achievement because civil society voices have traditionally not been valued within drug policy debates, and it has been a fight to ensure that civil society organisations and representatives of affected communities could be heard.

For the first few decades of UN drug policy discussions, civil society voices focused almost exclusively on pushing for stronger prohibition, which indirectly encouraged repressive measures to reduce demand and supply. Visible and credible reform-minded groups have been important in redressing that balance. The reform narrative has gained significant ground which is most clearly demonstrated by the progressive tone coming from the UN system. In the lead up to the UNGASS 2016, nearly all the UN entities which engaged with the process highlighted the failures and damage of prohibition and many of them called for reforms including specifically the decriminalisation of people who use drugs. In addition, many of the civil society groups from the other end of the spectrum have increasingly taken on a more moderate rhetoric, reflecting that reform groups have been successful in shifting the debate.

Original Article (IDPC):
Why we should care about global drug policy advocacy
Artwork Fair Use: Jason Pratt

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