Pubdate: Tue, 26 Jun 2012
Source: Independent  (UK)
Copyright: 2012 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.independent.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/209
Author: John Fahey
Cited: Global Commission on Drug Policy http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/

DRUG POLICIES 'CAUSED HIV EPIDEMIC'

Governments around the world have failed in their war on drugs and 
fuelled a pandemic in HIV, a leading think tank warns.

The Global Commission on Drug Policy criticises nations for 
imprisoning non-violent drug users and for driving them away from 
public health services.

In its report published today, the commission condemns "the 
remarkable failure of drug law enforcement policies" in cutting the 
world drug supply.

The report's authors praise countries where "addiction is treated as 
a health issue", such as Australia, Portugal and Switzerland, where 
newly diagnosed HIV infections have been nearly eliminated among drug users.

But the authors criticised nations including the United States, China 
and Thailand, which have "ignored scientific evidence and resisted 
the implementation of evidence-based HIV prevention programmes  with 
devastating consequences."

The commission is composed of figures such as Virgin's Richard 
Branson and Paul Volcker, ex-chairman of the US Federal Reserve.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom