Inside Vienna: War On Drugs

Posted by Staying Alive Editor on July 26th, 2010

While the International AIDS conference is now over, we have one more, thought provoking video to show you; taken by our street team who were on the ground at the IAC check out this video in the drug policy network zone in the global village about the need of a change of approach to the war on drugs.

The video suggests that a more open approach to injecting drug users can cut HIV transmission across injecting drug users from as high as 70% to just 2% through needle exchanges.

The video also explores whether using police and military respond to what is a public health problem is really the best way to approach drugs.

http://www.vimeo.com/13512384

So what do you think? To what extent do you feel the current approach to drug use in your country is effective in terms of the human and financial cost? If it was proven to reduce HIV transmission amongst drug users in your area, to what extent would you support a shift in approach from criminalisation to treatment and regulation?

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3 Comments...
  1. Darryl Bickler says:
    July 30, 2010 at 4:57 am

    Lets ditch the expression ‘war on drugs’ – firstly of course it is not really drugs, there is no war on alcohol, tobacco or pharmaceuticals – only some drugs [users] that are singled out for the war. The war itself is on the users; always bring it back to the people afected, not objects. The war is waged by criminalising PEOPLE’S various property rights in those certain drugs (quite arbitrarily in terms of the purpose of the law).

  2. Derek Williams says:
    July 30, 2010 at 9:10 am

    The problem is really quite simple: Prohibited drugs are not controlled drugs, despite what politicians and policemen might try to tell us. If you don’t control the trade in a substance, you don’t control that substance and prohibition specifically sets out to prevent any control of the trade.

    The war on drugs has failed and in failing has created huge problems for the world, both medical and social. It should end now.

  3. strayan says:
    July 31, 2010 at 12:44 am

    Make dealers pay tax, check ID and sell their products with ugly health warnings. Only possible if you legalise drugs.

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