INCB preaches prevention and treatment to tackle drugs in its latest report

A global shift from drug enforcement to prevention and treatment could save billions of dollars annually as national anti-narcotics agencies struggle to curb a growing supply of readily available but illegal drugs, a report from a drug-monitoring group suggests.

“Most studies have shown that for every dollar spent, good prevention programs can save governments up to $10 in later costs,” the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) said in a report released on Tuesday. “Therefore, governments’ investments in prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programs, and their regulatory control systems, must be maintained — even in times of financial austerity.”

The INCB released its 45th annual report on Tuesday, focusing on a two-pronged approach of increased prevention and treatment to combat drug abuse worldwide and highlighting the emergence of new, previously unknown synthetic derivatives designed to skirt domestic drug law. The organization, an “independent, quasi-judicial” monitoring body with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), argued that increased efforts to prevent drug addiction, as well as treat those already addicted to illegal substances could save governments money in the long run.

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