La Asociación Médica Australiana defiende las nuevas sustancias psicoactivas en prisión
La Asociación Médica Australiana (AMA) ha manifestado que la salud de los reos es una cuestión de derechos humanos, que todos los australianos tienen derecho a un acceso equitativo a los servicios de salud, y que una pena privativa de la libertad no es motivo para que este derecho se incumpla. Más información, en inglés, está disponible abajo.
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The prevalence of Blood Born Viruses (BBVs) is significantly higher in prisons due to a number of factors, including: the high-rate of imprisonment for drug-related offences, the prevalence of people who inject drugs, the apparent availability of drugs and injecting equipment in prisons, the rate of pre-existing infection among prisoners, and unsterile injecting drug practices in prisons.2
Custodial facilities provide a unique opportunity to protect the health of those in custody, and the general community. Providing evidence-based prevention, testing, treatment and management, and harm reduction strategies (such as access to condoms and lubricant, regulated NSPs, and access to disinfectants such as bleach), are proven to be effective in the prevention of transmission of viral hepatitis and HIV in prisons,3 and establishing a safer environment for both prisoners and prison officers, who are both in elevated risk categories.
The AMA supports NSPs as a frontline approach to prevention of BBVs, and other harms among people who inject drugs. The published evidence supporting the needle and syringe programs is very strong.
The well-being and health of people in custodial facilities has wider community health implications, as any detainee infected with a BBV may transmit that infection within the prison population or to the wider community if they are released with an untreated condition.
Prison-based NSP trials have been shown to reduce the risk of needle-stick injuries to staff, and increase the number of detainees accessing drug treatment. Similarly, trials have revealed no adverse effect on illicit drug use or overall prison security.3
Prisoner health is a human rights issue. Every Australian has the right to access equitable healthcare, and a custodial sentence is not a caveat to this.
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