Punitive drug law and the risk environment for injecting drug users: Understanding the connections

The primary goal of international drug policy is to protect the health and welfare of the world’s people.

In pursuit of this humane objective, international drug policy has traditionally focused on limiting non-medical access to controlled substances by strictly regulating their cultivation, manufacture, distribution, and use.

Studies conducted throughout the world consistently find that punitive drug policing increases risky injection behaviour and interferes with IDUs’ access to prevention and health care services.

This paper reviews the evidence documenting the effects of punitive laws and law enforcement practices on the HIV risk environment for IDUs. It then provides an overview of global drug policy, drawing on a mixture of regional reports and country case studies.

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