Tackling substance dependence through treatment instead of punishment is still one of the most critical issues in Lebanon. In 2008, Skoun, Lebanese Addiction Center, launched the project "For a Greater Respect for the Rights of Drug Addicts" to analyse why the 1998 law (which provides for decriminalisation of drug use and treatment for dependent users) is still scarcely applied, working with the police force and judicial system to sensitise them on the nature of drug dependence and effectiveness of treatment versus incarceration.
I 500.000 consumatori più assidui, più o meno 1/6 dei consumatori regolari, generano quasi la metà dei guadagni illeciti nel mercato della droga. Secondo stime correnti la repressione con i sequestri arriva ad eliminare appena il 10% della droga circolante. Una nuova politica dovrebbe puntare decisamente al reinserimento nella società e nel lavoro dei consumatori più assidui.
These briefings address serious human rights abuses that result from drug control efforts, including torture and ill treatment by police, mass incarceration, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, and denial of essential medicines and basic health services. The briefings are now available in English, Spanish, Russian and Chinese.
In the article below, The Lancet calls the Russian Government to create a drug dependence treatment infrastructure and reform its health policy, rather than resorting to imprisonment, to tackle increasingly high rates of HIV infection among drug users.
The WHO Policy Guidelines for Controlled Substances provide guidance on policies and legislation with regards to availability, accessibility, affordability and control of medicines made from substances regulated under the international drug control conventions, herein referred to as “controlled medicines”.
The report discusses the relative effectiveness of strategies to reduce violence in four different Latin American cities: Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Medellín in Colombia, Ciudad Juárez in Mexico, and Santa Tecla in El Salvador. The four cities are attempting to improve citizen security by combining smart policing strategies and social investment in marginalized communities most affected by crime.
The interventions described in this brief adhere to internationally accepted principles of drug treatment, are evidence based and reflect a public health perspective. These are alternatives proposed to the predominantly law-enforcement approaches to ATS use currently common in the Asia–Pacific region. Medical interventions for the treatment of physical and mental health problems are described, as well as psychosocial treatment approaches including community-based interventions.
The principles of treatment for ATS use are examined in the light of the principles of drug dependence treatment developed by WHO/UNODC in 2008. Recommendations were adapted to the needs of ATS users in Asia and the Pacific.
This brief outlines public health interventions directed at those who use amphetamine-type stimulants. Research indicates that the majority of ATS users are casual/experimental users who do not require intensive treatment interventions. Instead, they require information and counselling to enable them to appreciate the potential risks from ATS use and take measures to mitigate these harms.
This technical brief reviews the patterns and consequences of psychostimulant use. The physiological, medical and psychological consequences of low- or high-dose as well as short- or long-term amphetamine use are described. Amphetamine dependence and the risks for HIV and hepatitis infections are also described.
Over the past 40 years, the number of people in US prisons has increased by more than 600%. On 1 January 2008, one of every 100 adults were behind bars. The medical profession has the chance both to advocate for changes in the criminal justice system to reduce the number of people behind bars who would be better served in community-based treatment and to capitalise on the tremendous public health opportunities for diagnosing and treating disease and for linking patients to care after release.
High rates of hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission are found in samples of people who inject drugs (PWID) throughout the world. The objective of this paper was to meta-analyze the effects of risk-reduction interventions on HCV seroconversion and identify the most effective intervention types.