Decolonizing drug policy

Harm Reduction Journal

Kojo Koram¹  Naomi Burke-Shyne²  Suchitra Rajagopalan²  Sam Shirley-Beavan²  Colleen Daniels²  Tripti Tandon³  Aggrey Aluso⁴  Imani Robinson⁵  Shaun Shelly⁶ 

[1] Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet St, WC1E 7HX, London, UK;Harm Reduction International (HRI), 61 Mansell Street, E1 8AN, Aldgate, London, UK;Lawyers Collective, 4th floor, Jalaram Jyot, 63 Janmabhoomi Marg, 400001, Fort, Mumbai, India;Open Society Foundation, Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa, ACS Plaza, 1st Floor, Lenana Road, P O Box 2193-00202, 00202, Nairobi, Kenya;Release, 61 Mansell Street, E1 8AN, Aldgate, London, UK;TB/HIV Care, South African Network of People Who Use Drugs (SANPUD), University of Pretoria, Department of Family Medicine, 7th Floor, 11 Adderley Street, Cape Town City Centre, 8001, Cape Town, South Africa;

关键词: War on drugs;    Drug control policy;    Human rights;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12954-021-00564-7

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

This paper reviews evidence of how drug control has been used to uphold colonial power structures in select countries. It demonstrates the racist and xenophobic impact of drug control policy and proposes a path to move beyond oppressive systems and structures. The ‘colonization of drug control’ refers to the use of drug control by states in Europe and America to advance and sustain the systematic exploitation of people, land and resources and the racialized hierarchies, which were established under colonial control and continue to dominate today. Globally, Black, Brown and Indigenous peoples are disproportionately targeted for drug law enforcement and face discrimination across the criminal system. These communities face higher arrest, prosecution and incarceration rates for drug offenses than other communities, such as majority populations, despite similar rates of drug use and selling among (and between) different races. Current drug policies have contributed to an increase in drug-related deaths, overdoses and sustained transnational criminal enterprises at the expense of the lives of people who use drugs, their families and greater society. This review provides further evidence of the need to reform the current system. It outlines a three-pillared approach to rebuilding drug policy in a way that supports health, dignity and human rights, consisting of: (1) the decriminalization of drugs and their use; (2) an end to the mass incarceration of people who use drugs; (3) the redirection of funding away from ineffective and punitive drug control and toward health and social programs.

【 授权许可】

CC BY