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San Francisco health advocates
hailed the groundbreaking new report from the Global Commission on Drug Policy,
which says the worldwide drug war is a key factor fueling the global HIV/AIDS
epidemic among drug users and their sexual partners. Major policy changes are
urgently needed, the report says.
Laura Thomas, the San
Francisco-based deputy state director for the Drug Policy Alliance, said, “This
report is unprecedented: global leaders, including former heads of state,
saying that the drug policies promoted and enforced by the United States are
one of the reasons that the HIV epidemic is so large and that we need to
completely overhaul our approach to drug use and drug users to end HIV/AIDS.”
The commission emphasized that
making drugs illegal leads to flourishing black markets accompanied by
organized crime and violence. It noted that drug policies are too often based
on morality or law enforcement priorities rather than scientific evidence.
Furthermore, repressive national drug policies and criminalization of drug
users drive them away from prevention and treatment services.
The report recommended “replacing
the criminalization and punishment of people who use drugs with the offer of
health and treatment services”; breaking the taboo on debating drug policy
reform; refocusing law enforcement efforts on violent organized crime and drug
traffickers; and promoting alternative sentences for small-scale and first-time
dealers. Other harm-reduction efforts include needle-exchange programs, opiate
substitution therapy, and legal provision of prescription heroin.
Thomas said, “San Francisco has long
understood the connection between HIV/AIDS and drug policy, it’s why we support
sterile syringe access and methadone and medical cannabis access, and pushed
for harm-reduction approaches to methamphetamine use among gay/bisexual men.”
She added, “We still need to do more if we’re serious about ending HIV here,
including establishing supervised injection facilities.”
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
