United Nations Meeting to Discuss Adopting New Drug Policies

A special United Nations session in New York is planned in April that will discuss the UN potentially adopting new global drug policies. In a statement released by the Global Commission on Drug Policy, it was mentioned that current drug policies are outdated approaches that continue to steer toward imprisonment and prohibition.

The last session on drug policies took place 18 years ago. Since then, advancements and developments in marijuana knowledge and societal acceptance, require the need to bring drug policy issues to the forefront.

Former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan says, “Drugs are dangerous, but current narcotics policies are an even bigger threat. This is because punishment is given a greater priority than health and human rights. Prohibition has had virtually no impact on the supply of or demand for illicit drugs.”

The commission has seen that decriminalization in other countries has helped reduce the number of persons incarcerated for marijuana around the world, The New York Times reports. The debate of options on how to transform global drug policies is heating up. The UN is using Uruguay as an example for regulating marijuana as they keep human rights in regards to marijuana use in mind.

Yury Fedotov said, in reference to drug policy reform in individual states and countries, that, “it has helped to put the spotlight on considering, in appropriate drug-related cases of a minor nature, including possession for personal consumption, alternatives to conviction or punishment, using such measures as education, aftercare, rehabilitation and social reintegration.”