The Global Commission on Drug Policy has released a new report, "Taking Control: Pathways to Drug Policies That Work," in advance of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS) (2016), which it says is "an unprecedented opportunity to review and re-direct national drug control policies and the future of the global drug control regime." In the report, the GCDP takes a strong stance toward decriminalization.
In the Executive Summary, it states, "A new and improved global drug control regime is needed that better protects the health and safety of individuals and communities around the world."
In even more direct terms, it says, "The Commissioners call for an end to the criminalization and incarceration of users together with targeted prevention, harm reduction and treatment strategies for dependent users."
It also states, "The Commission recommends that governments regulate drug markets and adapt their enforcement strategies to target the most violent and disruptive criminal groups rather than punish low level players. The Global Commission’s proposals are complimentary and comprehensive. They call on governments to rethink the problem, do what can and should be done immediately, and not to shy away from the transformative potential of regulation."
In a summary of Commissioners' recommendations, the GCDP specifically suggests:
- "Stop criminalizing people for drug use and possession — and stop imposing “compulsory treatment” on people whose only offense is drug use or possession.
- Allow and encourage diverse experiments in legally regulating markets in currently illicit drugs, beginning with but not limited to cannabis, coca leaf and certain novel psychoactive substances.
Among others.
And, as the report so articulately notes, "The good news is that change is in the air."
