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War on Drugs--A War on Drug Users?

NCJ Number
186791
Journal
Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy Volume: 7 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2000 Pages: 409-422
Author(s)
Julian Buchanan; Lee Young
Date Published
November 2000
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article argues that United Kingdom (UK) drug policy since the 1980's has largely been ill considered, reactive, and counter productive.
Abstract
The article claims that, rather than reducing drug taking and drug-related crime, UK drug policies since the 1980's have exacerbated the problem and contributed to an environment in which drug use and illegal drug activities are likely to flourish. The "war on drugs" manifests itself as a "war on drug users" with an emphasis not upon developing appropriate rehabilitation models, but upon prevention, prohibition, and punishment. The article draws on qualitative research involving 200 problem drug users to argue that the war on drug users has subjected those people to a process of stigmatization, marginalization, and social exclusion and prevented many of them from recovery by hindering their reintegration into the wider social and economic community. Instead, growing numbers of problematic drug users remain locked into a cycle of chronic drug relapse. The article advocates a bold and radical rethink of UK drug policy including: an overhaul of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971; a rational and non-emotive examination of recreational drug use (legal and illegal); serious consideration of decriminalizing the possession of any substance for personal use; and development of strategies that tackle inequality, disadvantage, and discrimination to enable social reintegration for problem drug users. Figures, references

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