Drugs Policy: We have to separate drugs from crime
In: The world today, Band 68, Heft 5
ISSN: 0043-9134
Illegal drugs are used by 270 million people and organized crime profits from a trade with a turnover of more than $320 billion a year, according to figures from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). This makes it the world's largest illegal commodity market. The UNODC now acknowledges that choosing an enforcement-based approach is having a range of negative 'unintended consequences'. These include the creation of a vast criminal market, the spreading of the illegal drugs trade to new areas, the stigmatization of drug users and the diversion of money from health services. Adapted from the source document.