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Drug Policy |
Overview
Efforts
to curb citizens' drug use have existed almost as long as drugs
have been used. The bible contains one of the earliest records
of prohibitionist ideals, and treatments for drug addiction
may go back to medieval times. One of the earliest recorded
drug laws comes from 17th century Russia where Czar Michael
Federovitch ruled that anyone caught with tobacco should be
tortured until he gave up the name of the supplier. In more
recent times, most countries around the world have established
national drug policies. Between 1989 and 1999, official national
drug policies were introduced in 66 countries and a further
41 countries were developing national drug policies or had developed
such a policy more than
10 years previously.
Along with the rise in worldwide communication and trade, the
use, manufacture and sale of drugs has become a global issue.
United Nations work to establish an international system of
drug control in which countries are obliged to criminalize all
non-medical use, manufacture and sale of drugs. The US also
pushes for international cooperation and direct action against
drug production and trafficking. Yet illicit drugs play a major
role in economies around the world and drug use continues to
rise. Treatment
availability and policy focused on demand reduction rather
than supply reduction is a growing trend in national drug
policy, especially since intravenous drug users are at high
risk of HIV/AIDS infection, however, criminal enforcement
remains the central theme in world drug policy.
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