The statement, put out by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the U.S. is in the midst of another political debate over health care, calls for "ending discrimination in health care settings." The WHO calls on states to end discrimination against "marginalized and stigmatized populations" in a variety of ways, and includes a blunt and rather shocking statement on the drug war.
"We, the signatory United Nations entities, call upon all stakeholders to join us in committing to taking targeted, coordinated, time-bound, multisectoral actions in the following areas. Supporting States to put in place guarantees against discrimination in law, policies, and regulations by... Reviewing and repealing punitive laws that have been proven to have negative health outcomes and that counter established public health evidence. These include laws that criminalize or otherwise prohibit...drug use or possession of drugs for personal use."This is an admission that the problem of drug abuse is a public health issue, not a criminal justice issue. Locking people in cages for the victimless behavior of ingesting substances arbitrarily deemed illegal by the State does nothing to reduce drug use or supply, as evidenced by the utter failure of the War on Drugs.
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