THE WAR ON DRUGS: A DEVASTATING PUBLIC-POLICY DISASTER

That's the headline of an opinion piece written by four clinical and public health specialists in British Columbia (CA), and that headline says it all. It appeared in Lancet, vol 373, March 21, 2009. The concluding paragraph: "Clearly, the preponderance of evidence shows that the UN drug-control framework has not only been ineffective but has resulted in a range of severe unintended harms."

Authors: Evan Wood, Daniel Werb, Brandon Marshall, Julio SG Montaner, and Thomas Kerr, Brit Col Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS St Paul's Hosp; Fac of Medicine Univ of Brit Col; Sch of Pop and Public Health of Univ of Brit Col.