255306 How humane drug policies improve the health of drug users

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 : 3:30 PM - 3:50 PM

Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch, MSW , Global Drug Policy Program, Open Society Institute, Warszawa, Poland
In many countries, drug users are unwilling or afraid to access medical services for several reasons, from a lack of treatment options to fear of arrest. These fears largely stem from drug policies which emphasize a law enforcement approach, rather than seeking to offer treatment, and thereby further marginalize drug users. As a result, countries with prohibitive drug policies often experience HIV and hepatitis C epidemics driven by injecting drug use. Harm reduction programs provide a vital point of access for drug users where they can receive voluntary testing for HIV and co-infections. A study published in The Lancet shows that high coverage of opioid substitution treatment, needle exchange programs and anti-retroviral treatment in combination can reduce the incidence of HIV infection in injecting drug users by over 50% in a five-year period. However, comprehensive harm reduction strategies are only sustainable when supported by a policy framework. Recently, the Global Commission on Drug Policy – a group that includes four ex-presidents, a former UN Secretary General, and a Nobel Prize laureate – has amplified the call for a rethink of drug policies, with the publication of their report in June 2011. Among their key messages are to replace punishment with treatment, and expand the range of treatment easily accessible to drug users. This presentation will examine the role which drug policies play vis-ŕ-vis the health of drug users, and look at how medical professionals and other civil society actors are advocating for drug policies rooted in public health principles.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Public health or related education
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines

Learning Objectives:
The learner will be able to: 1) Define policy obstacles to evidence-based drug dependence treatment and HIV interventions 2) Analyze potential policy solutions that will support the treatment and general well-being of a drug user and those in his/her environment 3) Describe advocacy campaigns that aim to draw attention to the need for evidence-based drug policies 4) Identify current challenges as well as gaps in advocacy efforts for evidence-based drug policies

Keywords: Advocacy, Public Health Policy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I direct the Global Drug Policy program at the Open Society Foundations which funds initiatives advocating an evidence-based approach to drug policy worldwide. I have helped formulate policy at the Global Fund, the WHO, the Millennium Challenge and other bodies through membership of expert boards and committees. I have authored or co-authored dozens of policy and scientific papers for scientific journals and book chapters ‘Global HIV/AIDS Medicine’ and ‘Public Health and Human Rights, Evidence-Based Approaches'.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.