The Wold Drug Report 2006 estimated that there were around 200 million current users of illegal drugs - around 5% of the adult population. Available surveys suggest that 3 or 4 times that number will have used illegal drugs at some time in their lives. Even these figures are likely to be underestimates due to limitations of reporting systems in many countries. Given the scale of illegal drug use (and the widespread use of diverted prescription drugs, and psychoactive substances not covered by the international conventions), any attempt to criminalise and take enforcement action against this mass of users is not a practical strategy. In practice, most governments make strong statements of disapproval of drug use, but are only able to take action against a small proportion of drug users. Identifying and taking action against all users would require resources beyond the reach of even the richest nations, would likely involve extensive human rights infringements, and would have severe negative social impacts. This 'enforcement gap' undermines the key objective of drug law enforcement - the deterrence of potential users resulting from their fear of arrest and punishment. Users and potential users know that their risks of being caught are minimal. Surveys on the factors why individuals choose to use, or not use, drugs, consistently show that risk of arrest and punishment is of only marginal impact, well behind social, cultural and emotional factors. Furthermore, studies looking at the links between enforcement rates and drug use prevalence can find no clear correlation between the two - some countries with high arrest rates and levels of punishment experience high prevalence, while some countries with more liberal laws have low prevalence.
Given the limited impact on drug policy objectives of widespread enforcement and punishment of users, it is hard to see why these approaches continue to be supported, as they have significant negative side-effects:
- Widespread use of policing, prosecution and punishment of drug users creates a significant burden on public expenditure and, in many countries, is a significant factor in the 'clogging up' of courts and prison systems.
- Enforcement against drug users is always unequally applied, with poor, urban and ethnic minority users usually the focus of arrests, either because of their greater visibility, or of institutional prejudice.
- Efforts to close the 'enforcement gap' often lead the authorities into questionable human rights practices, such as removal of the presumption of innocence, or invasion of privacy.
- To the extent that imprisonment is used as a punishment, the effect is to concentrate large numbers of drug users in a closed environment, which creates the conditions for greater peer pressure on non-users, and for drug-related infections and diseases to spread.
If our objectives are the minimum harmful consequences of drug use, then demand reduction activities and resources should be focussed on helping users and potential users to understand the risks associated with drug use, and to provide easy access to advice and rehabilitation services to those that need it. In practice, this means widespread and honest information and education programmes on the properties and risks of drugs, widespread access to effective treatment for those who become addicted and, most importantly, social inclusion programmes to minimise the poverty and alienation that drives so much of the drug use problem.
