Globally, decriminalizing simple drug possession has been recommended by numerous health and human rights bodies as a measure that both protects health and upholds human rights, including the World Health Organization (WHO), UNAIDS, UN Special Rapporteurs on the right to health, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, and most recently, the UN Chief Executives Board for Coordination — which has adopted a call for decriminalization of simple possession as the common position of the UN system (including the UN Office on Drugs on Crime, the lead technical agency on drug policy issues). The International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy, endorsed already by the UN Development Program (UNDP), UNAIDS and WHO, also call on States to “decriminalise the possession, purchase, or cultivation of controlled substances for personal consumption.” And the Global Commission on Drug Policy, comprising former heads of state or government and other eminent political, economic, and cultural leaders, has highlighted the tremendous damage caused by the criminalization of people who use drugs and called for the removal of all punitive responses to drug possession and use.
Moreover, in a scan of more than 25 jurisdictions around the world that have decriminalized drugs, a number of positive health outcomes were identified, including reduced rates of HIV transmission and fewer drug-related deaths, improved education, housing, and employment opportunities for people who use drugs, and significant savings, with a negligible effect on levels of drug use.