‘War on drugs’ not working

NEW ZEALAND – The New Zealand government is considering taking a more tolerant approach to minor drug offences, Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne said.

The potential change comes as a joint study by Johns Hopkins University in the US and the British medical journal The Lancet says the punitive approach to drug offending has done more harm than good.

Five former presidents have also said the global ‘War on Drugs’ needs to be completely overhauled, according to the Economist magazine.

Dunne told Radio New Zealand he was not sure New Zealand’s drug law was still fit-for-purpose and he wanted drugs to be viewed as more of a health issue.

“Under the general focus of trying to get the appropriate legal balance, the issues of the utilisation of drug paraphernalia are being looked at, issues relating to the penalty regime is being looked at.

“And I’m also asking the expert advisory committee on drugs when it classifies drugs, to take a focus that is more health-related than previously.” - RNZ