How the Global War on Drugs Drives HIV and AIDS

The war on drugs is driving much of the global AIDS pandemic, increasing new infections among injection-drug users in the U.S. and elsewhere, according to a new report from the Global Commission on Drug Policy. The commission — led by a distinguished panel including the former presidents of Mexico, Poland, Colombia, Brazil and Switzerland, along with Virgin Airlines entrepreneur Richard Branson, the former chair of the Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker, and former Secretary of State George Schulz, among others — finds in its report that about one-third of all new infections outside of sub-Sarahan Africa occur in injection-drug users. Since the 1990s, effective public-health strategies to curb HIV transmission in drug users have led to drops in new infections in most countries. But over the same time period, seven countries have seen a 25% increase in new infections. Not coincidentally, five of these countries — mainly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia — employ aggressive drug war strategies, such as arresting and incarcerating users for drug or needle possession. These tactics have been shown to be ineffective not only for controlling drug use, but also for reining in the spread of HIV. Why? Because the fear of recrimination prevents drug users from seeking clean needles — a major risk factor for HIV infection. In the U.S. as well, areas with the highest infection rates are those that have the most aggressive drug policies, the report shows. The solution is straightforward, if drastic; it requires a complete overhaul of current drug policy: drug users need treatment, not imprisonment, and drug possession needs to be decriminalized, the authors argue.