Drug advocates have called on the Federal Government to abolish policies that criminalise drug users but treat it as a public health issue.
Ruth Dreifuss, former Swiss president and Chair Global Commission on Drug Policy in a public lecture on Friday in Abuja, said the current drug policies implemented by most countries to fight drug use and trafficking had failed to achieve the intended purpose.
The lecture was organised by the Global Commission on Drug Policy, (GCDP) in collaboration with Youthrise Nigeria, Centre for Research and Information on Substance Abuse, (CRISA) and West Commission on Drugs, (WCD).
Ms. Dreifuss in her lecture titled ‘World drug perception problem- Countering Prejudices about people who use drugs’ said the government needs to decriminalise drug users in other to monitor substance use in the country.
According to her, many drug policies does not comply with human rights.
“There is a need to find more humane policies that will help stem the menace across the world. The failure of the drug policies have had same responses all over the world. It is also having negative impact on peoples’ health.
The former president said there is a need for a change in public perception on those who use drugs because “not every drug user is problematic, criminal or needs medical attention,” she said.
According to her, public perception of drug users is one of the deterrent factors affecting implementation of effective policies and creating enabling environment for problematic drug users to seek treatment.
Dreifuss said a new way to tackle challenges of drug use is for people to understand drug users.
She advised lawmakers to see drug use as a public health challenge and legislate policies to that effect.
