From the Mountaintops [antikvár]

Foreword The success of Swiss drug policy can be encapsulated in a few significant numbers: The number of new heroin users declined from 850 in 1990 to 150 in 2002; Between 1991 and 2004, drug-related deaths fell by more than 50 percent; The country witnessed a 90 percent reduction in property crime committed by drug users; and The country that once led Western Europe in HIV prevalence now has among the lowest rates in the region. After more than 50 years of the failure of international drug control, the Swiss response to drugs should be a model to policymakers around the world. Instead, some of its more pioneering programs like safe injection facilities and heroin-assisted therapy were met with scolding and disdain from international drug control watchdogs. Nevertheless, the Swiss policy persisted with large public support. Its results continue to impress today. This report is therefore intended to serve as a reminder of how important it is for governments to innovate, experiment and evaluate alternative policies. Innovation is all the more critical since the world has borne witness for more than half a century to the failure of global drug policy. Drug policies around the world have proven to be largely ineffective in controlling the production of illegal narcotics. With very few exceptions, national drug laws and policies seek primarily to punish illicit drug production, possession, use and even dependence. In the worst cases, drug users are made to be scapegoats for a wide range of social problems, and sanctions are vastly disproportionate to the supposed offenses. According to the 2013 World Drug Report, there is currently more opium, more coca and more cannabis on the market than ever before. Designer drugs are also on the rise, and