Governments around the world should decriminalize minor drug offences because the standard strategy of prohibition is harming public health, leading medics said on Thursday.
A report by the medical journal the Lancet and Johns Hopkins University said countries such as Portugal and the Czech Republic had shown that decriminalizing non-violent offences such as possession and petty sale produced compelling health benefits.
The policy adopted by these countries also led to cost savings and did not increase problem drug use, the report added.
The U.N. General Assembly holds a special session on drugs next month at which it will . . .
