
Drugs and Human Rights
For decades, governments have criminalized the use of drugs, as well as their possession, production, and distribution. They have poured billions of dollars into pursuing, killing, prosecuting, extraditing, and imprisoning kingpins, dealers, and people who use drugs.
Yet, as Human Rights Watch has repeatedly documented, this approach to drug policy has had devastating human rights consequences: undermining the rights to health and privacy; serving as an excuse for grossly disproportionate punishment, torture, and extrajudicial killings; and fueling the operations of organized criminal groups that commit abuses, corrupt authorities, and undermine the rule of law.
Human Rights Watch calls on governments to decriminalize all personal use and possession of drugs. We also urge governments to adopt alternative policies concerning the drug trade to reduce the enormous human rights costs of current approaches, including by reducing the use of the criminal law to regulate drug production and distribution. And we call for reform to global drug treaties and policies that impede exploration of these alternatives.
Videos Watch More
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Winding Down the War on Drugs: Reevaluating Global Drug Policy
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US: Drug Deportations Tearing Families Apart
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Human rights and HIV interventions in Chinese labour camps
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Commentary
US laws on weed are no joke
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Mexico: Needless Suffering at End of Life
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US: A Move Toward Fairer Drug Sentencing
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Bill de Blasio's abandoned pot pledge
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US: A Nation Behind Bars
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India: Major Breakthrough for Pain Patients
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UN: WHO Boosts Hope on Pain Relief, Palliative Care
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US: Forced Guilty Pleas in Drug Cases
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Our Unjust Drug Sentences
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Russia: Drop Charges for Aiding Dying Patient
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Race and Drugs
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Senegal: Thousands Urgently Need Pain Relief
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Dying in pain – Abdoulaye’s story
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Time to rethink harsh drug sentences
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Ukraine: New Breakthrough for Incurably Ill
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Ukraine: Breakthrough for Cancer Pain
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Chinese Addiction Study and Human Rights
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Kenya: Hope for Cancer Patients
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One AIDS march that should end
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Laos’ Murky War on Drugs
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A centre for abuse and beating
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National Cashew Day more than nuts
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'Utterly Irresponsible'
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Hepatitis in drug users: time for attention, time for action
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US: Crack Cocaine Ruling a Victory for Rights
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Global: Tens of Millions Face Death in Agony
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Ukraine: Condemned to Excruciating Pain
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Kenya: Provide Treatment for Children in Pain
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Commentary
US: A Long Way to Go
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A Drug Abuse Policy That Fails Everyone
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US: End in Sight for Infamous Crack Cocaine Laws
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Pain Relief: a Human Right
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The truth of China's response to HIV/AIDS
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When a Problem Comes Along, You Must Whip It
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Holiday in Cambodia?
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Why the Vietnamese Don't Want to Go to Rehab
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Choam Chao needs independent investigation
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How not to protect children
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Access to Pain Treatment as a Human Right
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India: Ensure Access to Pain Treatment
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Cambodia: UN Should Review Role in Drug Detention
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Drug dependence isn’t a moral issue
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Rights abuses threaten HIV goals
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Treatment or Punishment?
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Don’t Improve Drug Detention: End It
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India: Provide Access to Pain Treatment
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UN: Stop Needless Suffering
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Governments Should Improve Access to Pain Treatment
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Governments Should Improve Access to Pain Treatment
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US: ‘Drug War’ Unjust to African Americans
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UN: War on Drugs does not Justify Rights Violations
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Colombia: Show Results on Human Rights Before FTA
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Thailand: Anti-Drug Campaign Reaches New Low
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Thailand: Drug War Darkens AIDS Success
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U.S.: Needle-Exchange Law Helps to Combat AIDS
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Russia: Harsh Drug Policies Fuel AIDS Epidemic
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U.S.: Access to Generic HIV/AIDS Drugs at Risk
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Colombia: EU Should Hold Uribe to Rights Commitments
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Reports More Reports
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Every 25 Seconds
The Human Toll of Criminalizing Drug Use in the United States
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Care When There Is No Cure
Ensuring the Right to Palliative Care in Mexico
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No Time to Waste
Evidence-Based Treatment for Drug Dependence at the United States Veterans Administration Department of Veterans Affairs

Philippines’ ‘War on Drugs’
Since taking office in June 2016, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has carried out a “war on drugs” resulting in the deaths of over 12,000 Filipinos.