FROM CRIMINALIZATION TO REHABILITATION: Abandoning “The War on Drugs” THESIS EDIT | Page 4

Addicts do not only suffer by the mere fact of having an unbearable disease (as will be discussed
in depth later in this paper) but the declared “war on drugs” kicks them while they are down,
adding an enormous stigma for them to endure in addition to managing their difficult health
condition.
Philippe Bonnet, the drugs outreach worker featured in Brand’s documentary, echoes this
concern. The takeaway here must be this: criminalizing drug addiction is not going to make
people stop using drugs. This fact has already been established by history. What criminalization
and the vilification of addicts does do is cause people to no longer be treated with respect. This
loss of dignity has huge consequences. People who are already full of shame and self-loathing
must now also deal with others judging them for their health issue. As if the experience of
addiction is not isolating enough, now the judgment of others (as a result of criminalization)
pushes addicts further into isolation and loneliness. This causes them to hide their health
condition from their loved ones and turn, once again, to drugs to numb the pain.
Stigmatizing drug addiction via criminalization also causes many to choose not to ask for
help for fear that they will be prosecuted and thrown in jail. In this way, criminalization
decreases the number of addicts seeking recovery, and only feeds the already vicious cycle of
addiction. It is difficult to imagine a worse consequence of law making: to make it less likely
for a person who has a debilitating condition to seek out the help he needs.
Another side-effect of criminalization has been an increase in the spread of HIV/AIDS.
This makes the “war on drugs” not only ineffective, but also a danger to public health. According
to an article written in 2012 by the Global Commission on Drugs, “the global war on drugs is
driving the HIV pandemic among people who use drugs and their sexual partners.” Studies all
over the world have clearly shown, “that repressive drug law enforcement practices force drug