DIVEST. REDIRECT. INVEST. The Case for Redirecting Funds from Ineffective Drug Law Enforcement to Harm Reduction – Spotlight on Six Countries in Asia

Each year more than USD 100 billion is estimated to be spent on global drug law enforcement. This is over 750 times the amount allocated to harm reduction services for people who use drugs. Despite overwhelming evidence in favour of following a health and human rights-based approach to drug control, governments around the world, including many in Asia, continue to prioritise punitive responses to drugs. This approach has deterred, and in some cases prohibited, people who use drugs from accessing health and social services. It has also fuelled mass incarceration, extrajudicial killings, torture, the use of the death penalty, discriminatory policing and the stigmatisation of people who use drugs.