Public policies for people who use drugs

Public policies for people who use drugs: Strategies for the elimination of stigma and the promotion of human rights

Publisher – Year:
Salud Colectiva. Universidad Nacional de Lanús, 2021

Author:
Antoniu Llort Suárez and Rafael Clua-García

Keywords: Public Health Policy; Harm Reduction; Social Stigma; Human Rights; Medical Anthropology

The aim of this article is to provide theoretical and practical ideas for the improvement of current drug policies, based on a biological model of the disease and on the criminalization of people who use illegal substances.

To this end, firstly, alternatives are offered to overcome the biologists scientific bases centred on neuroscientific postulates, which support the idea that the aetiology of addiction is materialized in the brain, and to support models based on social sciences, in which context and social learning play a relevant role in the description, approach and management of the different uses of psychoactive substances.

Secondly, models and epistemological proposals are offered, from a practical perspective, to support or implement policies and programmes in accordance with a more sustainable approach, based on the elimination of stigma and the promotion of the political participation of people who use illegal substances, that is, drug policies based on human rights.