• That drugs can have positive as well as harmful effects (for the individual and society)
• That many of the negative effects associated with drug use are not simply caused by the drugs themselves but are the product of legal, psycho-social and economic factors surrounding their use;
• That the current distinction between drugs that are legal and illegal is not evidence-based;
• That this demarcation does not accurately reflect the capacities of the various substances for harm and that the application of criminal sanctions in relation to one group of substances and not the other appears to be arbitrary and counterproductive to the aim of reducing drug-related harms to individuals and the community;
• That prohibition creates a barrier to accessing services and creates hidden harms which cannot be addressed whilst prohibition exists;
• That drug use and drug related harm should be viewed and managed as a health issue and not a legal issue,
• In a social model of health, which views health not merely as the absence of disease, but as a resource for living.
• That “promoting health means addressing the social, economic and political factors that impinge upon people’s capacity to enjoy good health” (Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion 1987).
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