03/10/2007 Session
The Assembly has unanimously proposed preparation of a European convention to promote public health policies aimed at fighting drug abuse.
The rapporteur, Paul Flynn (United Kingdom, SOC), emphasises that various public health measures, such as substitution treatment, needle exchange programmes and psychosocial treatment, have in recent decades proved effective in rehabilitating narcotics-users and helping to reduce crime, cut health and legal expenditure, and also reduce the risks of HIV transmission.
However, these scientific policies, aimed at reducing the risks associated with addiction, are applied only partially in Europe, while efforts to reduce the drug supply have been a resounding failure.
For this reason, the PACE is urging member states to work together on a framework text to supplement existing legal instruments, bring together scientific and medical knowledge, and serve as a basis for national anti-drug strategies.