In news– A first of its kind global drug policy index 2021 has been released recently.
About the index
- The index measures and compares national-level drug policies, providing each country with a score and ranking that shows how much their drug policies and their implementation align with the UN principles of human rights, health and development.
- It is a data-driven global analysis of drug policies and their implementation.
- It is a project of the Harm Reduction Consortium, which was established in 2013.
- It is composed of 75 indicators running across five broad dimensions of drug policy: criminal justice, extreme responses, health and harm reduction, access to internationally controlled medicines, and development.
- It highlights that the global dominance of drug policies based on repression and punishment has led to low scores overall, with a median score of just 48 out of 100 for all 30 countries which is assessed as a “drug policy failure” and a sign for urgent measures to deal with the situation.
- Reflecting a long-standing global trend towards the abolition of the death penalty, the report highlights that only three out of these 30 countries – India, Indonesia and Thailand retain capital punishment for certain drug offences.
India’s performance–
- India’s rank is 18 out of 30 countries.
- India has an overall score of 46/100.
- On the criteria of use of extreme sentencing and responses, it has a score of 63/100.
- On health and harm reduction, 49/100; on proportionality of criminal justice response, 38/100; on availability and access of internationally controlled substances for the relief of pain and suffering, 33 /100.
Source: The Indian Express
