The Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health submitted this statement on the right to health and drug policy to the Committee against Torture in 2012. The statement notes that ‘it is the opinion of the Special Rapporteur that excessively punitive approaches to drug control have resulted in countless human rights violations, including the right to health, of people who use drugs by perpetuating risky behaviours, reducing access to medicines, particularly to opioid substitution therapies and analgesics, and restricting access to information about medical treatment. Instead, States should adopt a harm-reduction based approach to drug control that more adequately protects the right to health of drug users and the general public’.
Citation: Anand Grover. 'Submission to the Committee against Torture Regarding Drug Control Laws' (Special Rapporteur on the right to health) 19 October 2012