The recognition of drug addiction as a disease was the focus of a panel discussion at United Nations Headquarters. “Leaving No One Behind: the Opioid Epidemic as a Global Challenge”, was organized by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), to highlight the growing problem of addiction worldwide.
“Treating addiction as something criminal is contributing to this global crisis”, said Nora Volkow, Director of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse. Ms. Volkow called on the importance of acknowledging the drug problem “from the perspective of the health system”.
According to the latest World Drug Report launched by the UN agency in 2018, the non-medical use of prescription drugs is becoming a major threat to public health and law enforcement worldwide, with opioids causing the most harm and accounting for 76 percent of deaths associated with drug misuse.
Looking at vulnerable age groups, the UNODC report found that drug use is highest among young people, with research suggesting that 12- to 17-year-olds are at particular risk.
Original source: UN News
Published on 24 January 2019
