Mexico fails in the Global Drug Policy Index 2021

The Global Index on Drug Policy (Global  Drug Policy Index) ubicó a Mexico in 26th place of the 30 qualified countries. Our country was among the five with the lowest rating in anti-drug policies.

The Index is a tool that documents, measures and compares policies related to drugs nationwide, and assigns each country a score and ranking that shows what proportion of its drug policy and the implementation of these, how closely it aligns with the principles of the HIM-HER-IT in matters of human rights, health and development.

This year, Mexico ranked 26th out of 30 countries analyzed and it is disapproved in all areas of drug policy: absence of extreme responses, proportionality and criminal justice, harm reduction, and access to medicines. The best-evaluated countries were Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Georgia, North Macedonia, and Costa Rica. In contrast, the last five places were occupied by Mexico, Kenya, Indonesia, Uganda and Brazil.

At Global Drug Policy Index 2021Mexico reached 47 points in the absence of extreme responses; 32 in proportionality and criminal justice; 36 in harm reduction and 26 in access to medicines.

The inaugural edition of Global Drug Policy Index, published this Tuesday by the Consortium for Harm Reduction, a global coalition of community organizations and civil society in collaboration with the academic world, revealed that drug policies in most countries do not comply with the most basic recommendations of the drug system. HIM-HER-ITTherefore, it calls on governments to give priority to the implementation of reforms.

The index results for Mexico show that the militarized and repressive approach to drug policy continues to prevail. With an overall score of 36, it is below Thailand, Uganda, and Nepal, as well as Latin American countries such as Colombia, Argentina, and Costa Rica. It is only better positioned than Kenya, Indonesia, Uganda and Brazil.

Mexico is disapproved in all areas of drug policy:

• Absence of extreme responses (47)
• Proportionality and criminal justice (32)
• Harm Reduction (36)
• Access to medicines (26)

The index states that in Mexico the practice of extrajudicial executions prevails in the course of anti-drug activities, as well as the participation of the military forces in these tasks. It also notes that the practice of forced confinement in treatment centers is widespread and that current laws have been ineffective in diverting people who use drugs out of the criminal justice system. To a large extent, the application of the state drug policy results in the incarceration of people who use psychoactive substances, due to their criminalization and stigmatization.

In a statement, the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights said that this index denoted that human rights violations They are “routine” and remain unpunished, people suspected of having committed drug-related crimes are frequently subjected to torture and arbitrary detention. Likewise, the application of drug policy has a disproportionate impact on certain ethnic groups, people of low socioeconomic status and on women.

On the other hand, he said that financing for harm reduction is incipient and, in general, the availability of these services is almost nil. “In Mexico, the offer of free access opioid substitution treatment is not a priority and as a result the existing programs are aimed at abstinence. We do not have public health interventions that take into account the real needs of the user population, ”he said.

Finally, he argued that, although there is national legislation on access to controlled medicines and the government’s obligation to take adequate measures to guarantee their availability, the disparities hinder their access for pain relief and treatment.

“The results of the Global Drug Policy Index are revealing and set the tone for further progress in the transformation of our drug policies. With this, we join the demand for the current government to act hand in hand with organized civil society with the intention of guaranteeing the rights of the population ”, he mentioned.

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