Drugs in a global perspective: The international control system's best foot forward

With the World Drug Report, the United Nations Drug Control Programme offer s a textbook on global trends and developments in drug use and in the illic it market, theories and interpretations of drug use, health and social harm s from use, counterstrategies and programs, the drug control structure, and "regulation-legalization" debates. Country profiles for 8 countries summar ize available data, making use also of two problematic comparative indices. Harms from alcohol and tobacco figure heavily in the arguments for maintai ning drug prohibition, but these drugs are otherwise excluded from consider ation. The report highlights deficiencies in available data, particularly o n adverse consequences of drug use, though they are the premise for the dru g control system. The report's picture of trends in drugs use and in the il licit market is realistically gloomy, and its presentation of the effective ness of counterstrategies is usually appropriately cautious. The report is often internally inconsistent in its premises and arguments, but is true to its aim to "de-sensationalize the drugs issue". De-sensationalizing drugs may, however, undercut the justification for a drug control system of such extraordinary ambitions and scope.