Drug Law Reform in East and Southeast Asia

Drug Law Reform in East and Southeast Asia is a multi-author look at drugs in East and Southeast Asia, on drug policy, patterns and trends, local problems, human rights abuses, treatment prospects, and potential reforms. From the history of drugs in Asia, the book examines recent trends in illicit drugs, especially the present enormous amphetamine problems. It addresses recent policy shifts, especially harm reduction responses to the devastating drug-associated HIV epidemics. It explores further necessary reform, especially in regard to the abysmally inhuman current emphasis on detention and the death penalty for drug offences, and present the most recent evidence on effective and humane approaches to drug treatments. As the first comprehensive collection on illicit drug and harm reduction in East and Southeast Asia, it will be a vital resource for health professionals, policymakers, and others working there—and elsewhere—on drug policy reform. As the first comprehensive collection on illicit drugs and harm reduction in East and Southeast Asia, it will be a vital resource for health professionals, policymakers, and others working on East and Southeast Asia—and elsewhere—on drug policy.

Punitive drug policies have done enormous harm to drug users and their neighbors all over the world. These policies have been particularly vicious in some parts of East and Southeast Asia. This has resulted in massive HIV and hepatitis epidemics in many countries. Fifa Rahman and Nick Croft’s Drug Law Reform in East and Southeast Asia is a wonderfully insightful overview of these policies and their effects—as well as presenting alternative policies and evidence that these alternative policies do much less damage than punitive approaches. They do this by presenting a range of articles by leading professionals, a chapter on drug user activists’ perspectives on drug policy, and a chapter on Islamic approaches. All in all, this is a useful and lovely book., This expansive volume successfully combines expert analysis with policy recommendations to provide a timely and much-needed overview of drug markets and policy responses in East and Southeast Asia. It is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand the complexities of drug policy in a region where shifts in attitude have taken place but where further drug law reform remains overdue., A timely and comprehensive review of drug policy issues which moves beyond ideology and calls for a complete reexamination of existing practices in the Asia region. The authors provide clear guidance as to why existing policies have failed based on detailed case studies of key countries, and propose a new approach to drugs that is based on human rights within a framework of public health. Essential reading for anyone interested in drug policy issues and how best to respond.

Fifa Rahman is policy manager at the Malaysian AIDS Council. Nick Crofts is director of the Centre for Law Enforcement and Public Health.