......The report's authors praise countries where "addiction is treated as a health issue" such as Australia, Portugal and Switzerland, where newly diagnosed HIV infections have been nearly eliminated among drug users, but condemned the dominance of failed drug policies which have seen the availability of illegal drugs only grow. According the report, the worldwide supply of illicit opiates, such as heroin, has increased by more than 380 percent in recent decades .

The Commissioners also stress the drug war’s contribution to the growth of organized crime and violence, and urge countries that under-utilize proven addiction treatment and public health measures to immediately scale up evidence-based strategies to reduce HIV infection and protect community health and safety. These measures include sterile syringe distribution, safer injecting facilities, and prescription heroin programs. “Failure to take these steps is criminal,” the report states.

"This war is not slowing drug use," Branson said, calling it "perhaps the greatest failure" of public policy in the past 40 years."

This is the second report published by the Global Commission. Its first report, released in June 2011, generated unprecedented media coverage and catalyzed international debate about the urgent need for fundamental reforms of the global drug prohibition regime. The Global Commission is the most distinguished group of high-level leaders to ever call for such far-reaching changes – including alternatives to incarceration, greater emphasis on public health approaches to drug use, decriminalization, and experiments in legal regulation. more ..