Should we legalise ALL drugs? The ‘war on drugs’, substance misuse and how to address them

Approximately 650,000 people die from direct or indirect drug overdose across the world. Interestingly, there are 2.6 million deaths attributed to alcohol misuse and 8.7 million deaths attributed to smoking globally. The health complications caused by legal substances such as alcohol raises questions around the justification for criminalising recreational drug use or possession. In this episode, we highlight the reasons for and against the legalisation of all recreational drugs, including cocaine, heroin and more. Are governments winning the ‘war on drugs’? 

NB: Please note we do not condone the use of illegal substance use. This is a productive discussion to encourage public engagement and address substance misuse as a global health threat. 

Are recreational drugs worse than alcohol? Is legalisation the best way to address drug use and addiction? Share your thoughts with us at worldhealthinvestigation@gmail.com 

This week's case study:

Whitney Houston died in Feb 2012 with many reports claiming it was from cocaine use/ drug overdose.

https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/whitney-houston-death-surprising-details-coroners-report/story?id=16076589n 

Additional resources:
Talk to Frank - https://www.talktofrank.com/
Whitney Houston death: Bobby Brown says she didn’t die from drugs - https://globalnews.ca/news/4055762/whitney-houston-death-bobby-brown-drugs/ 

Drugs (psychoactive) -  https://www.who.int/health-topics/drugs-psychoactive#tab=tab_1