“For more than two decades, the International Narcotic Control Board (INCB) has tried to stop harm reduction and its HIV prevention programs. This posture is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of their responsibilities and of drug addiction itself — i.e. as a public health and clinical care matter made criminal by decree. A recent focal point for the Board’s action has been rejecting the use of supervised injection facilities to reduce morbidity and mortality of drug injectors.
“[W]e are very pleased to call our readers’ attention to a recent report [Closed to Reason: The International Narcotics Control Board and HIV/AIDS] produced by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the International Harm Reduction Development Program (IHRD) joined by former United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, the respected Canadian statesman Stephen Lewis.”