Talking About Drugs: The Biggest Global Summit in a Generation

The world's 40-plus-year-old system of drug law is failing the very people it is supposed to help, and next week's United Nations General Assembly Special Session on drug policy could mark the turning point for calm and rational discussion about our approach to drugs.

Some have sought to shut the debate down before it gets started but a system that's been failing for so long deserves more scrutiny than that. That's why talk of law reform shouldn't only be left to politicians and policymakers. For there to be positive change, it's vital that families and communities are heard.

After all, families bear a major proportion of the costs of drug harm. When a person has problems with drug use, it doesn't just affect them, it affects everyone around them. Just last week a new Drug Harm Index in my small island nation of New Zealand placed a dollar figure of $438 million on the cost of harm to family and friends from problems associated with drug use. Harm to family and friends is the single largest category of community harm in the index, accounting for almost 50 percent of all community harms.

Behind those numbers are real people: a grandparent struggling to raise a grandchild because mum and dad are in trouble with drugs, a parent too scared to seek help lest they lose their kids, a son or daughter too ashamed to admit to their use and get treatment.

These stories might sound familiar: New Zealand being such a small, connected county, but everywhere in the world I go, it seems we all know somebody who has been affected by the issue. Most of us, including our political leaders, have personal experience dealing with the drug use of a family member.

Harm from drug use doesn't discriminate. It affects all kinds of families. No-one should be ashamed to demand better care for loved ones who need help. Yet our laws make many people wary about opening up. The stigma of drug use in society is real, and it can act as a barrier for people to seek help. We know people whose lives could be very different if they'd been able to get the help they needed.

This very same stigma also means that it's rare for families to speak out. That's why I am proud to get behind the Support. Don't Punish global campaign for drug law reform to drive the conversation about common sense changes that we can make to reduce drug harm.

Changes like ending the criminalisation of use which so often ruins a user's life. A conviction makes it harder for people to get the jobs they need and it prevents them from meeting their true potential. We can make changes like increasing access to lifesaving overdose prevention medication, and using harm reduction measures such as drug checking to protect people from dangerous new drugs.

And we can call for changes to the amount of treatment that is available, so that we can help the millions of people the world over who seek help for their alcohol and drug use each year but can't get it. When families get their loved ones to the point that they agree to get help, it can be a slap in the face to be put on a waiting list.

Those who would seek to dismiss reform as 'going soft on drugs', ask yourself: if it was your family member, wouldn't you want a system that supports them to make positive change, instead of one that punishes them and leaves them worse off? Less punitive drug law doesn't mean increased drug use. There is no clear correlation internationally between the 'toughness' of a country's criminal justice approach and levels of drug use. It's more complex than that.

In New York next week, the United Nations is hosting the biggest drug summit in a generation. It looks like member states are finally going to acknowledge that drug use is first and foremost a health, not a criminal issue. That's a position many more people around the world are starting to come around to, to focus policy heavily focussed on how to ensure that those who need support can get it.

But it's important to turn words into action. Real change only comes when families and the wider community demand it. We all need to give a voice to the people who currently don't have one. The health of our families and our countries depends on it.