DRUG USE AND HUMAN RIGHTS: PRIVACY,VULNERABILITY, DISABILITY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS INFRINGEMENTS

Norbert Gilmore

ABSTRACT

Drug use is a complex social phenomenon involving the drugs which are used, the people using them, the context in which they are acquired and used, and the social construction of drug use by society and by governments. It is a popular yet controversial behavior which elicits extreme public opinion. Discourse about drug use is often polarized, emotional, and divisive. This is most evident in the approaches used or proposed to control drug use and the risks and harms associated with its use and control. Despite this, there is almost no discourse about the human rights ofdrug users. This Article addresses this issue by examining the privacy rights of drug users, their vulnerability to use drugs and to be harmed by using them, and the deprivation of opportunities for drug users to exercise their rights. This Article will also analyze disabilities attributable to drug use, as well as situations in which the human rights of drug users are likely to be infringed.

"The way we conceptualize or define a problem dictates the measures we take to solve it."¹

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