What is the relationship of drug addiction to human rights?

  • The loss of inhibition characteristic of drug use, by definition, erodes human dignity.
  • Addiction deprives users of the right to life, liberty and security, especially the security of the families and loved ones of the addicted.
  • The right to a reasonable standard of living, health and quality of life is compromised by drug use because of the addictive nature of drugs and the user’s compulsion to attain them regardless of the costs to those around him or her.
  • We have an ethical responsibility not to harm ourselves or others – a right inherently trampled by the physical and mental damages of drug use.
  • The world’s children have the right to be born drug free and to grow up in drug free homes.
  • In the recovery process, drug addicts have the right to the kind of treatment that leads them toward abstinence rather than a continuation of their addiction.