Former presidents and world leaders are calling for personal drug use to be decriminalised.

The Global Commission on Drug Policy says the war on drugs has not worked, and the governments would be much better placed to help if they regulated all drugs, rather than condemn particular ones.

Even the British Medical Journal (BMJ) is on board, publishing reports that say prohibition laws, colloquially known as the “war on drugs”, cost at least US$100 billion annually but have failed to curb either supply or demand, reduce addiction, minimise harm, cut violence, and reduce profits for organised crime.

In fact, drug use has grown substantially and continually worldwide - exacting a tragic toll on individuals and societies.

Surveys have shown that in 2014, a quarter of a billion adults - one in 20 worldwide – reported having taken an illegal drug such as cannabis, cocaine, or heroin.

Disturbingly, a quarter of 15 year olds in the UK report taking illegal preparations of unknown quality and potency.

At a UN general assembly in April, many countries asked for health and human right to be prioritised over punitive responses.

Some have already removed criminal penalties for personal drug possession, for instance, Portugal replaced criminal sanctions for drug use with civil penalties and health interventions 15 years ago.

The UK’s new Psychoactive Substances Act criminalises the supply but not use of synthetic drugs, while some US states like California have legal cannabis markets, and the Netherlands has tolerated regulated cannabis sales for decades.

Ruth Dreifuss, former President of Switzerland and chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, says the need for more effective and humane drug policies is more urgent now than ever.

She argues for a pragmatic approach to drug policy reform, starting with the recognition that the idealised notion of a “society without drugs” is an unattainable fantasy.

Reforms must then prioritise issues of public health, social integration, and security, while strictly respecting human rights and due judicial process, she says.

In its upcoming report, the Global Commission calls for governments to regulate all illicit drugs, which is says would curb a massive revenue stream for organised crime, worth an estimated US$320 billion.

The authorities say cannabis must be rescheduled for medical use, and that heroin assisted treatment policies should be reviewed. These moves have already shown positive results in Switzerland, such as a decline in drug use and crime, and improvements in health and rehabilitation.

They also call for an end to criminal sanctions for the personal possession and use of all drugs.

The BMJ has published three articles on the matter this week – observational research, analytical research, and a large Editorial/Opinion piece.