ABSTRACT
While global drug policies have started to make tectonic shifts in past decades, Asia remains home to countries and territories which adopt the most punitive approaches to drug use and supply. Paradoxically, Asia’s lag in the global process of drug liberalisation is also why it can significantly shape the future of international drug policy. This chapter discusses the possibilities for reform towards harm reduction and human rights-oriented drug policies in the region, by debunking three myths common to current drug policy discourse about Asia. First, we claim that Asian countries’ historical paths do not causally determine their current and future reliance on prohibition and criminalisation. Second, we refute the assumption that a criminal justice approach and harm reduction are mutually exclusive and disconnected regulatory strategies of drug control, as there are ongoing attempts towards a genuine and meaningful transition from prohibition to harm reduction in the region. Third, we disagree that human rights approaches have limited normative and practical significance in shaping future Asian drug policy reform.
