The Global Drug War: Fueling Lack of Access to Essential Medicines

Millions of people around the world are needlessly dying in pain because of an imbalanced approach to drug policy. Five-and-a-half billion people live in countries with inadequate access to medicines for pain relief. This means that millions of people are suffering from avoidable pain – including 5.5 million terminal cancer patients, one million people with end-stage AIDS, 800,000 victims of accidents and violence, millions of women in labor, and millions more recovering from surgery.