Policy forum

This editorial will contend that the execution of people convicted of drug trafficking and other drug-related offences is a penalty that should be abolished, as it is both ineffective as a policy measure and abhorrent in terms of human rights violation (Lines, 2007). That conclusion will be offered after due examination of contrary arguments, and with respectful acknowledgement of the fact that different cultures have different beliefs as to what constitutes justice. The editorial will go on to argue that the international addictions science community has a responsibility to support the abolitionist cause - silence cannot be an appropriate response in the face of such continued and irrational judicial killings. © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited