We're getting our asses kicked on drug policy...BY IRAN??

Iran has adapted to failed drug policies better than the United States. Let that sink in.

Iranian and American drug histories have had similar twists and turns. Both have waged draconian wars on drugs, both have had tremendously high rates of incarceration, both have relentlessly cracked down on drug dealers, but only one is adapting to modern realities. 

The Iranians have a long and complicated history with drugs. From the 1800s to the 1979 revolution, Iran (known through some of this as Persia) has been a top exporter of opium. The land of modern day Iran had a horrible famine that killed 1.5 million people, and lasted from 1970-1972, because opium cultivation was so popular that farmers grew it instead of wheat! Iran, unbeknownst to many, was also a country along with Western nations that worked to import its opium to China in the early 20th century. 

In 1982, the state seized control over opium production and robustly expanded their opium exports. It is worth noting that in addition to being a major supplier of illegal opium, Iran was also responsible in the mid 1900s for roughly 25% of all legal opium in prescription medications world-wide. The major exporter that they were, Iran began to see the devastating effects of opium addiction: in the 1950s, 1.5 out of every 20 Iranians was addicted to drugs. 

Tough Drug Laws Didn’t Work

Iran’s initial response to the rise in alarm about drug use was a ban on the cultivation of opium, which devastated the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of poppy farmers. Criminalization rose drastically, and harsh prison sentences were leveraged for minor possession (ironically, even for poppyseeds on bread). 

With the ban on opium the need did not disappear. As seen in many parts of the world when drugs are banned, violent competition to fill the market space arises; Afghanistan rose to fill the void, and even death sentences imposed on Afghani smugglers was not enough to deter major amounts of Opium smuggling. In 1969, the failures of the hard-on-drug policies led to an abandonment of the policies in favor of the old system of state-sponsored monopoly. They handed out “cards” for people who were dependent on the drug, so that they could safely acquire opium from the state. 

After the Iranian revolution in 1979, drugs were once again vilified and banned. Once again incarceration rates rose, as did executions; once again turning to foreign markets from countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan. Iran, based on their harsh sentences and severe crackdown on drugs, provides ample examples for why draconian drug policy does not work. They took note, however, and have shifted to more progressive practices. 

Progressive Drug Policies in Iran

In 2018 Iran heavily raised the level of drugs it would require to lead to a death sentence, potentially rescuing thousands of inmates from execution. 

In response to the “failure of the war on drugs,” Iran today boasts progressive drug policies that are intended to work with and mitigate drug addiction. It is oxy-moronic from a western perspective that Iran would out-progressive a Western country like the United States; but they are doing it, and we should take note. 

Iran invokes “harm reduction” as a primary method for managing drug use today, involving the following practices: 

• Providing clean needles to addicts (even those in prison).

• Distribution of contraceptives to sex workers.

• Massive distribution of methadone, one of the most effective treatments for heroin addiction.

It is shocking to consider that even a country considered to be widely viewed as intensely conservative is prioritizing harm reduction, safe sex, and working to mitigate drug addiction. It makes us wonder what else we get wrong when we demonize other countries so broadly in our news media. Unlike in the United States, Iran has access to methadone in just about every village, town, and city; they provide access to rehabilitation, and offer healthcare to addicts on the street. Iran’s drug policy today is, by multiple measures, far more progressive than the United States.