Today in Italy, 42.26% of all inmates are imprisoned for drug-related offenses. On the occasion of the International Day Against Drugs Abuses, June 26, the White Book on Drugs, From American Seed to Italian Desert was made public at a presentation in Rome. Legislation based on repression, followed for too many years, has failed in Italy and other countries: with 29.5 million adults dealing with drug-related issues around the world, repression can no longer be the answer, and policies based on harm reduction are urgently needed.