Session 6 - Regulation & Legislation
c) For a reasonable drug policy
Judith Laws
Droleg Scweiz, Postfach 1304, Zurich, 3154, Switzerland. Phone no: +41 – 31 7388666
E-mail: laws@bluewin.ch
‘Droleg Schweiz’ is a Swiss organisation founded in 1991 by doctors, social workers and members of the Liberal Party. The first harm reduction measures were carried out in a small park. They provided a needle exchange, ambulances, and treatment rooms for homeless addicts, but people were still dying in the streets. The problem could only be solved with greater trust, and the end of prohibition. Experience has shown that prohibition gives rise to problems. For example, the prohibition of alcohol in America generated so much Mafia crime and violence that in the end the government had to legalise alcohol. The biggest problem in nightclubs is still alcohol-related damage.In Switzerland you cannot change the law by referendum but if you get 100,000 people to sign a petition, you can change the text of the constitutional vote. The new text of the constitution is a basis for laws.
It was discussed whether it should be possible to have access to hard drugs in a medical or non-medical way and a democratic vote was held. Most people wanted non-medical access; the reason being that people are taking drugs for fun and a doctor will only prescribe drugs as a treatment for illness.
A legislation model was worked out. A scheme was devised whereby people could carry a card which had their name on, and with this they could get small doses of drugs from a drug advice centre without having to go to a doctor, whereas addicted persons have to go to the doctor. This dialogue with the user about possible risks is the beginning point for harm reduction; intervention at this point is not usually possible.
People tend to take hard drugs if they have problems. The drugs become such a problem that they become a person’s life. In Switzerland people who are really addicted can get their heroin on prescription without the stress of buying it illegally. This allows them to think about a normal life and the chance of cutting down the doses they take, and even about getting rid of drugs. Each person can win the war against drugs in his life but society is never going to win this war. We cannot erase drugs; human beings have consumed them for centuries. Many psychoactive substances have a cultural background.
There is a lot of injustice in repressive drug policy, for example, Ecstasy produced in laboratories may not be made carefully, so drug testing is important in order to know what pills actually contain. Only one chemist is required to do it. Coca is a plant traditionally grown by many farmers in South America for hundreds of years and is a holy plant with cultural significance. However, because its refined form, Cocaine is illegal, the plant faces much accusation. The coca plant has such an important place in South American culture that it is not possible to erase it without deeply damaging the traditions.
The ‘war on drugs’ in Colombia is unjust because the aim is to stop people in the first world taking refined cocaine, which causes many problems; the result for Columbia is a climate of violence which hinders positive development. For every three tons of cocaine recovered by police, one ton still gets consumed. This is taken for fun but people get killed to produce it and this is a great injustice. Most drug-plant producing countries are poor countries. If people are poor, it is easier to recruit them for illegal organisations.
An end to prohibition would pose many other problems, which would have to be dealt with differently. Policies of harm reduction should be employed to protect our youth in clubs, but also world-wide to protect countries and their traditions. If drugs were to be legally regulated, some countries would have the possibility of improving their income. If people had controlled access to limited amounts of drugs, it would be easier to reach them with information about self-responsible behaviour.
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