Article 12576 of misc.activism.progressive:
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From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: WHO supports liberal Dutch drug policy
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/** justice.usa: 507.0 **/
** Topic: IPS:DRUGS:Dutch policy healthy **
** Written  6:56 pm  Mar 20, 1993 by mphillips in cdp:justice.usa **
From: Margaret B. Phillips <mphillips>
Subject: IPS:DRUGS:Dutch policy healthy

/* Written 10:57 am  Mar 18, 1993 by newsdesk@igc.apc.org in igc:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "DRUGS: Liberal Dutch policy may be " ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1993, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: DRUGS: Liberal Dutch policy may be the best way to combat abuse

by guido de bruin

rotterdam, mar 15 (ips) - the often criticised liberal dutch
policy of combating drug abuse by reducing its harmful effects
rather than trying to stamp out its use, may be the right approach
after all, health officials admitted here monday.

''the harm reduction approach has gradually received acceptance
and respectability,'' said marcus grant of the world health
organisation's programme on substance abuse (psa).

he was among several health officials attending the opening of a
four-day fourth international conference on the reduction of drug
related harm, who stressed the importance of a drugs policy aimed
at harm reduction rather than the illusion of complete eradication
of drug use.

''this implies a realistic and pragmatic approach to the drug
problem,'' said dutch state secretary for welfare, health and
culture, hans simons, referring to the dutch strategy -- often
called the public health approach -- of combating drug trafficking
while providing care for drug users.

''the dutch policy has been the model we follow with great
success, and harm reduction has become an accepted practice in
many countries,'' added pat o'hare, director of the mersey drug
training and information centre in liverpool, britain, and one of
the conference directors.

according to o'hare, the alternative hardline approach which
seeks to eradicate heroine and cocaine use, has been ''a
spectacular failure, a colossal waste of money''. far from
eradicating cocaine use, it has resulted in the spread of cocaine
and crack and the rapid spread of aids, he said.

but buses driving around dutch cities where intravenous drug
users are provided with methadone as a non-addictive substitute
for heroine, and clean needles to prevent the spread of aids, have
not yet become a familiar sight in all european countries.

france is a case in point, a country where, as health minister
bernard kouchner admitted, the public health approach has still
not gained the respectability it needs. ''many still talk about
drug addicts as madmen who must be locked up,'' he said.

''a society without drugs is a myth,'' kouchner said, advocating
the need for methadone and needle exchange programmes. ''...there
is no contradiction between repression of trafficking and care for
addicts.'' (more/ips)

drugs: liberal dutch policy may be the best way to combat abuse(2)

drugs: liberal (2)

''harm reduction is a cruel necessity,'' he added, noting that of
the 150,000 problematic drug users in france, 30 percent are
infected with hiv, the virus that causes aids. according to
kouchner, harm reduction methods would help to bring that
percentage down.

anne coppel of the french health ministry blames the antagonistic
attitude of the interior ministry for hindering the introduction
of the public health approach to drug use in france.

''there is a fight between the health and interior ministries.
while the public health approach is gaining ground, the repression
strategy is also becoming stronger,'' coppel noted. she is one of
those behind monday's launch of the euro-methwork -- a european
information network on methadone programmes.

''we have no methadone programme in france, so we need the
experience of other countries to be able to set one up. the
government has chosen not to see the drug problem in france, it
was afraid to frighten the people and to be looked upon as
advocate of drug use,'' coppel charged.

the dutch drug policy has also come under critical scrutiny
recently -- at home and abroad. in november, french interior
minister paul quiles lashed out at the dutch for their lenient
attitude towards soft drugs.

a report released recently by the united nations international
narcotics control board further charged that dutch drug policy
goes against international conventions.

and at home, dutch justice minister ernst hirsch ballin has in
recent months taken a stronger stance on soft drugs.

in the netherlands, selling soft drugs like cannabis is
prohibited, although its sale is allowed under strict conditions
in so-called coffee shops.

but a raid on 21 coffee shops by the amsterdam police in december
is an indication of a tougher line being taken even if the raids
were carried out on the premise that the coffee shops were not
adhering to regulations.

''soft drug use is a type of behaviour that pushes people a
little closer to the edge of their functioning in society,''
christian-democrat hirsch ballin told the dutch daily 'volkskrant'
recently.

but social-democratic alderman of rotterdam, johan henderson,
thinks the minister's approach is ''too ridiculous for words''.
the shortage of policemen does not even allow the police to keep
hard drug related crime within limits, he argues. ''besides, soft
drugs are absolutely harmless,'' he said.

simons merely counted the blessings of dutch policy with regard
to both soft and hard drugs. he noted that of the 600,000 cannabis
users in holland, only 1,200 are addicts.(more/ips)

drugs: liberal dutch policy may be the best way to combat abuse(3-e)

drugs: liberal (3)

with regard to hard drugs, simons is of the opinion that the
21,000 problematic hard drug users constitute a very low
percentage of the dutch population of 15 million.

furthermore, he said the number of drug-related deaths remains
relatively low (74 in 1991); that dutch drug users commit less
property crime than drug users in other countries; that aid
workers are able to reach up to 80 percent of drug addicts; and
that three in every four heroine users are no longer intravenous
users, reducing the risk of hiv infection.

henderson noted that the u.s. city of baltimore, which has about
as many inhabitants as rotterdam, harbours 35,000 hard drug users,
whereas rotterdam has only 3,500. ''baltimore,'' he said, is very
interested in your approach.''(end/ips/dn/gdb/cpg/93)

** End of text from cdp:justice.usa **