User:Dala11a/Sandbox

--Dala11a/Sandbox

Drug policy focus on the difference between different anti-drug policies
 * what is possible,
 * how is carried out, what methods are used and in what mix
 * why is it done, what is the theory about addiction behind the anti-drug policy

This page was started with the goal that it it can have a broader view than for example Prohibition (drugs) ,War on drugs, Cannabis(drug) or Legal history of marijuana in the United States or articles about the Drug policy in a specific country. It is to be hoped that each section can give av presentation of each policy.

A different view on the War on Drugs - Nils Bejerot
The founder of the present Swedish anti drug strategy, professor Nils Bejerot (1921-1988) argued that a war against illegal drugs could not be won by focusing only on advanced technology and actions against organized crime. . He argued that drug use and drug addiction is a learned behavior. When the person has become an addict will the development of this artificial implemented drive not be affected by removal of the initiating factors. . Bejerot often compared the habit of using recreational drugs with an epidemic disease. . One commonly used method to manage an epidemic disease is to identify the carriers, isolate them and treat them under controlled circumstances. Bejerot regretted that some of the US Judges and others in the US., like professor Alfred R. Lindesmith, in the 1960s had lost confidence on restrictive drug laws and forgotten the experiences from restrictive laws in the struggle against illegal use of opium; the number of addicts declined to one tenth of its former level between 1914 (the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act) and the 1940s. He argued early that a policy with liberal drug laws and permissive ideology in relation to the use of drugs like neglecting smaller amounts for personal use, will open the doors for a much larger epidemic outbreak of recreational drugs to a level not acceptable for the government. Then the society will rebound with much more restrictive laws (compare with the War on drugs). “A country can afford liberal narcotics laws as long as it has no widespread epidemic use of narcotics”. The Swedish system combines very restrictive drug laws with very few citizens per capita imprisoned compared with the US, only about a tenth (about 1 in 1400). Swedish laws concerning cannabis and other recreational drugs are arguably even more restrictive than in the US, however criminal punishment focuses more on drug dealing and less on drug addiction, which is treated as a health problem, a risk for spread to new users and a smaller crime. . Maximum penalty for use is 6 months. Maximum penalty for drug sales is 10 years in prison (14 years in extreme cases). Drug dealing to friends is not accepted, the minimum penalty is 6 months in prison. Cannabis is not seen as a soft or harmless drug. A drug test by the police showing that you have used cannabis in the last week is a cogent evidence of a crime. Zero tolerance for illegal drugs is an official goal. The punishment for only one single use will probably be a fine but it will also result in a report to other local authorities and probably some kind of follow up by other local authorities than the police. There is no tolerance for smaller amounts of illegal drugs for personal use, rich or famous is no excuse. The follow up is very important. Suspected addicts are offered some kind of free drug treatment program, a right supported by law. For citizens with repeated offenses or young users it can be mandatory to cooperate. The system can be seen as a cousin to drug courts in the USA. The system with follow up of other authorities than the police has a long tradition with roots in the temperance movement in the beginning of of 20th century. Support to families and parents and cooperation with different voluntary organizations is important. 50% of the prisoners have used illegal drugs at least once the year before the crime, serving for drug offenses is common but their number is a lot lower than in US. Sweden has no three strike law. Many prisons have drug free departments and drug treatment program inspired by cognitive therapy. Random drug tests are very frequent in prisons. The basic idea is that the habit of using drugs often was introduced by friends or people well known to drug user and it is effective to interfere at a very early stage before the citizen has become an addict of any kind of drug or alcohol or introduced more people in the habit of using drugs; this will also lower the general crime level. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reports that Sweden has one of the lowest drug usage rates in the Western world, and attributes this to a drug policy that invests heavily in prevention and treatment, as well as strict law enforcement