Survey
This article is a survey and an analysis of the West European drug liberalism, and a survey and a description of the arguments and proposals which are being used by the drug liberals in Western Europe. A survey of the political support given to the drug liberal arguments and proposals in Western Europe, within EU and the West European countries.
A survey of the organized legalizing movement, how it works, which tactics it is using, and what support it gets. A survey of the support of the drug liberal ideas in the political parties and their youth organisations.
Analysis
In addition to the survey there will be an analysis of the arguments and the development of this topic. The analysis of the arguments will try how valid they are. Many politicians and other decision makers can be moved to take certain, small steps in drug liberal direction, without themselves being aware of being part of a drug liberal development.
To ease the understanding and the importance of these small steps, the drug liberal development will be analysed in a separate chapter. The many, small steps in the development will be described in a clearly, to make it possible to determine on which level the development has come, and in which connections one then has to make decisions.
Some definitions and explanations.
Drug liberalism is here understood as proposals that leads to a freer (more liberal) handling of drugs, all proposals that includes a disarmament of the society's efforts against drugs, and all proposals that leads to a more widespread acceptance of drugs.
The society has put a lot of hindrances and difficulties in the way of the use of drugs, and gives many signals in different connections that one does not accept drugs. All proposals that leads to weakening or disappearance of these signals and efforts, are here defined as drug liberal.
Use or abuse
In this book the terms "use" and "abuse" will both be used. When I write about drug liberals I use these terms the same way as they do. Most drug liberals term the intake of drugs as "use". This I view as one of the most significant signs that they really are drug liberals.
Some drug liberals describe certain forms of use as "abuse". They are then usually referring to needle addicts. When they do that in interviews and descriptions, I use the same terms here. To me all non-medical use is synonymus with "abuse", and I try to be consequent in this.
Neither positive, nor negative
Hopefully I have been able to make it clear that I am strongly opposed to drug liberalism. Nevertheless, I vill consciously try not to put a negative value into the expression.
My intension is to use it as a definition of one of the standpoints in the drug debate. This way I hope to be able to give a correct description of the standpoints and proposals of the drug liberals.
Often persons of the best intentions
From the very start it is important not to speak condecending of all drug liberals. Many drug liberals are working from a true engagement. They want to work against unjustice, and they want to create a better society.
The problem is not the engagement or the honesty behind the proposals, but that the proposals lead to increased drug problems and a weaker society.
European survey
The drug problems and the drug policy is vary a lot in the different West European countries.
The drug problem
The views on what really is the problem about drugs varies in the different countries. In Norway and Sweden the commonm view is that the size of the problem is connected with the size of the total drug consumption.
Many of the drug liberals, however, are convinced that the drugs in themselves do not represent any problem. It is the reactions from the society that creates the problems, e.g. the problem is the criminalizing of the drug traffic. The society's possibility to get a true view and insight into the problems, is dependent on a well developed social service. When the view of the drug problem differs so much in the European countries, part of the reason is that the social service is not equally developed in all the countries.
The size
There are many surveys and publications on the size of the drug problem in all the West European countries. Most of these surveys suffer from lack of a common basic definition, and the fact that the knowledge about the drug use in each country differs a lot. Therefore they are not too accurate.
I choose to present a short survey, built on inquieries on how many persons that have used drugs in the different countries. I do this because I am convinced that the size of the drug problem is related to the total consumption of drugs in each country. The greater the number who have tried, and the more who are using drugs in a country, the greater is the drug problem in that country.
The survey is simple and rough, a closer presentation may come later in other connections. In this connection the survey is important only because it gives a fair basis for the discussion and analysis of the drug policy that comes later.
Problem survey
There is a distinct difference of the extent of the problem in the Nordic countries on one side, and the rest of Western Europe on the other.The drug problem is considerably smaller in the first mentioned countries than in the latter. Surveys on how many who have tried drugs in the Nordic countries, shows that between 2 - 10 % of the population (depending on the age of the respondents) have tried it once or more.(1)
The corresponding figures for the rest of the EU countries and Switerland is considerably higher, between 20 - 25 %. From Holland comes a recent survey that shows that 62 % of the population has tried drugs or is still using it regularly or occasionally. From England comes a report that 30 - 50 % have tried, or uses drugs occasionally.(2,3). Without going especially deep into the statistics, one can see a marked difference in the spreading of drugs in the Nordic countries on one side and the rest of Western Europe on the other.
The drug policy
Totality - not totality
The drug policy has developed in different directions in Western Europe. In certain countries there is a totality policy, which includes a great concentration on preventive measures and measures to decrease demand, combined with a strong effort on treatment and rehabilitation, in addition to repressing measures from the police and other authorities.
Some countries have voluntary organizations with a general following, which help to create a popular resistance against drugs. In other countries there is much less done on the preventive side and on measures against demand, and more on the curative and repressing side. In other countries there is even done very little concerning treatment and rehabilitation. These countries are mainly using only repressive measures.
The legislature
The drug legislature is very different in the different West European countries. As a starting point most of the countries have ratified or at least adapted the UN Drug Conventions of 1961, 1971 and 1988.
There is a marked difference between the countries on what is liable to punishment. In some countries both use, possession, production, sale and smuggling of drugs, even in small quantities, are punished. In other countries are you not punished for use. Other countries have also removed punishment for possessing a small amount "for personal use". Other countries again makes a difference between "hard drugs" and "soft drugs".
There is also a difference in the punishment itself. The countries also have different opinions about what should be considered a drug crime. Most of them regard all the preparats that are listed in the UN conventions as drugs, and have that as a basis for their legislature. Certain countries have added other preparats to the UN list.
Why so different?
This article tries to describe and analyse the different directions, and the different nuances of the drug liberal ideas.
- Which arguments are being used?
- Why are these arguments being used?
- What support do the different directions of ideas gain in the different political or other bodies, countries, parties and other groups?
- At the end the drug liberal ideas are seen in relation to the Norwegian/Swedish totality model.
NOTES
- Report from The Nordic Council on the drug situation 1992.
- Soft Secrets no. 1 1994.
- The EU Parliament, European Drug Prevention Assessment Survey, 1992.