Controlling substances: Voz Faragher on a call for decriminalisation

‘We feel strongly that the present drug policy causes harm.’

A long, long time ago a Friend from Cornwall brought a concern to his Local Meeting. This concern was accepted by the Area Meeting and then was tested at Meeting for Sufferings, where unity was elusive. Cornwall Area Meeting continues to carry the concern for the decriminalisation of the possession of all drugs for personal use. The concern is founded in the context of the harm that the prohibition of drugs creates. Prohibition exacerbates the social exclusion of vulnerable individuals. It creates barriers to drug treatment and support, and it presents a large-scale contemporary problem that affects the lives of whole communities locally, nationally and globally. It also ensures that the production and supply of drugs is in the hands of organised crime, and so is associated with other areas of criminal activity such as human trafficking, the arms trade, prostitution, gambling, pornography and money laundering. In the UK there have been 3,427 drug related deaths so far this year.

In a radical move, the Scottish government has recently published a new report, A Caring, Compassionate and Human Rights Informed Drug Policy for Scotland, which advocates for a shift from a criminal justice model to a public health-based approach. The government has agreed to decriminalise consumption rooms where drug users can inject drugs in a safe and supervised environment. This is accepted as one element on a spectrum of services and resources to reduce the very large numbers of drug-related deaths in Scotland. The consumption rooms provide a compassionate, non-judgemental and supportive environment. Within such an environment, people are more likely to engage with staff and access services. The consumption rooms are a significant component of an overall aspirational risk reduction strategy, to improve the health and social care of people using drugs problematically. The focus of a risk reduction strategy is to gain the trust of service users, and to provide a credible source of information in order to keep people safe. Good generic support includes needle exchange, improved access to treatment, substitution prescribing, drug safety checking, advice and information, generic health advice, and access to housing and social care. An important part of the strategy is the decriminalisation of the possession of all drugs.

The aspiration for decriminalisation draws on the model used in Portugal, where in 2001 a paradigm shift towards the health and wellbeing of the drug user was implemented. The administration of drug use was moved into the healthcare sphere, with a consistent and coherent policy. A decriminalisation approach, coupled with investment, and resourcing of harm reduction and treatment services, has had a positive impact on both individual drug users and society as a whole. The policy drew upon an evidence base that showed the effectiveness of a harm reduction approach, and the disadvantages of a system that criminalises drug users. The implementation of a health-based system included a change of culture and belief as well as a change of policy.

The outcomes in Portugal were rigorously monitored by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Decriminalisation had little or no impact upon prevalence, which has fluctuated in Portugal since 2001 in common with the rest of Europe. One study of the evidence found: reduced illicit drug use among problematic drug users and adolescents; an increased uptake of drug treatment; and a reduction in opiate-related deaths and infectious diseases. 

Alex Stevens, a professor in Criminal Justice and former government advisor, is clear on the need ‘to be looking beyond prevalence and redefine “the drug problem” as more than just how many people use drugs. Measuring the effectiveness of drug policy requires a far broader range of indicators that include public health, crime, civil rights, community safety, international development and conflict. In Portugal drug related deaths have fallen, HIV, AIDS, Hep C, Hep B and TB rates have fallen. Young people (or any person) are not criminalised or stigmatised or imprisoned for the recreational use of any drug. Every parent may worry about their child taking drugs but evidence from Portugal and elsewhere shows that decriminalisation does not increase the risk of them taking drugs. It does, however, decrease the risk of harm if they do.’

A less tangible benefit is that drug use became less stigmatised. João Goulão, the architect of Portugal’s decriminalisation policy, says that, ‘The biggest effect has been to allow the stigma of drug addiction to fall, to let people speak clearly and to pursue professional help without fear.’

Quakers in Criminal Justice met in February 2019 to discuss, learn and discern matters relating to drug policy. The subject of the conference was the decriminalisation of the possession of drug use. Invited speakers included Alex Stevens and Danny Kushlick from the Transform Drug Policy Foundation. The conference concluded with the following minute:

‘We feel strongly that the present drug policy causes harm as it is based on the criminalisation of people who use illegal drugs. We learnt that criminalisation is ineffective in reducing illegal drug use and that systems to control drugs make no impact upon prevalence.

‘We understand that doing nothing is to condone the status quo and the harm caused by the current policy. Quakers in Criminal Justice understand that legal regulation will provide a greater protection to people who use drugs. We need a health-based system which encompasses harm reduction, social care and community resilience.

‘We consider that drug problems must be addressed alongside the problems caused by an unjust and unequal society. We believe it would be beneficial to have a regulated and licensed supply of all drugs. Public education is essential to convey that legal regulation would safeguard people who use drugs and the wider society as a whole – preventing deaths, drug related crime and reducing the involvement of organised crime.

‘We appreciate the deepening of this subject and we encourage Friends to explore how we can influence public opinion and political decision making. Friends can be in touch with the Quaker Decriminalisation Network about actions that can be taken.

‘This is a moral issue and Friends can be a force for change. We call upon Quakers in Britain to gain clarity on how to end the “war on drugs”.’

The Quakers in Criminal Justice conference was inspirational and uplifting. We are now once more uplifted by the news from Scotland. We hope for the transition to a compassionate and humane UK drugs policy which is founded in truth, justice and equality.

---

Comments

Please login to add a comment