Possessing Drugs, Possessing Rights: Harm Reduction and Drug Policy Reform in Argentina

2021 ◽  
pp. 009145092110340
Author(s):  
Shana Harris
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Drug Policy ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
People Who Use Drugs ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Drug Law ◽  
National Drug ◽  
Drug Traffickers ◽  
Drug Policy Reform

Argentina’s national drug law, Law 23.737, has been in effect since 1989. Based on prohibitionist drug policy, this law was intended to severely punish drug traffickers and protect the public from drug use-related health concerns. However, it has failed to achieve these goals, and instead targets people who use drugs (PWUD) and brands them “criminals.” In response, the Argentine government announced its intent to reform Law 23.737 in 2008, sparking widespread debate among health, legal, and social service professionals. This article discusses this debate from the perspective of harm reductionists, those who work to reduce the negative effects of drug use rather than eliminate drug use or ensure abstinence. Drawing on archival research and 16 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Argentina, this article examines the positionality of harm reductionists in this drug policy reform, particularly the controversial proposal to decriminalize drug possession for personal use. Demonstrating their contention that Argentina’s legal apparatus is a major contributor to PWUD’s discrimination, stigmatization, and isolation from health and social services, I argue that challenging these problems through policy engagement allows Argentine harm reductionists to draw attention to the broader question of PWUD’s rights and to ultimately recast PWUD as rights-bearing citizens.

The misuse of drugs act – a user perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mat Southwell
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Control ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Drug User ◽  
Drug Policy ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
People Who Use Drugs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Drug Policy Reform

Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate the ways in which the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) militates against the interests and situations of people who use drugs. The author reflects on the author’s journey as a drug user, drugs workers and drug user organiser to critique the MDA. The author describes the impact of the MDA on the author’s early experimentation with substances and highlights the limitations of simplistic drugs prevention. The author describes how the MDA maximises drug-related risks and undermines the creation of healthy cultural norms and community learning among people who use drugs. The author talks about the author’s work as a drugs practitioner and mourns the vandalism of the UK’s harm reduction and drug treatment system. This paper describes the opportunity to use drug policy reform as a progressive electoral agenda to begin the journey towards racial and social justice. This paper calls for the rejection of the Big Drugs Lie and the repeal of the failed MDA. Design/methodology/approach Personal reflection based on experience as drug user, drugs worker and drug user organiser. Findings Successive UK Governments have used the MDA as a tool of social control and racial discrimination. The Big Drugs Lie undermines science-based and rights-compliant drug policy and drug services and criminalises and puts young people at risk. There is the potential to build a progressive political alliance to remove the impediment of the MDA and use drug policy reform as tools for racial and social justice. Practical implications The MDA maximises the harms faced by people who use drugs, stokes stigma and discrimination and has undermined the quality of drug services. The MDA needs to be exposed and challenged as a tool for social control and racial discrimination. Delivering drug policy reform as a progressive electoral strategy could maximise its potential to improve social and racial justice. Originality/value This paper represents the view of people who use drugs by a drug user, a view which is seldom expressed in the length and level of argument shown here.

scholarly journals National drug policy reform for noncommunicable diseases in low-resource countries: an example from Bangladesh

2016 ◽  
Vol 95 (5) ◽  
pp. 382-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheikh Mohammed Shariful Islam ◽  
Md Tauhidul Islam ◽  
Anwar Islam ◽  
Anthony Rodgers ◽  
Clara K Chow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Policy ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
Noncommunicable Diseases ◽  
Low Resource ◽  
National Drug ◽  
National Drug Policy ◽  
Drug Policy Reform

scholarly journals Decriminalisation of Drug Use – The Outlook for Reform in Norway

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Hans Fredrik Marthinussen
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Drug Policy ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Majority Group ◽  
Drug Policy Reform

The article gives an overview on the outlook for a Norwegian drug policy reform. It discusses whether a statement by a majority group in the Parliament might lead to full decriminalisation of drug use and possession of small quantities for own use. It also looks at the moral and sociological background for the drive for a change of the current legal regulation of drug use.

scholarly journals ‘We Realised We Needed a New Approach’: Government and Law enforcement Perspectives on the Implementation and Future of the Drug Decriminalisation Policy in Vietnam

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hai Thanh Luong ◽  
Luc Trong Hoang ◽  
Toan Quang Le ◽  
Tuan Anh Hoang ◽  
Mai Thanh Vu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Harm Reduction ◽  
Drug Policy ◽  
Drug Control ◽  
People Who Use Drugs ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Drug Law ◽  
Drug Law Enforcement ◽  
Law Enforcement Officials

Abstract Background In 2009, Vietnam officially decriminalized drug use through amendments to the criminal law. The amendments specifically outlined that drug use would be seen as an administrative sanction, but not a criminal offence. This legal transition has not been without its implementation challenges and police particularly are have struggled to balance their role between drug law enforcement and decriminalisation. Despite being a health-orientated drug policy amendment, in practice it has meant that police can send suspected drug users to compulsory treatment centres without judicial oversight and people who use drugs continue to face challenges in their interface with law enforcement which can negatively impact access to harm reduction and community-based treatment programs. This paper explores the perspectives of policy makers and law enforcement officials in Vietnam and provides some insights and considerations into how the amended law was implemented and how it could be made more effective in improving both health and safety for all people in Vietnam. Methods To understand government and policing perspective on amended changes to the Criminal Code in 2009 and its subsequent implementation, this mixed methods research combined content analysis of a number of core legislations in terms of drug control policies in Vietnam with perspectives and insights from 14 key informant interviews from people representing a range of relevant Vietnamese Government (n=10) and non-government agencies (n=4). Results While most interviewees recognised that decriminalizing drug use in Vietnam was designed as a a progressive and health-oriented drug policy, many participants acknowledged the ongoing disconnect between the health intent of the policy and the police-led oversight of its implementation in the community. Part of this disconnect was explained by the lack of training and clear protocol that would enhance the police in their ability to contribute to the health intent of the policy rather than continue to view drug use through a drug law enforcement only lens. A current pilot initiative by Hanoi’s People Committee to implement a model of assisted referral for people who use drugs to community-based health, social and legal support may provide an example of how to situate decriminalisation policy within a broader context of harm reduction interventions through the design and trial of clear protocols for how law enforcement agencies can actively engage and support the process of diversion into harm reduction and community-based treatment. Conclusions Since the inception of the amended law there has been very little review and analyses of its implementation progress and its challenges. This is the first study to review and assess the progress of decriminalizing drug use since the policy intervention in 2009 with a specific focus on the perceptions of the policy for Vietnam’s drug control in policing. It discusses insights and considerations from government, law enforcement officials and civil society organisations to develop a deeper understanding of how harm reduction interventions – including decriminalisation – can co-exist within a broader and entrenched drug control strategy in Vietnam.

scholarly journals Shadow Committees: On “Drug User Voice,” Representation, and Mobilization in a Norwegian Drug Policy Reform

2021 ◽  
pp. 009145092110037
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Bartoszko
Keyword(s):  
Drug User ◽  
Drug Policy ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Illegal Drug Use ◽  
Conservative Policy ◽  
Political Landscapes ◽  
Alternative Organization ◽  
Drug Policy Reform

Until recently, Norway remained immovable on its conservative policy that illegal drug use is a crime. In 2018, the Health Minister appointed an inquiry commission to design a less restrictive drug policy, which included two “drug user representatives.” But the Minister’s choices for these posts met massive dissatisfaction from some drug users who contended that the representatives “are not real drug users” and do not “speak for” nor “act on the behalf” of their experiences and opinions. They mobilized to establish an alternative organization, the Shadow Committee, to propose a drug policy reform shaped by “the user voices” and “not polluted by political compromises.” Yet, while performing a labor of difference, this committee, too, became caught in conflicting landscapes of representation with some members contesting strategic solidarity. Based on this case, and an ethnographic fieldwork among the protesters, this article investigates the concept of representation as understood, contested and applied by “drug users.” Exploring how they relate to “user voices” and question the authenticity of some of “user representatives,” I highlight how changing political landscapes affect understandings of representation and shape political, individual and collective forms of involvement. I draw on Pitkin’s political philosophy and apply the classical categorization of political representation to suggest reconsidering the governing assumptions regarding “user representatives” that increasingly inform drug and treatment policies in Norway. I ask if the concept of representation itself may be a barrier to meaningful involvement.

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