Comment of ENCOD to the drugs actionplan of the European Union 2009-2012

To the members of the EU Horizontal Drugs Group. To the members of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament

Antwerp, 15 December 2008

Dear Madams, Sirs,

Please find herewith the communication of the European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies (ENCOD) on the new EU Drugs Action Plan for 2009 - 2012 that has been proposed by the European Commission to be approved by the Member States and the European Parliament.

Looking forward to your response, sincerely yours,

On behalf of ENCOD (a pan-European network of more than 150 organisations and individual citizens involved in the phenomenon of drugs)

 André Fürst, Switzerland
 Jan Ludewig, Germany
 Virginia Montañes, Spain
 Joep Oomen, Belgium
 Fredrick Polak, The Netherlands
 Alessandra Viazzi, Italy

(members of the Steering Committee)

INTRODUCTION

We propose the governments of the European Union to adopt a drug action plan that protects the health and safety of the European society in stead of deteriorating them. European citizens need strategies that contribute to a safer environment around the phenomenon of drugs, that allow a more rational use of public funds, that respect human rights take into account the implications for vulnerable populations and especially women, and which don’t threaten the livelihoods of farmers in developing countries.

In short a drug policy that causes benefits to society instead of harms.

This new drugs action plan should include the following priorities:

1. INFORMATION, INVESTIGATION AND EVALUATION

To increase the investigation of and extend the knowledge base concerning forms in which drug consumers can intervene directly in the reduction of risks and harms related to their own consumption of drugs.

To investigate and evaluate the innovative strategies, programmes and interventions in the area of drug policy, including alternative treatments such as the controlled distribution of substances.

To encourage the participation of organisations of drug consumers in the design and development of investigations.

To take into account the gender perspective in investigations and evaluations.

To guarantee the objective analysis of the data produced by investigations, without political manipulations.

To promote international workshops that facilitate the exchange of information and experiences among the different groups of people affected by drugs, according to the complexity of themselves and the substances they use.

Investigate the ties between the industry of legal drugs (alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceutical companies, etc.) and health institutions.

2. COORDINATION

To promote the decentralisation of drug policies to the local and national levels, and coordinate the co-operation between neighbouring countries and regions in order to avoid possible frictions.

To defend in the meetings of the UN the sovereignty of every nation to establish forms of regulation of the drugs market that are socially and culturally acceptable to the local populations involved.

To allow a broader margin to local authorities to experiment with alternative policies and innovative interventions (that may include steps towards the legalisation of certain substances), from which others may learn useful lessons in their search for more just and effective drug policies, based on the respect of human rights and the protection of public health.

To increase and strengthen the participation of civil society in the design of drug policies.

To extend the membership of the EU Civil Society Forum on Drug Policies to all civil society organizations that wish to take part in it.

To formalise the character of the conclusions of this forum as a direct consultation of civil society to the Member States, without the unnecessary interference of the European Commission in the formulation of conclusions and recommendations of this forum.

3. SUPPLY REDUCTION.

To rationalise the supply of drugs and reduce as much as possible the criminality associated with the black market, making use of effective measures.

To facilitate, analyse and evaluate the establishment of legal circuits to control the drugs market with the aim of reducing the presence of the illegal market.

4. DEMAND REDUCTION.

To reduce the problems that are related to drug consumption within a context of illegality; to improve, innovate and support ways to make drug consumers and distributors responsible (among others with initiatives such as the testing of illegal substances)

To facilitate and encourage the establishment of self support groups of drug consumers, and develop intervention methods that are more effective in reducing risks and harms associated to the use of substances.

To strengthen the establishment of self support groups formed by peers (parents, young people, consumers etc.) and support the contributions of this kind of groups.

To limit the intervention of institutions exclusively to non-repressive strategies concerning the problematic use of drugs, which should be understood as the use that is considered problematic by the consumer him/herself.

To establish and respect ethical codes for the publicity and promotion of drugs, legal or illegal.

To give specific attention to vulnerable groups, such as mothers who consume drugs and minors in situations of high risk; to apply prevention policies that are aiming at “safe neighbourhoods” and the reduction of marginalisation and social exclusion that is affecting these vulnerable groups.

5. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.

To respect the sovereignty of third countries and their autonomy to formulate own drug policies. The principle of European policy should always be the protection of health, the respect of human rights and the prevention of conflicts.

To support the proposals of farmer communities in developing countries in order to create legal channels of commercialisation for the derivatives of plants that have been prohibited by the UN Conventions, such as coca leaves in South America, cannabis in Morocco and opium in Afghanistan.

To exchange experiences of good practices between the European Union and third countries, based on the respect of sovereignty and avoiding the imposition of policies that have proved to be a failure.

Action Plan 2009-2012