THE SITUATION IN BULGARIA

THE BENEFITS FROM HARM REDUCTION
 THE BENEFITS FROM -HARM REDUCTION FOR DU:
 THE BENEFITS FROM -HARM REDUCTION FOR SOCIETY:

CHEAPER THAN ANY OTHER DRUG POLICY AND THE ONLY ONE THAT LEADS TO REAL POSITIVE RESULTS
 Incarceration of DU is 10 times more expensive than the methadone treatment;
 Youngsters are IN THE SOCIETY, instead of being provided BY THE SOCIETY;
 Maintaining programs decrease the rates of drug use and the number of drug users;
 Maintaining treatments substantially reduce the rates of injecting drug use and consequently (together with the NEP) - the spread of blood-born diseases, including Hep. C and HIV / AIDS;
 Substantially decreases the drug related crimes;
 Strikes a serious economic blow over the organized crime, and consequently decreases the corruption at highest political levels;

THE CURRENT SITUATION IN THE FIELD OF DRUGS IN BULGARIA

LEGISLATION

 Less than a month ago the Bulgarian law on drugs was finally changed. It lead to:
— Almost epidemiological spread of HIV among DU community and especially among the DU from the Roma minority;
— Decreased substantially the effectiveness of the NEP, as the DU went deep underground
— Tremendous increase of the corruption in the police, the investigation, and the court, which became obvious even for the general public;
— Increase in the prisons’ population;
— Thousands of cases against youngsters, arrested and charged with a possession of a narcotic substance that costs less than an EUR 1, thousands of young ruined lives and millions to the tax payers;

AT THE SAME TIME NEITHER OF THE AIMED GOALS WAS UNDOUBTEDLY ACHIEVED!

 The newly enacted law on drugs:

What provides:

 for possession for personal use 0-5 years imprisonment, and / or probation, and / or a fine;

Main flaws:

 again the only option is a criminal trial instead of an administrative violation;
 there are neither specified quantities, no differentiation of the drugs. Everything is measured by its street price the regulations are not clear enough;

NATIONAL POLICY

 National strategy on drugs: very expensive, well designed, but unrealistic, inapplicable, and obviously never meant to be implemented.
 The medical health care system: too centralized, too bureaucratic, and above all - the health insurances do not cover neither drug related health problem.
 Social and health governmental programs for ex DU or people on maintaining treatments:

THERE ARE NOT ANY HARM REDUCTION PROGRAMS

 TREATMENT PROGRAMS:
— free state programs: 3 maintaining programs in 3 towns with 550 slots altogether, one inpatient clinic with 20 beds for more than 50,000 problematic injecting heroin users’ (NCA’s data):
 COMPLETELY INSUFFICIENT
— private treatment programs and practices - financially unaffordable for the average Bulgarian families. No real competition, no governmental agency to control their prices:
 NOT ENOUGH EFFICIENT

SERVICE PROVIDING PROGRAMS

 the few NGOs that introduced harm reduction in Bulgaria around a decade ago - they still work most efficiently;
 the artificially created NGOs, by people, close to the Ministry of Health officials, after the big donors had entered Bulgaria - most of these programs need either reorganizing, or to be closed in favor of the efficiently working once.

OUR MAIN CONCERNS

 The corruption at middle and higher levels;
 There is neither a social agency, nor a public body, which to control the work of the institutions. Only the public control could increase the efficiency of their work but the organizing of such a body / coalition has been hardened and prevented by any legal means;
 No real competition in the private therapeutic programs and practices;
 There neither a governmental, nor a public agency, which to control the prices in the private therapeutic programs and practices;
 The officials often refuse information to NGOs that are not under their protection, or give one that is out-of-date;
 The officials often defend somebody’s personal interests, as well as their own;
 Much more slots in the financially affordable and the free treatment programs are desperately needed;
 Service providing programs do not take DU in their teams.

H O P E - S O F I A

 Hope-Sofia is a 100% non-profit organization and the only working drug users’ organization in Bulgaria - we survive through donors;
 Hope-Sofia was registered in January, 2004 as a foundation in public disposal, while DU activism in Bulgaria started at first in 2000.

WHAT WE DO:
 in 3 words: advocacy, information, education-that eventually would result in: acceptance, better self-esteem, (re-)socialization.

T H A N K Y O U!

Hope-Sofia