Dear Decision-makers,
THE TIME OF PEOPLE HAS COME!
In
the name of People Who Use Drugs in Portugal (and in the name of us
all), we would like to contribute to the public debate on drugs, namely
during this important moment: the UNGASS on drugs. Therefore, we believe
that the knowledge and experiences from PWUD and their organisations
should be taken into account in public debates and decision-making
processes.
CASO
(Consumers Associated Survive Organised) is a non-profit organisation
created in 2007 and formally established in 2010; it is an association
that advocates for/promotes healthcare, rights and dignity of People Who
Uses Drugs. It is the first and only association in Portugal that is
led by drugs users and former drug users. We’ve been working at local,
national and international level and our work has been focused in
contributing with concrete information on the realities of drug users
and drug phenomena, as well as with empirical knowledge to complement
academic data, thus helping to improve decision-making.
We
believe that the 3 international conventions that configure
prohibitionism (the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs [as amended
by the 1972 Protocol]; the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances
and the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances) have caused Humankind more harm than good. This
legislative framework has lost its ability to operate in our realities
in a comprehensive and humanistic way. Therefore, we urge you to promote
a thorough reform of the prohibitionism system.
Prohibiting
the use of Psychoactive Substances has never stopped Humankind from
using them throughout recorded history. The “War on Drugs” and the
“Drug-Free Societies” were two big campaigns, supported by moralistic
and repressive ideologies, that proved to be incapable of dealing with
Drug Phenomena. Beneath a global cover of kindness, these campaigns
ended up being against People Who Uses Drugs, their families and
friends. These campaigns associated drug users with stereotypes and
figures of “evil”, thus creating social representations that highly
stigmatise People Who Use Drugs. “Yellow Plague, Chinese and opium”;
“Black Devil, cocaine and black people”; “Killer Weed” (a weed that
kills the youngsters); “Drugs, Madness, Death” (Portugal) and “The
Scourge of Liamba” are some examples of campaigns that generated moral
panic and feelings of insecurity in society. To a certain degree, these
evil figures and the feelings of insecurity were manipulated and used in
political matters, namely in security and healthcare affairs. Scarce
resources were made available for the psychosocial support of People Who
Use Drugs, their families and friends; and the resources that were
actually made available were allocated to reduce drug offer. The
majority of funding goes to policies based on moralistic and repressive
ideologies, leaving few “leftovers” to the individuals and their
specific needs: healthcare, justice, housing, job and education. The
self-determination, autonomy, self-knowledge and empowerment for full
citizenship are, therefore, compromised in this perpetuating of
unbalanced power relationships. This lack of balance conveys the
negative message that people are incapable of self-organising, but it
also hinders any genuine therapeutic relationship.
Despite
all these campaigns, people continue to use psychoactive substances;
there are now more users, more diverse patterns of use and more
psychoactive substances available. In spite of all the iatrogenic
effects (like high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis among People Who
Uses Drugs), we can’t catch a glimpse of the promises of a “Drug Free
World”. In other words, these actions did not achieve their own goals;
they were not flexible enough to deal with reality changes and they were
a fertile soil to build a gigantic business. Also, they encouraged the
development of a gigantic set of devices to manage drug phenomena in
healthcare, justice, security, education, child protection, etc.;
however, the drug phenomena have resisted to this model and continue
questioning our models and challenging societies, searching for other
solutions.
Portugal
was a pioneer in moving the focus from crime to healthcare solutions;
in 2000/2001, the country introduced in a creative and intelligent set
of laws that decriminalised the use or possession of any illegal
psychoactive substance. These laws, supported by a National Strategy and
Plan, were a positive step to protect the health and rights of People
Who Use Drugs. In spite of its positive impact, some users ended up
trafficking drugs, in order to support their own addiction; this
situation led to violent actions and crime. The majority of users don’t
know for sure what they’re using and they have to subject themselves to
criminal and highly violent environments (both physically and
psychologically). Adding to all this, the Government promotes
administrative sanctions and refers users to treatment, even if they are
recreational users. The bottom line is that the global moral censorship
and ideas like abstinence and cure are still dominant.
In
addition to this issue, the necessary scale-up and consolidation of
projects and services based on Human Rights, Public Health and
Multi-Knowledge approaches (like Harm Reduction, Outreach Work, Peer
Work and Involvement), has fallen short.
As
for the meaningful involvement of People Who Use Drugs, we feel that
the Portuguese Model is moving in the right direction, but there’s still
a long way to go. For example, we feel that civil society organisations
should have been consulted and invited to participate in the
preparation for the Portuguese participation in the UNGASS on drugs, for
this is a central theme for our community.
We
recognise many qualities to the Portuguese Model of Decriminalisation,
including its focus on healthcare and not on punishment, the promotion
of Harm Reduction projects and also of civil society active and
meaningful participation. However, and with so many changes in the
world, we feel that it is time for an evaluation and improvement. We
fear that this model will lose its operational capacities due to the
financial crisis and austerity measures, thus leaving drug users without
any type of support.
It
is now time to accept the mistakes, to examine facts and evidences and
to use this high-level meeting to actively evolve to Humanistic (that
actually focus on people, thus promoting their participation in all
processes and at all levels) and pragmatic (supported by knowledge from
Peers, Harm Reduction and other evidences and a proper needs’
assessments) policies.
A
“Drug Free World” is an impossible promise to fulfil. This make-believe
“Perfect World” is unattainable and has become an enemy of a “Decent
World for Us All”.
The
World Governments must have the courage to trust people; to believe
that they know what is best for them and that they have the ability to
make a decision. Governments and society in general have been entangled
in this complex net of interests that does not protect and promote the
rights and health of People Who Use Drugs.
We firmly believe that the TIME OF PEOPLE HAS COME!
Nothing About Us, Without Us!
Contacts:
Rui Miguel Coimbra Morais
Psicólogo
92 636 90 16
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