This is a post in response to
Transitions comment, where transitions asked me of my opinion to this
post.
I would like to ask a question to every one who has read my previous post on looking at the drug situation as a health issue.
So what do you all think? Do you think an approach like the Vancouvians have taken will work?If you want to know my opinion, here it is although i am no expert on this. No country has been effectively successful in “combating” the drug problem. How ever, in Maldives case i am a little bit optimistic. But we need to start NOW.
Number one: Clean up the people from the law enforcing authorities who are in the illegal drug business ( i am an eye witness to this).
Number two: Stop or minimise the drug entry in to the country by enforcing stricter and recent scientific techniques in border security.
Number three: The only capital punishment that i would support in a fully fledged democracy with an independent judiciary is for crimes commited by drug traffickers.
Number four:As you have already read, which i am presuming that you have, the Canadian experience is also not with out repercussions.
We in Maldives are having the same kind of effect from the “control” of the trade. Gang fights related with drug trade are emerging. The numbers in jail who are drug related are probably even worse comparatively to US who has the same problem . So the trend is every where and it will be the same for all countries i reckon. However we could do a few things like taking the burden off the government coffers by reducing the number of drug related jailing thereby investing that money in to upgrading the border security etc…Many come to my mind.
I think the harm reduction policy can be applied to Maldives with a few .. ehem..adjustments.The traditional beliefs will and can play a crucial role in minimising drug seeking individuals i reckon.
Public safety initiatives like needle collection points can be deployed? ( I heard that in public toilets this is available now? Can anyone confirm this?) So many things can be done.
Once a friend of mine told me that the real problem in Maldives is that it is not a free society. His argument was that if there were pubs and alcohol available and alcohol use was decriminalised in Maldives, our young people would not go after heavy hard drugs like heroin. He thinks that although other problems would arise, it will not manifest as huge as a problem like heroin addiction and circumstances and effects on the society from hard hitting addictive drug usage.
I don’t fully agree with him. In developed free societies where alcohol is a daily commodity, heavy hard drug usage is a big problem and a big expense to their governments as well. The cost is in billions of dollars. I went in search of figures from a developed country and what i found was shocking. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s statistics on drug use in Australia 2004 report published in 2005 gives some really shocking figures.
Based on responses to the 2004 NDSHS, 38% of Australians aged 14 years and over had used any illicit drug at least once in their lifetime, and 15% had used any illicit drug at least once in the last 12 months. Marijuana/cannabis was the most common illicit drug used, with one in three persons having used it least once in their lifetime and 11% of the population having used it in the previous 12 months. Recent illicit drug use was most prevalent among persons aged between 18 and 29 years in 2004, with almost one in three people (31%) in this age bracket having used at least one illicit drug in the last 12 months. The proportion of the population who had used any illicit drug in the last 12 months fluctuated between 1991 and 2004, reaching a similar level in 2004 (15%) to the prevalence in 1993 (14%). While the proportion of people who had recently used marijuana/cannabis (11%) was the lowest seen in the 13-year period, the proportion using ecstasy (3%) was the highest prevalence for that substance in the same period.
Ecstasy and related drugs were commonly used by 12–24-year-old Australians in 2004. The most prevalent drugs from this group were ecstasy and meth/amphetamines, with 7% of persons in this age group having used each substance in the last 12 months. In particular, the highest recent use of ecstasy (13%) and meth/amphetamines (11%) were reported by 20–24-year-olds.
What i noticed from these statistics is that the majority of illicit drug users use cannabis or marijuana, not heroin. Although the Australian statistics are appalling, the most suitable and moderate approach is being used by Australia, which i support. Their National Drug Strategy 2004-2009 , the concept, can be used in Maldives which is based on looking at the problem as a health issue.
The National Drug Strategy 2004–2009 provides a framework for a coordinated, integrated approach to drug issues in the Australian community. The mission of the NDS is to improve health, social and economic outcomes by preventing the uptake of harmful drug use and reducing the harmful effects of licit and illicit drugs in Australian society.
Although the harm reduction policy cannot be applied to Maldives as it is or at this instant or alcohol usage decriminalised due to a strictly religious population i feel that a strategy a little bit more moderate and lenient can reduce this “situation” to a large extent.
As like all other problems Maldives is facing, the government authorities have to realise and accept that there is A problem first.
No doubt, in Maldives, we have to employ and embrace this “situation” as a health problem rather than a criminal one , if we are to achieve any results. Forcing addicts without their consent to rehab will simply not work. Neither would it reduce the burden financially, reduce jail numbers or reduce the number of addicts seen loitering around Male’. Rather, it will further worsen the situation.
My other entries on illicit drug usage.
