After years of petitioning by health officials in British Columbia, Health Canada has authorized some B.C. doctors to prescribe heroin for select patients who have failed to respond to conventional opioid addiction treatments.

However within moments of the authorization, Federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose blasted the department’s decision, saying it flies in the face of the Conservative government’s anti-drug policy, and vowed to ensure it never happens again.

Then, Ms. Ambrose said in a statement the decision simply “allows [the drug dependents] to continue to have access to heroin for their addiction even though other safe treatments for heroin addiction, such as methadone, are available.”

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Doctors given Health Canada approval to prescribe heroin

The White House’s decision to “decertify” Bolivia’s drug control efforts for the sixth time is no surprise. Since Bolivian President Evo Morales expelled the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 2008, the US has portrayed Bolivia as uncooperative and incapable of curtailing illicit drug production and trafficking.

The White House’s corresponding Memorandum of Justification lacks objectivity and attempts to hold Bolivia to higher standards than Peru and Colombia (which are both fully certified), or even the US. As a result, as in previous years, it fails to acknowledge that although problems persist, Bolivia has made steady progress in drug control according to the US’s own yardsticks.

Held to a different standard: The US decertifies Bolivia

Kisauni lies towards the North Coast of Mombasa in Kenya. It is about 15 minutes away from the main Mombasa Island, just after the Nyali Bridge. The area is described as a low income area, making a good hideout place for people who do not want publicity. It has also become an ideal hideout for forty brothers, who were accused of murder, rape and criminal activity in the area. The area also serves as a good hideout for 500 people who use drugs (PWUD), since they can use drugs while hiding from law enforcement.

Between 2000 and 2008, as a result of the high insecurity in the area, the community came together and initiated community policing. As part of the strategy to deal with this, the community came up with ‘funga file’. ‘Funga file’, translating to ‘closing a file’ in English entails arresting someone, taking them to a common ground (Kisauni Baptist Primary School), prosecuting them, and ‘closing their file’ which means executing them. Very many PWUD found themselves in this makeshift legal system and lost their lives, since when the arrests were made, they were arbitrary, and any PWUD would be arrested and executed.

The Muslim Education and Welfare Association (MEWA), approached the community leaders and held dialogues with them to handle the sensitive situation. After a series of community meetings, bringing together the community and MEWA staff, the ‘funga file’ cases ended around 2011 to 2012. The hostility against PWUD also somewhat subsided.
The current Situation

From July 2013, the violence cases against PWUD seem to have risen again. Following Government devolution and subsequent takeover of security matters by County governments, drugs became one of the priority areas Mombasa County focused on. However, the situation again targeted the PWUD themselves. In addition, during the NACADA conference in 2013, the President issued a directive to the officials responsible for security at grassroots level to deal with alcohol and drug use and gave them a ninety days’ period. This also happened to coincide with an insecurity rise in Kisauni area, and PWUD have found themselves in the same predicament. The community is considering reintroducing ‘funga file’, and already a number of PWUD have experienced violence meted out against them, regardless of not being caught in criminal activity. It is estimated that less than ten percent of the PWUD are engaged in violent crime, but whenever a criminal activity takes place in the area, the first targets are the PWUD, much as they may not even directly be linked with the crime. The directive has also seen police activity against PWUD increasing, and this is slowly creeping to harassment of outreach workers as they carry out their activities.

On the other hand, the police are being accused of corruption, and demanding bribes of up to a thousand shillings for one to secure their release (1 Kenyan Shilling equals 0.011 US Dollar). Without this money, innocence does not count as the PWUD are roughed up and harassed.

Once again, MEWA is in the process of holding various meetings with the community, PWUD and the police to see a speedy resolution of this situation. Community awareness on sensitivity to PWUD is being conducted, as well as holding meetings and outreaches with PWUD regarding crime. PWUD have responded by encouraging citizenship among them, and volunteering to arrest the criminals among them and take them to police. The police department also has champions, who have taken to engaging with PWUD and encouraging them to refrain from crime.

Although a step at a time, the efforts being made by MEWA, supported by the Community Action on Harm Reduction, envisage advocating for the rights of PWUD, so that justice can be served rightfully, while on the same breath, health services can be provided to PWUD without outreach workers feeling their safety being threatened.

‘Closing file’ in Kenya

The president of the California Senate and Chair of Assembly Public Safety introduced bills to crack down on illegal cultivation and distribution under guise of medical marijuana, and to create one of the most comprehensive regulatory structures in the country to allow bona fide patients to access medical marijuana, from state registered growers, transporters and dispensaries, and to reduce diversion to non-medical users.

Two bills introduced in California legislature to tightly regulate medical marijuana

On 18 June 2013, the Assistant Treasurer, the Hon. David Bradbury MP, issued a notice of an interim national ban on certain consumer goods containing synthetic drug substances on the basis that these goods create an imminent risk of death, serious illness or serious injury.

This interim ban is relevant to anyone supplying certain consumer goods that may contain synthetic drug substances (other than food, confectionery, tobacco or tobacco products, or goods entered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods). All businesses in the supply chain including; manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers are prohibited from supplying banned goods.

The interim ban was registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments on 18 June 2013 and is effective for a period of 60 days from this day. Interim bans can be extended by the Minister for a further 60 days (total period 120 days) in certain circumstances.

Australian Government impose national interim ban on the supply of certain synthetic drug substances 

On June 6th the federal government introduced Bill C-65 to outline the details of what must be included in an application for a Section 56 exemption to Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. To shield clients and staff from criminal convictions, any supervised injection service must hold a section 56 exemption from Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA). This section allows the federal Minister of Health to exempt a service or practice from the provisions of the CDSA in the interests of scientific research or in the public interest. Insite, located in Vancouver is North America’s only sanctioned injection site and holds an exemption.

The extensive provisions of Bill C-65 promised to make it more difficult to implement new supervised injection services in Canada because of the myriad levels of approval that service providers would need to demonstrate in their applications. The Bill creates 20 additional conditions required for applications for supervised consumption services. Entitled the “Respect for Communities Act”, these amendments essentially give police, public safety officials, and municipalities a veto over health services. The tabling of these amendments is clearly an attempt to head off applications expected within the year from a number of Canadian cities. Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper prorogued the Canadian parliament during the summer effectively wiping the legislative slate clean. We anticipate that this Bill will likely be reintroduced in the fall sitting of the House.

Canada’s bill C-65: Respect for communities is far from respectful 

Viva Rio and the Municipal Secretariat of Social Development inaugurated in Thursday, September 12th, the first reformulated unit of the Casa Viva project, aimed to recuperate young crack users. Adilson Pires, deputy mayor and Secretary of Social Development; Rodrigo Abel, undersecretary of Social Development; and Rubem César Fernandes, Viva Rio’s executive-director, attended the ceremony.

The Casa Viva project was created in 2008 by the government of Rio de Janeiro and passed by a process of expansion with the inclusion of health policies, education and social assistance. The inaugurating unit, located in the neighborhood of Bonsucesso, has a computers room, a library, a game room, a toys room and a living room. Currently, 12 teenagers having 16 years old in average are sheltered in this house. “This is a space of restructuration for young people. We want them to reestablish links, to create memory and reintegrate in society”, stated the technical coordinator of the initiative, Marilia Rocha.

Viva Rio and Rio de Janeiro's government inaugurate Casa Viva project

O Viva Rio e a Secretaria Municipal de Desenvolvimento Social inauguraram, no último dia 12 de setembro, a primeira unidade reformulada do projeto Casa Viva, voltado para a recuperação de jovens usuários de crack e outras drogas. A cerimônia contou com a presença de várias autoridades, entre elas o vice-prefeito e chefe da pasta, Adilson Pires; o subsecretário Rodrigo Abel; e o diretor executivo do Viva Rio, Rubem César Fernandes.

Criado em 2008 pela prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro, o “Casa Viva” passou por um processo de ampliação, agregando políticas de saúde, educação e assistência social. A unidade inaugural, localizada em Bonsucesso, possui sala de informática, biblioteca, sala de jogos, brinquedoteca e área de convivência. Atualmente, conta com 12 adolescentes cuja média etária é de 16 anos. ”Esse é um espaço de reestruturação para os jovens. Queremos que eles restabeleçam laços, criem memória e reintegrem-se à sociedade”, afirmou a coordenadora técnica da iniciativa, Marília Rocha.

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Viva Rio e prefeitura lançam projeto Casa Viva Viva Rio e prefeitura lançam projeto Casa Viva

Last Friday, the White House released its annual score card on other countries' compliance with US drug policy demands, the presidential determination on major drug producing and trafficking countries. It identified 22 countries as "major drug transit and/or major illicit drug producing countries," but listed only three -- Bolivia, Burma, and Venezuela -- as having "failed demonstrably" to comply with US drug war objectives.

Among those countries that are not listed as having "failed demonstrably" are the world's largest opium producer (Afghanistan), the world's two largest coca and cocaine producers (Colombia and Peru), the leading springboard for drugs coming into the US (Mexico), and the weak Central American states that serve as lesser springboards for drug loads destined for the US. They are all US allies; Bolivia and Venezuela are not.

Both the Bolivians and the Venezuelans responded angrily to the determination.

"We strongly reject the accusation... The United States is trying to ignore our government's sovereign policies," Alejandro Keleris, the head of Venezuela's national anti-drug office, said late on Saturday in response to the US report.

Bolivia, Venezuela reject US drug criticism

The Justice Commission of the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati) will begin to examine a norm aimed at changing the present drug legislation (the so called Fini-Giovanardi law, introduced by the Berlusconi government in 2006), after a round of hearings of experts. The norm aims at mitigating the harsh penalties in the 2006 drug legislation, by introducing a specific provision of drug crimes of “minor relevance” to be punished with less severe penalties. The norm is part of a more comprehensive drug legislation reform, advocated by a coalition of NGOs working in drug policy, justice and human rights (among them, Antigone, Forum Droghe, Coordinamento Nazionale Comunità di Accoglienza, Società della Ragione, Magistratura Democratica).

One year ago, the coalition launched the campaign Drugs, Prisons and human rights, highlighting the link between Italian prisons overcrowding and the “tough on drugs” legislation. The coalition of NGO’s has been monitoring the effects of the drug law on the overcrowding crisis and has released four editions of the “Fini-Giovanardi” White Book, based on data from yearly Governmental Reports. The Fourth White Book, released in June 2013, confirmed that more than 20.000 people were imprisoned for drug crimes out of an overall 63.000, representing an increase from 31,7% in 2011 to 32,4 in 2012. Half of the people detained in overcrowded Italian prisons are charged or sentenced for non violent drug crimes or for minor crimes committed by addicts.

The coalition of NGO’s has called for a three point reform and drafted a set of bills aimed at 1) improving prison conditions 2) introducing the crime of torture into the penal code 3) changing drug legislation (by introducing lower penalties for minor drug crimes, distinguishing between illegal substances with less severe penalties for milder drugs, decriminalizing personal use, promoting alternatives to incarceration for drug users). The bills have since attracted more than 40.000 signatures from Italian citizens while the web campaign on the dedicated site www.3leggi.it , with spots of popular testimonials, has reached hundreds of thousands of visitors. More important, the three bills have been endorsed by a number of MPs, who have been urging to put the bills in the Parliament’s agenda.

In recent months, the campaign “Drugs, Prisons and human rights” has achieved more significant results: the norms to promote alternatives to incarceration for drug users were introduced in the government’s law by decree to address prison overcrowding and were approved by the Parliament at the end of July; while the bill introducing the crime of torture has been already discussed and approved by the Justice Commission and put in the agenda of the Assembly.

The campaign “Drugs, Prisons and human rights” on www.3leggi.it

Italian Parliament will begin to examine drug legislation reform in October

A former Brighton and Hove police commander shared his experiences of tackling drug-related crime at a leading international conference in Korea. Retired Chief Superintendent Graham Bartlett addressed the fourth International Working Group Meeting on Drug Smuggling Responses in Seoul last week.

About 50 law enforcement officials attended from across Europe, Asia and America. The delegates come together each year to share information about emerging trends and tackle the issue of international drug smuggling and markets. Mr. Bartlett said that it was a good stage to promote Brighton and Hove’s efforts to reduce drug harms and the role of International Drug Policy Consortium.

Former police chief shares Brighton’s approach to drugs at leading international conference 

Автор: Александр Дельфинов

Российская наркология, вслед за советской, многие годы развивается или, точнее, тормозит в отрыве от мировых трендов научной обоснованности. Пациентов лечат зачастую методами, похожими на средневековые пытки.

Государственная реформа наркологической помощи переносит акцент с медицинских на полицейские меры.

Проблемное наркопотребление воспринимается обществом как одна из насущных проблем нашей страны. Если смотреть на вещи аналитично, отстраняясь от наркофобической истеричности, то факты таковы. Рост эпидемии ВИЧ в России продолжается, несмотря на снижение в других регионах мира, даже в Африке. Как минимум с 2007 года к этому прибавилась проблема медикаментоустойчивого туберкулёза. Сочетанная инфекция ВИЧ+ТБ — в просторечии турбович — становится причиной смерти многих проблемных наркопотребителей, в том числе в местах лишения свободы, где содержатся около 150 тысяч человек (цифры от генерала Иванова, ФСКН) по 228-й “народной” статье. Методика учёта наркозаключённых не точна, разброс от “каждого третьего” до “каждого шестого”, но даже ФСКН косвенно признаёт, что большинство из оказавшихся за решёткой — это простые потребители, задержанные с нелегальными веществами без цели сбыта. В связи с этим недавно даже было выдвинуто предложение провести амнистию таких заключённых. Но для нашей статьи важно отметить: в местах лишения свободы РФ имеются серьёзные проблемы с доступностью лечения ВИЧ, гепатита и туберкулёза. Впрочем, имеются они и на свободе. С чисто медицинской точки зрения государство честно тратит большие деньги на закупку препаратов антиретровирусной терапии, поддерживающих ВИЧ-инфицированных, однако полностью игнорирует рекомендованные ВОЗ методики профилактики ВИЧ среди инъекционных наркопотребителей, например, программы игл-шприцев или заместительную терапию.

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