New Zealand has 'Homer Simpson' approach to drug abuse | HEALTH News

New Zealand has 'Homer Simpson' approach to drug abuse

Published: 9:09AM Friday June 03, 2011 Source: ONE News / Reuters

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Drug education groups in New Zealand say a high-profile international report gives more weight to arguments to change this country's approach to drug abuse.

The Global Commission on Drug Policy is urging international leaders to replace the current strategy of strictly criminalising drugs and focus instead on the health impacts of abuse.

The group, made up of former world leaders, said "the global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences".

Executive Director of the Drug Foundation, Ross Bell, told TV ONE's Breakfast the report lends further support to arguments that the current system is outdated.

"What this report says is we should use modern thinking and not base our drug policy on thinking that's more than 50 years old," he said.

"The Law Commission, which has just done a huge review of New Zealand's 36-year-old drug law, is essentially saying the same thing - we need to rebalance our priorities and put more focus into health.

"The drug problem is fundamentally a health issue and you can not solve a health issue in the criminal justice system," he said.

He said New Zealand spends more money on police, courts and locking people up than it does on alcohol and drug treatment and he considers that the wrong approach.

Methcon managing director, Dale Kirk, is a former detective and now an drug use educator.

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He told Breakfast he agreed the current system needed to change, but warned about removing the criminal aspect of drug use.

"The Homer Simpson approach we've had over the past 50 years - which is to keep on doing the same thing despite a lack of success - is not the way to go," he said.

"We need to invest a lot more money into education and dealing with users as addicts rather than criminals.

"But you still need to focus resources on the supply side, coming down hard on dealers and putting them out of business."

He said the concept of drug users doing no harm to others, suggested by the Global Commission, is not right.

"Tell that to the 11-year-old child who was pulled out a P lab in Te Puke last week," he said.

Global Commission on Drug Policy recommendations include:
- Replace the criminalisation and punishment of people who are drug users, but do not hurt other people, with the offer of health and treatment services to those who need them.
- Encourage governments to consider legalising marijuana and perhaps other illicit drugs "to undermine the power of organised crime and safeguard the health and security of their citizens."
It says that decriminalisation initiatives do not result in significant increases in drug use.
- Countries that continue to invest mostly in a law enforcement approach should focus on violent organised crime and drug traffickers.

The 19-member panel included current Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and former heads of state; former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan; British businessman Richard Branson; and former US Secretary of State George Shultz.

via tvnz.co.nz