Europe: Swiss Panel Says New Drug Policy Should Include Alcohol, Tobacco, Opt for Pragmatism 5/27/05

Drug War Chronicle, recent top items

more...

recent blog posts "In the Trenches" activist feed

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!!!


https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/388/consistency.shtml

A federal commission on drugs has recommended that Switzerland adopt a drug policy that includes alcohol and tobacco as well as illegal drugs. It also called for the application of the "four pillar" -- prevention, treatment, harm reduction, law enforcement -- policy to all drugs, including alcohol and tobacco. Only by doing so, said the commission, could Switzerland adopt a credible and coherent drug policy "that takes into account all psychoactive substances."

"We need to get away from making moral judgments on drugs and behavior and opt for more pragmatism," said commission president Francois van der Linde in remarks reported by the Swiss news agency Swissinfo.

Existing drug and public health legislation needs to be "harmonized," first of all to define which substances should be banned and which should be available to the public. Such a move would ensure that substances with similar health impacts are not treated differently under the law, as is currently the case, the commission said.

The commission's findings were welcomed by Michel Graf, director of the Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Addiction, which last month warned that nearly a million Swiss drank too much alcohol at least twice a month. "This is very good news. It is an approach that has been adopted for some time in the field of prevention," he told Swissinfo. "This is politically very courageous and dares to break a taboo. It recognizes that alcohol and tobacco are psychoactive substances like cannabis and other drugs."

The commission's report and recommendations also won praise from Interior Minister Pascal Couchepin, who praised "the innovative approach taken by the authors of the report, who believe that it is better to combat addiction on a broad front rather than focus solely on the fight against drugs, whether they be illegal drugs, tobacco, alcohol or medication."

Last year, the Swiss parliament failed to approve a government proposal to decriminalize cannabis, even though Switzerland has the highest cannabis use rates in Europe, with an estimated one-third of all adults using the drug. An earlier effort to decriminalize cannabis also failed. Switzerland's current drug law was passed in 1975, and, especially when it comes to cannabis, does not reflect Swiss social reality.

-- END --
Link to Drug War Facts
Please make a generous donation to support Drug War Chronicle in 2007!          

PERMISSION to reprint or redistribute any or all of the contents of Drug War Chronicle (formerly The Week Online with DRCNet is hereby granted. We ask that any use of these materials include proper credit and, where appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If your publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet requests checks payable to the organization. If your publication does not pay for materials, you are free to use the materials gratis. In all cases, we request notification for our records, including physical copies where material has appeared in print. Contact: StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network, P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 293-8340 (voice), (202) 293-8344 (fax), e-mail drcnet@drcnet.org. Thank you.

Articles of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of the DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Issue #388 -- 5/27/05

Drug War Chronicle, recent top items

more...

recent blog posts "In the Trenches" activist feed

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!!!

Editorial: Reasonable Standards | Feature: Federal Bill to Rein in Anti-Drug Task Forces Introduced in Response to Tulia Scandal | "Drug Tourists" Provoke Competing Cries for Regulation, Repression in Holland | Chances of Medical Marijuana Passage in Statehouses Now Focused on Northeast | Announcement: DRCNet/Perry Fund Event to Feature US Rep. Jim McDermott, June 1 in Seattle | Weekly: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories | Marijuana: Maine Governor Wants to Increase Fines to Pay for Narcs | Congress: House Bill Would Let "Victims" Sue Drug Dealers, But Only if They Snitch | Southwest Asia: Azerbaijan, US Sign Anti-Drug Agreement Despite Human Rights Abuses | Europe: Swiss Panel Says New Drug Policy Should Include Alcohol, Tobacco, Opt for Pragmatism | Asia: Thai Drug War Now Targets Cocaine | Update: Schapelle Corby Sentenced to 20 Years | Weekly: This Week in History | Job Listing: Outreach Coordinator, Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform (DRCNet) | Weekly: The Reformer's Calendar


This issue -- main page
This issue -- single-file printer version
Drug War Chronicle -- main page
Chronicle archives
Out from the Shadows HEA Drug Provision Drug War Chronicle Perry Fund DRCNet en Español Speakeasy Blogs About Us Home
Why Legalization? NJ Racial Profiling Archive Subscribe Donate DRCNet em Português Latest News Drug Library Search
special friends links: SSDP - Flex Your Rights - IAL - Drug War Facts

StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet)
1623 Connecticut Ave., NW, 3rd Floor, Washington DC 20009 Phone (202) 293-8340 Fax (202) 293-8344 drcnet@drcnet.org