New EU drug policy; more of the same.

What a week, the long awaited collapse of capitalism finally happened and Babylon has fallen! Well, maybe.

But there’s no doubt we’re all a lot poorer than we were this time last week and belts are going to have to be tightened. The question is, which projects will feel the sharp end of the axe?

It’s probably too much to hope that the war on drugs will finally be subjected to a full cost benefit analysis, although we can expect cuts to happen they are unlikely to be in the fundamental areas of enforcement, rather they’ll be in the areas of rehab, support services and education as always.

However, apparently unaware of the impending lack of money and the need to change – not to mention the ineffectiveness of the current policy – the EU this week published its drug policy plans for the next four years and surprise surprise, it’s more of the same. This from the Europa press release

Latest available data show that whereas the use of heroin, cannabis and synthetic drugs has stabilised or is declining, cocaine use is rising in a number of Member States.

Now, as combating cocaine was one of the top priorities it’s hard to really call this a policy success. However it goes on:

The total number of people in the EU who use drugs – or have at some time taken them – is estimated at 70 million for cannabis, at least 12 million for cocaine, 9.5 million for ecstasy and 11 million for amphetamines, while at least half a million people are known to be receiving substitution treatment for heroin. There are up to 2 million problem drug users in the EU and around 7,500 people die of drug overdoses each year.

So there we have an interesting set of statistics, notice how no figure was given for the number of heroin users.  But ignoring heroin, these figure indicate that of the 102.5 million people who have used drugs there are only up to (ie less than) 2 million problem users. Is that really correct? If so, we have a serious perception problem with drug use. Taking these figures at face value, it looks very much like we’re fighting this highly destructive war on drugs in order to prevent something that only happens to a small minority of drug users.

Few if any of these problem drug users are cannabis users of course, they’ll be mostly the unknown number of heroin addicts, crack users and so on.

Now, of course, that’s taking the figures at face value which is a silly thing to do. It’s silly because it ignores the fact that prohibition prevents proper control and regulation of the drugs trade, so doses are unreliable, the products are highly contaminated and all the rest, factors which only work to increase the proportion of problem users. It also ignores the fact that the figures are probably plucked out of thin air, or at best a guess based on arrest statistics.

So what’s in store then, assuming we can afford to do it?

The Action Plan 2009-2012 builds on the existing approach of the EU Drugs Strategy 2005-2012 which set out a European model for drug policy based on a balanced approach to reduce both supply and demand for drugs.

So no regulation of the market then, this remains a prohibition based policy, albeit one that accepts the need for demand reduction.

The five main priorities of the new Action Plan include reducing the demand for drugs and raising public awareness, mobilising European citizens, reducing the supply of drugs, improving international cooperation and facilitating a better understanding of the drug phenomenon.

Don’t you just love this politico speak? “mobilising European citizens” indeed! The phrase “facilitating a better understanding of the drug phenomenon” is telling though, it sort on implies they don’t understand it very well now.

Actions proposed include measures to improve the quality, availability and coverage of treatment and harm reduction programmes for drug users and the establishment of intelligence-led police and customs operations to counter large-scale organised crime groups both in the EU and on the drug trafficking routes from Afghanistan and Latin America.

It’s the same old story isn’t it? Quite depressing really.

Meanwhile in the USA  the war on cannabis is reaching new levels of insanity with cannabis use remaining constant and prison figures hitting the stratosphere. As reported in the Transform blog the rate of new cannabis users in the US has not changed in the tenancy of the present Drug Tsar John Walters, despite his rhetoric and a massive increase in the arrest of pot smokers.

However, there’s near panic over here within the tobacco industry over plans to force the sale of cigarettes in plain packs, as reported by the Observer on 21st September.

The Department of Health is considering outlawing the use of logos, colours and graphics on packets and requiring them to be sold in plain packaging. The latest issue of Tobacco Journal International reports that ‘according to analysts from Morgan Stanley, if generic packaging becomes a legal requirement in the UK, not only could it have a domino effect on other markets, but it could also have a materially adverse impact on cigarette brand equity [and] could result in considerably reduced profits’.

Now if only we could use commercial pressure like that against illegal drugs, we could if they were controlled of course, but not while they’re illegal. This is moving towards the ideal regime for drugs of all types, not prohibited but not marketed either, available to people who really want them, but not pushed with advertising, branding and dare we hope street dealers.

All we need now is a campaign to separate cannabis and tobacco use, but that was the subject of last weeks blog.