Cyprus Mail
OUR SOCIETY has never dealt rationally with drug use, always falling victim to the scare-mongering by self-appointed anti-drugs crusaders who were more concerned about making a name for themselves rather than adopting a sensible approach to the issue. They were greatly assisted by the sensationalism of the media, which for years referred to cannabis as ‘white’ or ‘slow death’, regardless of the fact that the drug does not cause death and is said to be less harmful to health than alcohol.
The facts were never allowed to interfere with the scare stories the campaigners and the journalists were propagating. To be fair, the media no longer runs such reports but the campaigners and politicians are still prone to knee-jerk reactions, exaggeration and suggestions totally lacking in common sense. They still promote the old mythology that drug users need to be saved, the same way that preachers felt obliged to save fallen women.
This antiquated thinking is evident in the bill under discussion at the House health committee. Among other things, the bill defines the process by which a treatment order would be issued for someone accused or convicted of using drugs. The decision would be taken by a panel of experts that would decide which treatment centre a person would be sent to. This is made necessary because the bill would offer a drug user a choice between jail and entry to a rehabilitation programme.
The rehabilitation or prison approach has been used for some time now, even though it was not governed by legislation. And it was abused by the authorities, which forced parents of young drug users to attend weekly seminars if they did not want their offspring being charged. Parents were thus deemed guilty by association and society held seminars to make them better parents. It is unclear whether there is a provision for this absurd practice in the bill under discussion.
What is even more absurd is that all drug users are lumped together ignoring the fact that someone who smokes marijuana is completely different from a heroin addict. The former will gain nothing from going to a ‘treatment’ centre – marijuana is not physically addictive, like nicotine and heroin – but of course would agree to it when the alternative is prison. It does not occur to our do-gooder policy-makers that sending cannabis users to rehab is a complete waste of resources, resources that should be used to assist those with serious drug problems such as heroin addicts, alcoholics and pill-poppers.
Our society needs to come to terms with the changing times and accept that cannabis use is widespread among Cypriot youth – it is because of the high demand that such big quantities are now being seized by police – and there is nothing that can be done about it. It is a lifestyle choice of the young, as it is in most European countries which, unlike Cyprus, came to terms with this reality many years ago and do not waste resources on ‘treating’ youths who are arrested for possession of a few grams of weed they use for recreational purposes.
Police do not arrest youths for binge-drinking and put them in rehab so what is the justification of doing this in the case of a less harmful and less addictive drug like cannabis?
The law being prepared would be much more in tune with the times if it followed the law of other countries which distinguishes between light drugs (cannabis) and heavy drugs such as cocaine, heroin and powerful hallucinogens. It could offer the choice of rehab or prison to the users of heavy drug users who are in genuine in need of help, instead of wasting valuable resources on pseudo-treatments of cannabis smokers and seminars for parents.
In his election campaign, President Anastasiades spoke about legalising cannabis but has forgotten about it since. Perhaps Cypriot society is too conservative and old-fashioned for such a big step, considering it was still referring to cannabis as ‘slow death’ until recently, but the government could do something sensible like de-criminalising possession of small quantities. Users could be given a small fine instead of a criminal record and they would be spared the idiocy of having treatment.
This would not only free up resources for treating people with real drug problems, but also allow police to focus on tackling crime rather than wasting their time prosecuting youngsters for possession of small quantities of marijuana.
This would be the rational and pragmatic approach which unfortunately is always shunned by the authorities.
No comments:
Post a Comment