Prague, April 28 (CTK) – The Czech Republic could serve as a positive example of a country with a successful drug policy, balancing treatment with repression, Health Minister Svatopluk Nemecek (senior government Social Democrats, CSSD) told reporters yesterday.
A week ago, Nemecek and drug coordinator Jindrich Voboril attended a U.N. General Assembly’s special session on global drug policy.
Nemecek said representatives of the participating countries had agreed that “the war on drugs” and a hard approach had failed.
“We have chosen the golden mean. We prefer neither a complete prohibition and criminalisation of drug users nor legalisation,” Nemecek said.
In the Czech Republic, drug addiction is perceived as an illness and the state focuses on its treatment along with prevention.
“We are able to offer help to drug addicts and treat them, and thereby also protect the majority population [from the spreading of infectious diseases],” Nemecek pointed out.
The Czech Republic with a population of 10.5 million ranks among the countries with the lowest death toll caused by drug overdose per one million inhabitants (under ten). There is also a very low number of drug addicts who have got infected with HIV or hepatitis in the country (under five per one million inhabitants).
Three Latin American countries asked for holding the U.N. General Assembly’s session to focus on drug fighting.
The result of the session was “not a fully satisfactory compromise,” which was rather the beginning of a debate, Nemecek said.
The ban on death penalty for drug crimes and the introduction of proportionate punishment for them were not pushed through, Nemecek added.
On the other hand, he called it a breakthrough that the countries had agreed that the war on drugs and criminalisation had failed and that such policy must be abandoned. When it comes to drugs, an emphasis is put on scientific knowledge and the monitoring of the situation, he added.
Nemecek said mainly Latin American countries had felt that the drug war was worsening the situation and strengthening drug mafias. In Mexico alone, more than 100,000 people were killed in connection with drugs in the past years, and in the United States, the number of overdose cases per 100,000 inhabitants is 28 times higher than in the Czech Republic, Nemecek said.
The United States started promoting “The War on Drugs” policy some 40 years ago. In 1998, countries of the world adopted a plan to achieve a drug-free world in ten years, Voboril said.
However, the repressive approach has only worsened the situation, he noted.
Since 2008, the number of drug addicts has increased by 40 million to 246 million in the world.
Voboril said the Czech Republic was really visible in the U.N.
“We are a country that is able to say the repressive system does not lead to a higher success. The criminalisation of drug possession for personal use brings rather negative effects,” Voboril said.
Drug coordinators from the EU members countries regularly meet to discuss anti-drug measures. There is also a similar group of countries from various continents.
“Even Colombians who lead this group have repeatedly asked us whether we would like to co-chair it,” Voboril noted.
Another U.N. General Assembly’s session on global approach to drugs is scheduled for 2019.
