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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Sweden: The Drugs debate
Kate Ginn and Paul Gallagher The Scotsman
Thursday 19 Jul 2001 Employing suspicion to lead the fight LATE on a Friday night and the nightclub is crowded, the dance floor filled with hundreds of young people. At the bar, clubbers shout their drink orders above the music as the DJ turns up the decibels. Through the smoky gloom, friends can be glimpsed standing around chatting and enjoying themselves. All around, people can be seen having the same, harmless fun. Suddenly, a man appears out of the shadows and approaches a group of young people. He announces that he is an undercover policeman, has been watching them all evening and they are all under arrest on suspicion of taking drugs. None of them is searched. There is not the slightest evidence that they are in possession of any drugs. Nor has the officer actually seen them taking drugs. In fact, there is not one shred of proof of any illegal activity. This would be inconceivable in the UK or in any other European country. Yet in Sweden it is not only legal, but encouraged by the government and its zero-tolerance drugs policy. It is quite common for the police to trawl nightclubs and bars undercover, picking up people purely on the suspicion that they have consumed drugs and enforcing compulsory urine and blood tests. If the result is positive, the offender, even if it is a first-time offence, will be packed off straight to court. Sweden has one of the harshest drugs policies in the world. While most other European nations are becoming increasingly liberal, Sweden is hardening its policy on all drugs. There is no distinction between soft and hard drugs. Cannabis, for instance, is seen as a gateway and is considered a link to serious psycho-pathologic disorders, such as schizophrenia, in the young. Sweden says its aim is to create a drug-free society and is adamant the hardline policy is working. Yet heavy drug abuse among young people has risen in the past year. Out in the streets, cannabis and ecstasy are in demand. Where once its restrictive policy was once held up as an example for the rest of Europe, questions are now being asked. How effective is the Swedish model? Is it a flawed policy, or is it, as the Swedish government suggests, a victim of influences from other countries? A look back at Sweden's history in relation to drugs may provide the answers. Thirty-five years ago, Sweden had a much more liberal attitude to drugs. In the 1960s, amphetamines were decriminalised, enabling doctors to prescribe drugs to addicts. The results were disastrous. Drug use exploded, reaching epidemic proportions, and the black market flourished. "The level of drug use went from a couple of hundred addicts to 2,000-3,000 within a couple of years," says Ake Setreus, a director of Stockholm-based European Cities Against Drugs. "In 1966, the experiment was stopped and we moved towards a more restrictive policy. We included all drugs under a single drugs law." What followed was a shift towards total abstinence, criminalisation of all drugs and a major tightening of policy. By the 1980s, police activity on the streets was stepped up, backed by wide "stop and search" powers. A three-point plan was launched: to limit new abusers, provide treatment for addicts and limit the supply of drugs. It was a resounding success and drug use declined. Today, Sweden has about 20,000 drug abusers. Its approach to catching users is certainly severe, but, paradoxically, the way it deals with abusers once they are caught could not be more different. There is no just locking them up in prison and throwing away the key. Instead, they are encouraged to go into rehabilitation and be assigned social workers. Persistent offenders can be sent for compulsory treatment. "We believe it should be difficult to get drugs, but easy to get treatment," says Tomas Hallberg, of European Cities Against Drugs. "We made our mistakes in the 1960s and now have a very good policy." "Although we have zero tolerance, we are not repressive. People are not thrown into prison for smoking cannabis, only if they have committed other crimes along with it." Mr Hallberg dismisses any thought of Sweden moving towards liberalisation. The belief seems to be that following the Dutch example of decriminalising cannabis would be dangerous, leading to spiralling addictions and related health problems. "It would be political suicide for any party to suggest a relaxation of drug laws," says Mr Hallberg. "They have the support of 90 per cent of the population." Recent figures revealed that a mere 9 per cent of Swedes had tried drugs, compared with 34 per cent in the UK. Sweden believes this points to success - and its attitude to alcohol and tobacco is equally intolerant. Alcohol is only sold in state shops and only recently have these been allowed to open on Saturdays. Drink is not sold to anyone under 20 in the shops or under 18 in restaurants. Yet, Sweden is having to face up to the realisation that more and more of its young people are dabbling in drugs. Underground support for legalisation is swelling and web sites are springing up. "If you look at cinemas and what kids do and think, and the pop stars, they all use drugs and smoke and drink," says Paula Lilgeberg, from the Maria Ungdom youth rehabilitation clinic. "Society's changed and Swedish children have a lot of money, so they get into drugs." Sweden's response is to sharpen up its existing policy. Over summer, officials have been meeting representatives from the authorities, police, customs, schools, parents and voluntary agencies. In autumn, a national action plan will be launched, pulling together all those resources. Sweden's ministry of health and social affairs denies that rising drug abuse shows its policy is failing. It suggests a number of factors are to blame: outside influences and the economic crisis of the Nineties which led to unemployment and marginalisation. "We believe in the restrictive policy," says Ann Jonsson, of the ministry. "We are working to oppose all trends of the liberalisation movement in Europe. It is a dangerous way forward which creates the wrong attitudes to drugs. We are very much against it and hope to move forward on this together in Europe within the EU."
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