Sweden has also for a long time claimed that its drug policy is successful by international standards. At times, this policy has been successful, as drug. Country drug report 2017 sweden 3 public expenditure understanding the costs of drugrelated actions is an important aspect of drug policy. Sweden was the country faced illicit drug abuse problem in the 20th century, especially in 1960s. In sweden, the success weve had with the drug problem is because weve really made it a national priority, said hans lundborg, the coordinator for drug policy at the health and social affairs. Swedens zerotolerance approach to drug use is being questioned as a new report reveals a massive rise in the number of deaths through cocaine, along. The drug policy of sweden is based on zero tolerance focusing on prevention, treatment, and. As drug laws loosen elsewhere, sweden keeps a popular. The johns hopkins lancet commission on drug policy and health has sought to examine the emerging scientific evidence on public health issues arising from drug control policy and to inform and encourage a central focus on public health evidence and outcomes in drug policy debates, such as the important deliberations of the 2016 ungass on drugs. Drug issues and the swedish press, 1996 analysis of the role swedish press plays in public drug policy. However, available systematic indicators show that the prevalence of drug use has increased since around 1980, that the decrease in drug incidence was particularly marked during the 1970s and. To overcome the increase of the problem sweden started restrictive illicit drug policy with slogans like drug free society and drugs cannot be accepted.
The paragon in a different light, 1995 analysis of swedish drug policy success based on state documents. Sweden has long had an intolerant policy toward substance abuse. As drug laws loosen elsewhere, sweden keeps a popular, zero. The stated goal for the country was no drug abuse at all, and laws and rehabilitation programs, in general, focused on this as an intended result. When it comes to cannabis, the swedish model can claim success.
What the united states can learn from drug policies around. In sweden, drug policy is viewed as part of its welfare and social policy. In addition, bucking the general trend in europe, drug abuse has actually declined in sweden over the last five years. Launching a unodc report entitled swedens successful drug policy. The swedish drug control policy is guided by the vision and the ultimate goal of achieving a drugfree society and the unequivocal rejection of drugs, their trafficking and abuse is considered somewhat unique. Office on drugs and crime produced a report entitled swedens successful. Success of swiss four pillars drug strategy drug war facts. Swedish drug policy a balanced policy based on health and human rights swedens drug policy has been firmly established for a long time, both across political boundaries and with the support of the riksdag, but also through strong support from the general public.
Characteristics such as a need clause which implies that a drug is assessed not only from a scientific and technical viewpoint but also in relation to medical need, and thus the social perspective of health priorities, a restrictive attitude to fixed combination drugs and the limiting of approval. During the 1990s, the drug problem in sweden stabi lized in spite. In sweden, the use or possession of drugs is illegal and even minor offenders face up to sixmonth prison sentences. Swedens successful drug policy united nations office. In the talk i showed that the portuguese policy of decriminalisation combined with treatment and welfare expansion has been broadly successful in reducing drug related deaths and hiv infections, while not leading to the feared explosion of drug use. The rise in heroin consumption, by far the greatest problem in the late 1980s, was halted and has steadily declined since the early 1990s. For safe and effective drug policy, look to the dutch. Drug policy experts attribute those positive trends to the enhanced ability of the portuguese government to offer treatment programs to its. Drug policy choices the swedish way world federation. This is the official view in sweden, a view held by successive administrations of varying political complexion, and disseminated.
The shift in swedish drug policy since around 1980 towards a more strict model has according to the official point of view been successful by comparison with the earlier, more lenient drug policy. Why does sweden emphasise that cannabis is dangerous and why does sweden not divide. Norway provides an interesting and significant example of a successful national drug policy. Switzerlands innovative policy of providing drug addicts with free methadone and clean needles has greatly reduced deaths while cutting crime rates and. Sweden has succeeded in its drug policy because it has reduced the number of drugusers, and hence the demand for illicit drugs. Portugal and switzerland are two countries with a high rate of illegal drugs use in the 1980s and the 1990s. Because sweden has comparatively low european levels of drug use it is perhaps unsurprising that the uns drugs office chooses to proclaim the country as a model of good practice, especially given the backdrop of rising drug use globally. The major part of swedens 15,322 confirmed cases are in stockholm and its surrounding areas, with very small incidences of the virus in the rest of sweden. In contrast, portugal may be winning the war on drugs by ending it. Swedens zerotolerance drug policy receives overwhelming support in public opinion polls. Eleven countries studied, one inescapable conclusion the. The degree report is about towards drug free society. In others, coffee shops represented an easy campaign platform. Often, however, the majority of drugrelated expenditure is.
In fact, federal and state laws on illegal drug use in the united states seem uncompassionate at best and barbaric at worst, when compared to some other developed nations. How do we know whether swedish drug policy is successful. The uk governments comparison of international drug laws, published on wednesday, represents the first official recognition since the 1971 misuse of drugs act that there is no direct link. Sweden has long taken a zerotolerance approach in its drug policies. Antidrug efforts gaining in sweden the new york times. Sweden is not on a known drug route, so drug crime syndicates avoid trafficking to sweden because of the difficulty involved. Sweden s successful policy closely follows, in both letter and spirit, that espoused by the unodc. Cannabis is also seen as a menace in itself and the national board on health and. No lockdown in sweden but stockholm could see herd. Its easy to forget that not every country in the world approaches issues of drug abuse and addiction as if it were a war. Yet none of this has undermined the accomplishments of dutch drug policy or its broad public support. Success of swiss four pillars drug strategy switzerlands progressive implementation of the four pillars policy resulted in a significant decrease in problems related to drug consumption. While all policies arise in their cultural contexts, in the wake of so much focus on the portuguese decriminalisation model, it s interesting to look at the other end of the scale to gain some understanding of how this approach has impacted use and attitudes in the scandinavian society.
Drug abuse is often perceived as a cause for other social problems. After more than 15 years, its clear which approach worked better. The countrys zero tolerance policy towards drugs is an increasingly. We have social security, affordable health care, strict gun laws, 5 weeks paid annual leave, and one year maternity leave.
In 1999, sweden flipped the traditional onus of criminal liability away from sex workers. This is particularly so when the drug policy in sweden is compared to drug control policies in other countries of the european union. Portugals decriminalization success for addiction and drug abuse. The report shows the conversations currently underway about marijuana policy in the netherlands have very little to do with success, failure, public health, or criminal justice. Swedish drug policy a balanced policy based on health. Swedens remarkable prison system has done what the u. This report presents the toplevel overview of the drug phenomenon in sweden, covering drug supply, use and public health problems as well as drug policy and responses. This apparent success of the swedish model is therefore often. Swedens successful drug policy united nations office on drugs. If any new drug policy bills are introduced in the united states, it will be important to use the right verbiage. As the guardian notes, in the past decade, the number of swedish prisoners has dropped from. The statistical data reported relate to 2015 or most recent year and are provided to the emcdda by. Sweden has had a zero tolerance approach to drug use for some time, famous for its drugfree society mantra. Stockholm, 7 september unodc the executive director of the united nations office on drugs and crime, antonio maria costa, said on thursday that swedens successful drug control policies were a model which other countries could learn much from.