As LĀB public relations consultant Dagnija Dižbite-Svarinska informed the LETA agency, LĀB and “Open” have appealed to the President Edgars Rinkēvičs, the Speaker of the Saeima Daigas Mieriņa (ZZS) and a number of ministers, calling for the decriminalization of drug use in Latvia.
The statement issued by the organizations stated that in this way Latvia would follow the example of the countries that have joined the call of the United Nations (UN) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime to take such a step. From the point of view of the organizations, this would open up more opportunities for prevention measures against drug use, as addicted persons could more safely talk about their problems, as well as “reduce the stigma in society against this population group, because drug addiction is a disease.”
LĀB president Ilze Aizsilniece thinks that such a step would allow to identify the problem faster and more effectively, so that young people are not afraid to talk about it and seek help. She draws attention to the fact that every year more and more young people use drugs and die from drug overdoses. Also, in recent years, a trend has appeared that more and more women use drugs.
“The statistics are scary, so it is the last moment to follow the example of other countries and decriminalize the use of illegal drugs so that people are not afraid to ask for help,” thinks Aizsilniece.
In the existing legislation in Latvia, criminal responsibility for drug use remains, which creates “very big problems in order to openly carry out prevention work to reduce drug use”. It is particularly difficult to provide the necessary emergency help and treatment in case of drug overdose, according to the organizations.
Also, for fear of criminal liability, cases of overdose are not reported to the emergency medical service in time. Sometimes, after successful resuscitation, the victims try to run away from the medical personnel, thus getting additional injuries, organizations have observed.
The letter of LĀB and “Open” states that approximately 300 million people around the world use drugs, which corresponds to 5.5% of the world’s population aged 15 to 64. Despite decades of investment, policies to reduce supply and demand have proven limited, organizations say. They estimate that prohibitive and punitive drug policies have had the counterproductive effect of contributing to the transmission of HIV and hepatitis C, fatal overdoses, mass incarceration and other human rights abuses and violence in the drug market.
The organization’s statement refers to the call for the decriminalization of drug use and possession approved by the UN Executive Board in 2019. Following this call, in 2017, approximately 20 countries introduced “de iure” decriminalization or legal regulation of one or more previously illegal drugs.
The initiative is supported by the party “Kustība Par!”, which is not represented in the parliament. In a published statement, the party states that the currently valid regulation on criminal liability for drug use “discourages and scares” people from seeking help, as a result of which doctors are not informed in time about the need for treatment.
In the party’s view, the decriminalization of illegal drug use would provide additional opportunities for preventive measures against drug use, as young people would have the opportunity to seek help from professionals without fear of criminal liability.
“Statistics show that every year more and more young people use illegal narcotic substances and die from drug overdose. The data and trends of the Ministry of Health show that the number of young people who have tried and regularly use drugs is increasing. 27% have tried any drug 15 to 16-year-old Latvian students. At the same time, the number of young people who end up in hospitals after drug use is increasing. Every day, the emergency medical service receives at least four calls related to drug overdoses among young people,” says the “Par!” Movement.
The party points out that there is currently a “very limited and fragmented” range of services available to people with addictions to narcotic substances, so the health care sector needs to develop non-drug treatment programs, expand access to medications, and provide the opportunity to receive social services with evidence-based methods.
Source: www.diena.lv
