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Senaste numret av CAN:s tidskrift alkohol & narkotika har temat LVU - hinder eller möjlighet?

Du kan läsa mer om temanumret och också en del av artiklarna här.

Torgny Peterson

No problem is so large that drugs will not make them larger!

In European terms, Sweden has been relatively successful in containing the abuse of illicit drugs. It was in fact in Sweden that the European drug epidemic first emerged after World War II and then spread to neighbouring countries.

In the period 1965-67 Sweden carried out an abortive experiment in legally prescribing drugs. This experiment proved a failure and in fact served only to fan the flames. Our organization, RNS (The Swedish National Association for a Drug-free Society), was founded in 1969 as a reaction against the highly permissive national drugs policy at the time. Our efforts to bring about a restrictive drug policy towards illicit drugs met with heavy resistance from large parts of the Swedish establishment and media. However, our message gradually started to make itself heard among the public at large and eventually met with a highly positive response. The late 1970s and early 1980s in Sweden were a period of fierce debate and intense internal opposition. However, we succeeded in persuading the policy makers that it was vital to tackle access to illicit drugs methodically, first and foremost by reducing exposure at the individual level.

In 1980 we were successful in getting the Prosecutor General to direct all the country's public prosecutors to pursue all possession of illicit drugs, irrespective of amount. In 1988 we were also instrumental in persuading the Swedish Parliament to declare the consumption of illicit drugs illegal. These are two of the most important decisions underpinning Sweden's drug policy today.

A study published by UNODC in 2006 found that Sweden, more than other countries, recognized the importance of placing the individual at the centre of the efforts to combat the abuse of drugs, because it is the consumer who is the only irreplaceable link in the entire drugs chain.

The main driving force behind this policy was the late professor of social medicine, Nils Bejerot. He was also the founder of RNS which I have had the privilege of representing for almost 40 years. Not only did Bejerot maintain that demand was the most decisive factor in the emergence of a drugs market but he also understood the importance of harnessing borad popular support for a restrictive national drugs strategy.

Nils Bejerot liked to quote the old beatnik and connoisseur of illegal substances, William Burroughs, who in his novel Naked Lunch compared the drugs market with a pyramid of numbers, I quote:

"If we wish to alter or annihilate a pyramid of numbers in a serial relation, you alter or remove the bottom number. If we wish to annihilate the junk pyramid, we must start with the bottom of the pyramid: the addict in the street, and stop tilting quixotically for the ‘higher ups' so called, all of whom are immediately replaceable. The addict in the street, who must have his junk to live is the one irreplaceable factor in the junk equation. When there are no more addicts to buy junk, there will be no junk traffic.

We at RNS maintain that it is drug consumption that is the root of the problem. Virtually all the spread of drug abuse occurs via those who are already addicted; distribution is almost entirely in the hands of the addicts themselves. The most important reason for the superiority of the demand strategy is that it is the only one that has proved effective. All other strategies have, without exception, failed.

In spite of our relative success in Sweden, the question of what constitutes a genuinely restrictive policy has remained a controversial issue. Without boring you with all the ins and outs of the Swedish drug debate, I would like to address three misunderstandings which are important because they stand in the way of a realistic view of the drug epidemic and the kind of measures that must be taken.

Firstly, the view that only people with psychosocial problems choose or are chosen by drugs. WRONG. This assertion ignores that fact that the longer a drug epidemic - or more correctly an epidemic of addicts - is allowed to spread, the less experimenting with drugs becomes a breach of norms and less individual susceptibility plays a part in being drawn into it.

Secondly, the belief that addicts generally want treatment. WRONG. What is true is that the majority of addicts now and then want care on their own terms. In other words, they want relief from the complications which accompany addiction and their lifestyle without necessarily being willing to sacrifice the high which the drug experience gives them. It is not until the habit becomes difficult and risky - what the literature calls ‘care motivation' - kicks in. Please note that we are not advocating harder measures and longer sentences. We do, on the other hand, call for early discovery and early intervention.

A third misunderstanding is that the drugs problem can only be vanquished by effectively fighting organizing of crime. WRONG. Criminal gangs and drug syndicates are actually belated consequences of a constantly growing demand on the part of an enthusiastic market driven by the psychosocial contagion of addiction at the individual level. This means that every gang that is busted today and every drugs baron who is put beind bars will be replaced by a new, better organized one as long as it remains so enormously profitable to supply the demand for illicit drugs.

Having worked with the care for addicts and at the heavy end of correctional care for most of my professional life, I am the last person to reject the necessity of proving treatment as long as it is based on scientific evidence and proven practice. I am, between you and me, a true supporter of the ‘twelve-step culture', which I see as one of the most important rehabilitation factors.

But solving the drugs problem is not chiefly an issue of care resources but rather one of strategy. Regardless of how important the therapies offered by the care services may be - not least in humanitarian terms - treatment will never be anything else but a defensive strategy. Neither does it have any appreciable effect on the drugs epidemic because virtually the entire spread of drug abuse, from established addict to novice, has taken place long before the addict possibly comes to the conclusion that he or she needs help.

Here we should bear in mind that addiction in its early stages is often a ‘fun state' to be in, characterized by denial. At this stage the addict romanticizes the kick that the drug experience gives him or her and often wants to share it with others. We should also remember that the vast majority of illicit drugs users today are what I would call hobby consumers with jobs, family and a reputation to safeguard. This group of socially established customers forms the economic backbone of the drugs market, yet they do not regard themselves as junkies or abusers.

Rather than trying to restrict the addict epidemic by means of a consistently strict drugs strategy, we are in fact investing ever more resources in the treatment of those who are already hooked. An old English rule of thumb in social medicine says, very aptly, that "a pennyworth of prevention is worth more than a pound of treatment." Yet these days we have an individual-centred approach to therapy which has increasingly lost sight of the crucial role of general prevention. Proponents of a liberal drugs policy are found today not only among the users of drugs; a whole culture of helpers and people caring, for example, has emerged whose entire professional life and energy is devoted to dealing with the end of the problem, turning their back to early prevention. Many have also embraced the social determination that flourishes among the guilt-ridden middle classes and which narrowly insists that drug-taking and crime can be exclusively attributed to outsidership and marginalization.

In short. A country's drug policy in its entirety is of fundamental importance for both treatment and prevention. A drugs strategy must be proactive, not merely reactive. This is of utmost importance for the success of both treatment and prevention.

Once a culture of drug abuse has been created, a liberal and permissive drugs policy will emerge among illegal drug users, which in turn will give rise to the need for extra police powers and greater investment in a care apparatus which often sees its clients as helpless, irresponsible victims. George Vaillant, a professor at Harvard and a giant in the field of alcohol research, was one of the first to warn about this ‘professional permissiveness* which he saw as a serious threat vis a vis the weak or lacking impulse control which is so characteristic of drug addicts.

The increasingly medically focused treatment philosophy which is gaining ground and which concentrates on individuals who are already heavily addicted, legitimizes the demotion and undermines policies which focus on prevention. That adds numerous new drugs to already existing problems and create confusion among the public and professionals alike. This medicalisation chooses to see the drugs problem first and foremost as an issue for medical specialists. By exaggerating the success potential of this philosophy, the implementation of primary and secondary preventive measures, which would be more effective, is delayed. Treatments are generally preferred for reasons of ideology or convenience because they give the appearance of being effective and also help to persuade the anti-drugs sections of public opinion that strong measure are being taken.

An effective drugs policy must combine a whole range of measures coordinated within the framework of a strategic plan. To be credible, this plan must place the norm-breaking and responsibility of the individual at its centre. It must also recognize that it is the possession and consumption of drugs by individuals, rather than international syndicates or growers in distant parts of the world, that forms the economic foundation for the expansion of the market.

History teaches us that when a devastating problem threatens or attacks society and its children, people will come together and protect them. The bad and evil can get some but never all the power. With so many dedicated people here today, there is hope. Organised knowledge is power and hope!

Together we stand, divided we fall.

Regeringen har gett Statens folkhälsoinstitut i uppdrag att undersöka hur våldsutsatta kvinnor som tillhör nationella minoriteter bemöts och stöds av offentliga myndigheter. Uppdraget ska genomföras i samarbete med företrädare för de nationella minoriteterna.

Varje våldsutsatt kvinna måste bemötas utifrån sitt behov av stöd och skydd oavsett vem hon är och vilken bakgrund hon har, säger jämställdhetsminister Nyamko Sabuni. Särskild kunskap och kompetens behöver därför utvecklas för att våldsutsatta kvinnor, som tillhör nationella minoriteter, ska bemötas på ett professionellt sätt.

I uppdraget ingår både att kartlägga vilken kunskap, kompetens och beredskap som offentliga myndigheter har för att bemöta och stödja kvinnor som tillhör nationella minoriteter och att ta reda på vilka erfarenheter och behov av sådant bemötande och stöd som finns.

Folkhälsoinstitutet ska också föreslå hur det fortsatta arbetet ska läggas upp och genomföras med utgångspunkt i resultaten av kartläggningarna. Uppdraget ska redovisas senast den 1 september 2009.

Uppdraget är en del av regeringens handlingsplan för att bekämpa mäns våld mot kvinnor, hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck samt våld i samkönade relationer.

Läs också:

Handlingsplan för att bekämpa mäns våld mot kvinnor, hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck samt våld i samkönade relationer, skr. 2007/08:39

Regeringen har utsett Judith Melin till ny generaldirektör och chef för Kustbevakningen. Hon tillträder tjänsten den 13 oktober.

Judith Melin kommer närmast från en anställning som generaldirektör för dåvarande Statens Kärnkraftsinspektion (SKI). Judith Melin har också innehaft tjänster som enhetschef i Miljödepartementet och vid dåvarande Statens strålskyddsinstitut (SSI).

Judith Melin har varit särskild utredare för organisation och finansiering av kemikalietillsynen i Sverige.

Judith Melin har också haft internationella uppdrag, bland annat vid internationella atomenergiorganet IAEA som svensk styrelserepresentant och som Ordförande i Western Nuclear Regulators Association, en sammanslutning av Europas chefer för kärnsäkerhetsmyndigheter.

Regeringen har i dag fattat beslut om åtgärder som tidigare har aviserats i handlingsplanen mot prostitution och människohandel för sexuella ändamål.

Kriminalvården får i uppdrag att bedriva en försöksverksamhet för kvinnor som befunnit sig i prostitution eller varit utsatta för människohandel. Inom ramen för denna verksamhet ska Kriminalvården erbjuda stöd, rådgivning och rehabiliterande åtgärder. Försöksverksamheten ska vidare omfatta arbetsmarknadsinriktade insatser som syftar till att underlätta för denna grupp kvinnor att komma in på arbetsmarknaden.

Regeringen ger även Brottsoffermyndigheten i uppdrag att genomföra utbildning som riktar sig till personal inom polisen, Åklagarmyndigheten, domstolsväsendet och Migrationsverket i frågor som rör prostitution och människohandel för sexuella ändamål.

Kampen mot människohandel måste föras på bred front. Det räcker inte enbart med att jaga förövarna. Vi måste också se till att kvinnor som befunnit sig i prostitution och människohandel får del av insatser som syftar till att underlätta för dem att börja ett normalt liv. Dessutom måste kunskapen om de bakomliggande mekanismer som påverkar prostitution och människohandel vara god bland personalen på de myndigheter som inom ramen för sina respektive uppdrag kommer i kontakt med dessa människor. Det är därför viktigt med utbildning i dessa frågor, säger justitieminister Beatrice Ask.

För att straffade kvinnor, som har också varit utsatta för människohandel eller som har befunnit sig i prostitution, ska kunna börja ett nytt liv behövs rehabilitering som de bör kunna få redan under tiden i fängelset, säger Nyamko Sabuni. Jag är glad över att vi nu beslutar om denna viktiga åtgärd i den handlingsplan mot prostitution och människohandel som vi tog i somras.

Läs också:

Handlingsplan mot prostitution och människohandel för sexuella ändamål

Action Plan against Prostitution and Human Trafficking for Sexual Purposes

Regeringen har nu fattat beslut om att tillsätta en utredning om skatteincitament för gåvor till forskning och ideell verksamhet.

Skatteincitament kan vara ett sätt att stimulera individer och företag att skänka pengar till viktiga områden som till exempel forskning. Samtidigt som regeringen vill uppmuntra donationer måste vi komma ihåg att det är komplicerat och svårt att göra förändringar i skattesystemet utan att man samtidigt skapar krångel och kryphål. Det finns dessutom besvärliga avgränsningsfrågor, kontrollsvårigheter och EG-rättslig problematik som måste hanteras och lösas, säger finansminister Anders Borg.

Om den nu tillsatta utredningen hittar lösningar som medger skattebefrielse för donationer kan det innebära ytterligare resurser till viktiga forskningsprojekt. Regeringen har dessutom nyligen lagt ett förslag om att slopa den så kallade forskningsmomsen. Det är ytterligare ett sätt att främja externa bidrag, säger högskole- och forskningsminister Lars Leijonborg

I utredningens uppdrag ingår att analysera för- och nackdelar med skatteincitament för gåvor till forskning och ideell verksamhet som ett komplement till andra stödformer. Till den del lämnade förslag har offentligfinansiella konsekvenser, ska utredaren föreslå finansiering av förslagen inom det berörda området. Vidare ska förslagens påverkan på den administrativa bördan för Skatteverket, andra myndigheter och företag redovisas. Utredningen ska redovisa sitt uppdrag senast den 16 juni 2009.

Du kan läsa kommittédirektivet (Dir 2008:102), Skatteincitament för gåvor till forskning och ideell verksamhet, här.

Beatrice Ask - Tal vid öppnandet av Europarådskonferens om barnets rättigheter - Beatrice Ask

Your Majesty,

Ministers,

Deputy Secretary General,

Commissioner,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Children are valuable. This may be a truism, but it is true. Children hold an immense value to us as individuals, and to society as a whole. If we fail to take care of our children, we will almost certainly fail to build a good society.

Children need special consideration in an adult-oriented world. This becomes particularly evident when they come in contact with the justice system.

In today's Europe, children grow up in an environment which in many ways differ from the one I grew up in. One important example is that many children live a large  part of their lives  in the virtual world. They have access to markets and meeting-places on the Internet that most adults don't  understand - and many of us have never even heard of them. I consider myself as rather confident with modern information technology. I have used it every day for at least 25 years. But I must admit that I have never been given so much insight into the world of my children as when I joined Face book and became their virtual friend. It is quite an eye-opener!

Other children live under dreadful conditions where crime and the struggle to meet basic needs is predominant.  It is inevitable that many of these children come into contact with the justice system at one time or another - often as victims, but also as young offenders.  The challenge for us, as policy-makers and legislators, is how to adapt our justice system to fit their specific needs.

Much has been done, both nationally and internationally, to better the rights of children within the justice system. But there are still many unsolved issues. That is why I am so pleased to see You gathered here today. It is of great value that the actors concerned have the opportunity to meet and to discuss ideas and best practices.

I would like to take this opportunity to elaborate on a few aspects of justice and the rights of the child that I find important.

The justice system is built by and for adults. Children do not think, behave or react like adults. All of us who have children know this. Consequently, when the justice system deals with children, the level of legal certainty is to some extent reduced. We need to adapt the justice system so that the different needs and the level of maturity of each child are taken into account. This can greatly increase the level of legal certainty.  It can also help lessen the traumatic experience of legal proceedings for the child. In order for this to be successful, it's very important that everyone working within the justice system receives adequate training.

Children who face an adult justice system are vulnerable. They need special attention and access to professional help and support. Whether they are victims, witnesses or perpetrators of crime, or involved in civil or administrative proceedings, they depend on us as adults to understand them and to take appropriate action. The younger the child, the more important it is that the adults closest to her or him take their responsibility.

The Government and Society has another kind of responsibility to take; and that is to allocate resources to help children at risk. We must focus on these children in order to help them abstain from delinquency and petty crime, and to choose a better path towards a good life. If we are to succeed in preventing the recruitment of children and adolescents to criminal gangs and serious criminality, the Police and other authorities within the justice system must cooperate with all parts of society. This includes schools, the Social Services, sports associations and other relevant organisations. I am confident that such a strategy will save enormous suffering and costs, both for the children and for society as a whole. Proven, effective methods of crime prevention amongst children is  cost-effective, it is humane, and it is smart.

Children who are convicted of a crime or placed under institutional care, must be offered high-quality treatment, education and support. Such programmes must be meaningful and specially designed to help the child grow and change. To increase the possibilities of a good life, it is also important  that investigative authorities don't keep records regarding suspicions and convictions  for too long. Criminal records make it harder for these children to make a place for themselves in society. Everyone should get a second chance, and this is especially true for children and young people.

The government feels very strongly about crime prevention. For the past two years I have had the pleasure of presenting the Stockholm Prize in Criminology. This is an excellent way of rewarding those who do research and come up with fresh ideas in the area of crime policy. It is a joy to meet these people and to listen to their ideas.

I cannot stress enough the  importance of basing all policy decisions on scientific studies and evaluations. Our work must be based on research that shows short and long term consequences for the child and for the society as a whole. It is not enough  to make educated guesses where children are concerned:  Policy decisions, as well as rules and methods used by the authorities, need to be based on scientific knowledge where possible. We need to be absolutely clear over the effects that different policies, rules and methods have on both the child and the judicial procedure.

Universities and other research institutions can be of great help in this matter.

Final remarks

I am pleased to see so many prominent people gathered here in Stockholm to discuss this important subject. I wish you good luck. It is my sincere hope that this conference will lead to concrete and important results in our common effort to strengthen the rights of the child in Europe.

Thank you!

Handläggare av alkohol- och tobaksfrågor i kommuner och länsstyrelser erbjuds nu en helt ny utbildning i tillsyn. Syftet är att stärka handläggarna och att skapa en mer enhetlig handläggning över landet. Statens folkhälsoinstitut har i samarbete med Göteborgs universitet, och i samråd med Sveriges Kommuner och Landsting, tagit fram en skräddarsydd pilotutbildning för tillsyn och tillståndsprövning av alkohol- och tobaksfrågor.

Idag finns över 12 000 serveringstillstånd för alkohol i landet. Tobakshandlare har också skyldighet att anmäla försäljning till kommunen och följa åldersgränser. Kommuners och länsstyrelsers tillsynsarbete utifrån alkohollagen och tobakslagen är viktiga delar i ett förebyggande folkhälsoarbete.

Utvecklingen på området är snabb och det pågår också en översyn av lagstiftningen, därför är det nödvändigt att uppdatera sina kunskaper. Innehållet i utbildningen tar bland annat upp hur tillsynsarbetet organiseras och prövning av serveringstillstånd.

Kursen "Tillsyn och teori i praktik" ger 15 högskolepoäng och startar i början av november. Utbildningen har 24 platser och ges på Förvaltningshögskolan vid Göteborgs universitet.

För ytterligare information:
Anne-Lie Magnusson, tillsynsenheten, Statens folkhälsoinstitut, 063-19 96 61
Johan Landin, pressekreterare, Statens folkhälsoinstitut, 063-19 96 52

Den 10 juli 2008 fattade regeringen beslut om en handlingsplan för att bekämpa prostitution och människohandel för sexuella ändamål.

Handlingsplanen omfattar fem insatsområden: ökat skydd och stöd till utsatta, stärkt förebyggande arbete, stärkt kvalitet och effektivitet i rättsväsendet, ökad nationell och internationell samverkan och ökad kunskap.

Totalt satsar regeringen 213 miljoner på 36 åtgärder fram till år 2010.

Faktabladet finns även översatt till engelska.

Declaration of the World Forum Against Drugs, Stockholm Sweden 2008

Drug abuse is a global problem. Drug abuse is any use of illicit/psychotropic drugs (as defined in the UN Conventions) that is not medically approved or the inappropriate use of licit drugs. Millions of people are directly harmed by drug abuse. This includes: drug users and addicts, the parents, relatives, friends or employers of drug users and the victims of drug-related crimes.

The UN Conventions are the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961; the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971; and the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988.

Various actions are taken internationally to counteract the social, economic, health, spiritual and crime problems caused by drug abuse. Even though the world is against drug abuse, some organizations and local governments actively advocate the legalization of drugs and promote policies such as "harm reduction" that accept drug use and do not help drug users to become free from drug abuse. This undermines the international efforts to limit the supply of and demand for drugs. "Harm reduction" is too often another word for drug legalization or other inappropriate relaxation efforts, a policy approach that violates the UN Conventions.

There can be no other goal than a drug-free world. Such a goal is neither utopian nor impossible. Too often, we seem to act according to what we think is possible, rather than what is necessary or desirable.

To achieve a drug-free world we declare:

1. We support the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which stipulates in Article 33 that children have the right to be protected from drug abuse. All people, governments, and organizations should commit themselves to preventing drug abuse among young people. For example, we can do this by ensuring that schools are drug-free.

2. We all have the right to be free from drug abuse. Drug abuse and drug trafficking violate the
human rights of the most vulnerable individuals those whose free will has been compromised by
addiction. Drug dependence is a modern form of slavery that robs drug users of their free will, condemns them to crippled lives and often premature deaths, creates massive social burdens and spreads drug-using behavior. All people have the right to expect their governments to protect them and their families from drug abuse and to have a life free of drug abuse.

3. A balanced policy of drug abuse prevention, education, treatment, law enforcement, research, and supply reduction provides the most effective platform to reduce drug abuse and its associated harms.

4. We support and are guided by the 1961,1971 and 1988 UN drug conventions and the resolution resulting from the 1998 UNGASS-meeting. The UN Conventions provide a good platform for international cooperation in fighting drug abuse.

5. We urge all people to work with their governments to strengthen, support, and encourage the UN drug control system that includes the Office of Drugs and Crime, the International Narcotics Control Board, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the Economic and Social Council, the World Health Organization, and other bodies, in order to reduce the global demand for and supply of illicit drugs.

6. The work of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) are positive and essential in international drug demand and supply reduction.

7. We support the INCB statement in its 1993 report that drug demand reduction activities are crucially important in international drug policy and we call on governments to consider demand reduction as one of their first priorities in the fight against drug abuse.

8. We support the INCB statement that ‘harm reduction' programmes are not substitutes for demand reduction programmes and should not be carried out at the expense of other important activities to reduce the demand for illicit drugs, such as drug prevention activities.

9. All forms of differentiation between so-called "soft" and so-called "hard" drugs must cease. Extensive research confirms that the use of cannabis is detrimental to health, causes crime, and is addictive. Cannabis, and certain other drugs regarded in some countries as "soft", should be viewed in the same way as other types of illicit/psychotropic drugs when it comes to control
policy, rehabilitation and preventive measures.

10. Commercial outlets for illicit/psychotropic drugs, including coffee shops, and other open drug markets or drug scenes in Europe, must be closed immediately.

11. The so-called "medical" projects for distribution of heroin to drug addicts as a means of "harm reduction" are nothing but an attempt to legalize drugs through the "back door." This must be prevented by authorising the United Nations to withdraw all import licenses for heroin intended for use by drug addicts.

12. We oppose so-called "shooting galleries" or injection rooms, where drug abusers can administer drugs. This practice violates the UN Conventions. It provides for the congregation of addicts, facilitates illicit drug trafficking, and promotes drug abuse. The so-called "medical trial" of injecting rooms is yet another example of trying to legalize drugs covertly. As an alternative, we call on governments to provide appropriate evidence-based treatment for drug abusers.

13. We denounce so-called "medical marijuana" policies where marijuana is used as a "medicine", contrary to the Conventions, without such use first being approved by the competent regulatory authority of a nation and its usefulness recognized by the medical community.

14. We oppose all forms of legalization of illicit/ psychotropic drugs because such policies do not withstand critical evaluation, tend to run contrary to general experience and violate the Conventions.

The term "legalization" can have any one of the following meanings:
Total Legalization: All illicit drugs such as heroin, cocaine and marijuana would be legal and treated as commercial products. No government regulation would be required to oversee production, marketing, or distribution.

Regulated Legalization: The production and distribution of drugs would be government regulated, with limits on the amount that can be purchased and the age of purchasers. There would be no criminal or civil sanction for possessing, manufacturing, or distributing drugs unless these actions violated the regulatory system. Drug sales could be taxed.

Decriminalization: Decriminalization eliminates criminal sanctions for drug use and provides civil sanctions for the possession of drugs.

15. All drug abuse treatment should have the goal of making drug users drug-free. Treatment aimed at helping drug users to become drug-free should be expanded and readily available. Programs that keep addicts on drugs unnecessarily violate the human rights of addicts.

16. We condemn "drug zones" in cities where the drug laws are not enforced on small amounts of drugs for personal use.

17. We urge that governments and charities provide resources for drug abuse treatment for drug users, drug addicts, and their families.

18. We urge that governments and charities provide resources to make schools drug-free and that school administrators work with parents to make schools drug-free.

19. We urge that governments, charities, and businesses provide resources to make workplaces drugfree and that business management work with labor and unions to make workplaces drug-free.

20. We urge that governments provide resources to reduce drug-related crime, including drugged driving. We also urge that the criminal justice system use criminal sanctions, when appropriate, to deter drug use and alternatives to incarceration such as drug treatment courts, when appropriate, to deter and treat drug abuse.

21. We support an increase in advocacy work to increase funding and policy and legislation
changes that support drug demand reduction and interdiction efforts.

22. We support the launch of a global network of organizations which are united behind the UN conventions.

23. We support the organization of regular, global drug-free world conferences in the future.

24. It is important to state that drug abuse greatly harms the developing countries. Drug abuse and drug trafficking destroy local cultures and hinder political and economic development. Drug abuse and drug trafficking impact most heavily on some of the poorest countries. The developed countries must reduce the demand for drugs and assist the developing countries in the fight against drug abuse and drug trafficking."

Bäste besökare på den här bloggen
Det första World Forum Against Drugs ägde rum i Stockholm 8-10 september. Flera tal från konferensen läggs ut successivt på den här bloggen. Talen kompletteras också av ett stort antal intervjuer som kommer att sändas i radioprogrammet ReageraMera. Ytterligare upplysningar om när detta sker kommer att meddelas på den här bloggen.

Välkommen tillbaka!

Dear visitor to this blog,
The first World Forum Against Drugs took place in Stockholm September 8-10. Several presentations at the conference are already published here and there are more to come. Apart from the presentations published here, you will be able to listen to several interviews with speakers at the conference in my radio show 'ReageraMera' which is broadcast on Thursdays. Further information about contents and times for the radio shows will be published here.

Welcome back to read more presentations!

Torgny Peterson

Declaration of the World Forum Against Drugs, Stockholm Sweden 2008  

Båb Bergvall, President of the WFAD Organizing Committee - Opening remarks

Her Majesty the Queen of Sweden - Opening speech at the World Forum Against Drugs

Maria Larsson, Minister for Public Health, Sweden - Speech at the opening session of the World Forum Against Drugs

Mr Sten Nordin - Mayor's welcome to Stockholm and the World Forum Against Drugs

Robert L. Dupont, MD - The Battle over the Future of Drug Abuse Prevention

M.R. Disnadda Diskul, Secretary General, Mae Fah Luang Foundation, Thailand - 100 Years of Drug Prevention - how do we move forward?

HE General Khodaidad, Minister of Counternarcotics, Afghanistan - Can Afghanistan get rid of the opium problem?

Presentation by Mrs Christina Oguz, UNODC

Maria Ellgren, Karolinska Institutet - Cannabis and the brain: Neurobiological support for the cannabis gateway hypothesis

Ove Rosengren - President, The Swedish National Association for a Drug-free Society (RNS)

Andreas Kinnegin, Professor of Law, University of Leiden, Netherlands - The Dutch Drug Policy - Philosophy Part I

Andreas Kinnegin, Professor of Law, University of Leiden, Netherlands - The Dutch Drug Policy - Philosophy Part II

Frans Koopmans, de Hoop, Netherlands - The Dutch drug policy: Facts and Philosophy Part I

Frans Koopmans, de Hoop, Netherlands - The Dutch drug policy: Facts and Philosophy

Part II

Jo Baxter, Drug Free Australia - The importance of WFAD - an Australian Perspective

Presentation by Calvina Fay, Drug Free America Foundation

Sven-Olov Carlsson, IOGT Sweden and IOGT International

The Statement of Government Policy was presented by the Swedish Prime Minister, Mr Fredrik Reinfeldt, at the Swedish Riksdag (Parliament) 16 September 2008. The Statement of Government Policy is available here.

Maria Ellgren, Karolinska Institutet - Cannabis and the brain: Neurobiological support for the cannabis gateway hypothesis.

Maria Ellgren, scientist from Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden gave a presentation on cannabis and the brain.

Anybody interested to learn more about the presentation is welcome to do so by sending an email to [email protected]

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

Looking back on a century of drug control, as well as on the UNGASS decade, we can draw several conclusions. First and foremost, that we may have entered a period during which the number whose life is ruined by drugs has stabilized - whether we speak of farmers living on illegal crops, common citizens victimized by criminal gangs, or addicts wasting away.

This is what we call containment of the world drug problem. But, of course, containing the problem is not enough. We need to start reducing the number of people hurt by drugs, and to accomplish this we need to return to the basic principles of drug control, and base our work on evidence, not on ideology.

Before expanding on this point, let me place the containment question in context. The 2008 World Drug Report confirms that the world drug problem - a tragedy that in the second half of last century had grown at a fast clip, especially in rich countries - has stabilized since the beginning of this decade.

It has stabilized whether we talk about production or about addiction, or anything in between (trafficking, seizures, prices, purity etc.). Around the world, one person out of twenty (age 15-64)  has used drugs at least occasionally in the past 12 months, while some 26 million people (namely about 0,5%) face severe drug dependence.

26 million people is of course an enormous number. Yet, it is a fraction of the number of addicts to the freely available psychoactive substances, like tobacco and alcohol. And the body count is also quite different. While drugs kill 200.000 people a year, alcohol kills about 2,5 million people, and tobacco close to 5 million. This leads me to a conclusion.

The conclusion is that, in the absence of the drug control system, illicit drug use may well have had similar devastating consequences for public health as tobacco and alcohol. The perplexity is about the stance adopted by some people who favour curbing tobacco and alcohol use, and yet maintain an equivocal stance about drugs - or even advocate liberalization of their use.

Success in drug control is even more impressive when we take a longer term perspective. Compared to a century ago, global opium production is 70% lower, even though the global population quadrupled over the same period. Drug addiction rates are equally much lower than they were before the first drug control conference (Shanghai 1909).

We at UNODC remain convinced that when governments show commitment, as they have pledged to do under the UNGASS resolution, positive results follow. When, and where, we see slippages - and we do both in supply and demand for drugs - it is not because the UN drug conventions are inadequate, but rather because they are inadequately and unevenly applied by governments.

We are here today to look beyond 2008, not back to 1909 (the beginning of drug control) or 1998 (the beginning of UNGASS). If in the years to come we are to consolidate and build on the progress that has already been made, we must go back to the Conventions and balance drug control policies more effectively than thus far.

Oddly, while statistics speak loud and clear, popular perception is often that drug control isn´t working: there is too much crime, and too much drug money laundered around the world; too many people in prisons, and too few in health care; too much money spent on public security, and not enough on public health; too much eradication of drug crops, and not enough eradication of poverty.

At a more technical level, we have noted further uncomfortable facts: for example, geographic displacement (tighter controls in one region, or on one product, have produces a swelling of activity elsewhere). There has also been substance displacement, for example, when the use of one drug has weakened on the market, suppliers and users move on to another substance (from heroin to cocaine, or from drugs to alcohol).

As a result, whilde drug markets have stabilized, we have not yet achieved the fundamental objective of the Conventions, namely restricting the use of controlled substances to medical purposes. So, while we can look beyond 2008 in the knowledge that drug control is working, we should be honest enough to recognize that the situation is precarious, and brave enough to change our mindset and shift priorities.

This includes moving away from simplistic debates about legalization versus prohibition - a world of free drugs as opposed to a drug free world. Moving beyond containment above all requires pursuing policies based on evidence rather than ideology, and return to the first principle of drug control - the protection of health.

The 1961 Convention on Narcotic Drugs was inspired by the need to safeguard the health of people. Over the past few decades, security has taken the lion's share of resources, at the xpense of drug prevention and treatment. This is understandable - states need to regain control over unstable regions that are the source of drugs and fight their lethal trade.

While this is necessary, it is not sufficient. Similar attention and resources should be paid to lowering demand for drugs, and treating those who are dependent.

Today this is not happening. In most countries, health - the first principle of drug control - has become the last area to receive funding. As a result, well-intentioned but underfunded NGOs are left to pick up the slack.

This cannot be right. Drug dependence is an illness and should be treated like any other. Gone are the days when leapers, epileptics or persons living with hiv were thrown out of the village. So why do we abandon people who are drug dependent? Why do we mis-diagnose their illness, as a manifestation of a life style we do not want to question? An illness is a condition, not a choice. Saying, and accepting the contrary is an abdication of the state´s responsibility to ensure the health of its citizens.

I therefore encourage you to support a drug control agenda that puts health first. This agenda should include a comprehensive range of measures, from abstinence and prevention, to treatment, and reducing the health and social consequences of drug abuse - a continuum of care properly financed, and aprt of mainstream health and social services.

Measures should be pursued in an integrated approach, starting from square one. The hiv/AIDS campaign is based on the A-B-C principle, with A standing for abstinence. Well. We urge you all to do the same in drug related health programs, and adopt a set of principles that may stretch from A to Z (or whatever you may wish), assigning however the same meaning to A.

In other words, governments, international institutions and you all should not shy away from proclaiming the importance of avoiding drugs: A for abstinence.  Unfortunately the opposite is happening in so many societies.

What about proclaiming loud and clear the virtue of drug abstinence? Actually, this is only the first part of a sorrow story. The second part is even more disheartening. Some of the (implicit) messages we hear are startling: take drugs if you wish, and we teach you how to reduce the damage they cause. This is not only counter.intuitive - it is plainly wrong. Harm reduction, on its own, is necessary but also not sufficient. If not integrated into more complex drug control processes that start with abstinence and treatment, then harm reduction only perpetuates drug use. Would you tell an obese friend - have more sweets my dear, then get an insulin shot? Of course not. So let us be evidence-based and coherent. I urge you all to join the Copernican revolution that we have been leading over the years to effect a reversal of priorities in drug policy - not just destroying drug crops and arresting drug traffickers, not just handing out condoms, syringes, needles or soups but implementing a comprehensive package of measures to cover prevention, treatment and reintegration.

In this way we can reach all those who are vulnerable to drugs, or already affected by them. I urge the leaders of the harm reduction movement to join in this call for enhanced prevention and treatment so that we can show the world how balanced we are in our programs.

We must mobilize a broad cross-section of society - the medical profession, social workers, universities, and NGOs, in order to train professionals, disseminate evidence-based practice, and improve access to quality services. We must also involve municipalities and schools to provide support to students and parents. Beuýond 2008, drug control should also put a stronger emphasis on human rights.

I believe that although drugs kill, we shouldn´t kill because of drugs. The UNODC office is working with the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights and a number of NGOs to make states more aware of their obligations in relation to human rights in relation to drug control.

Ladies and gentlemen, UNODC is producing discussion papers on a range of issues including harm reduction, principles of drug dependence treatment, and making drug control fit for purpose. Some are already available on the UNODC website, others are coming soon.

We are also supporting the UNGASS process, not least by encouraging states to live up to their commitments. A lax approach in one country or for one type of drug - like cannabis - can unravel the entire system.

After all, to be successful, drug control must be truly global. We are concerned by signs of consumption displacement - from the developed to the developing world. A "supply push", as traffickers look for new markets and new routes to reach old ones, seems to be merging with a "demand pull" as lifestyles and consumption patterns migrate,  promoted by ever more interactive media, cheaper travel and higher income. This is a dangerous trend that must be guarded against.

To conclude Mr Chairman, there is still much to be done to solve the drug problem and mitigate its consequences. This is more than an inter-governmental or UN-centric process. It is about the future of our societies. Therefore, we need to hear from those on the front lines - from you.

Moving drug control beyond 2008 requires solidarity - among states taking a shared responsibility, between governments and civil society working together, and among all of humanity to ensure that no one falls through the cracks because of drug dependence.

In that spirit of solidarity I thank you for your dedication.

Thank you for your attention.

Chairman, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. May I first of all start by thanking all the organizers for putting on this first ever World Forum Against Drugs under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Silvia.

This session is about whether Afghanistan can get rid of the opium problem and the short answer is of course "YES". But when - I do not know. What I want to share with you today is the successes we have had, and indeed some of the lessons learnt from the failures and perhaps how we, the Afghans, together with the international community can look forward as to how to solve this problem.

The main theme of this conference is ‘100 years of drug prevention'. I would like to remind this gathering that opium can be traced back as far as 3500 years B.C. so the production is in fact over five and a half thousand years old! Why has it become a problem?

In the 1500's there are records of the Emperor Babur in what is now Kabul, taking ‘maajun' - a mixture of hashish, opium and other ingredients such as honey, dates, oil and spices. For centuries the opium poppy has been cultivated in parts of Afghanistan, for medical and recreational use. Throughout the world, opium was produced and even legally traded and indeed wars were fought over it as well.

It was only in 1827 that morphine was discovered as a product from opium and between 1874 and 1890 the heroin was first discovered.

What happened in Afghanistan?

In some parts of the country, opium use has been a very old tradition, both as a medicine and to give to young children to pacify or cure them. This was often in communities that were either poor or had little or no access to medical facilities or where the women worked as well as the men. There were also instances where it was used for social recreation.

All this started to change in the very late 1970s with a mixture of difference changes around the world. In the 1970s the West ‘discovered' heroin - on a wide scale, not now as a medicine but as a ‘recreational' substance that quickly had addictive properties that affected the taker and turned into drug abuse. There was now a lucrative but illegal demand.

At the same time Afghanistan was plunged into the beginning of three decades of war. During this time of troubles, poor farmers found that they had a small living they could make, criminal gangs found a new way of making money, corruption rose, external criminal organizations found that Afghanistan was a good place to grow poppy. And there was a market in the West that was ready to buy it.

Over the next thirty years, as pressure grew in our neighbouring countries to stop opium poppy growing,  unfortunately Afghanistan increased increased its production until we have become the world´s largest supplier of opium. Not something we are proud of but behind this headline lay a number of successes.

All of these factors concentrated the increased cultivation in Afghanistan. However, the continuing expansion of narcotics industry represents the greatest threat to Afghanistan's stability, especially since the narcotics trade is strongly linked to insecurity and terrorist activities. As His Excellency President Hamid Karzai has said - "If we don't destroy poppy, poppy will destroy Afghanistan". The Taliban and the narcotics traffickers share the same objectives in maintaining a state of insecurity and undermining governance and the rule of law. In some cases they are one and the same.

In the immediate aftermath of the Taliban's fall, efforts began to deal with the threat of the ‘opium economy'. United Nations Security Council resolution 1378 of 14 November 2001 noted that the new government "should respect Afghanistan's international obligations, including cooperating fully in international efforts to combat terrorism and illicit drug trafficking". This resolution was reflected in the Bonn Agreement of 5 December 2001, which requested the interim Authority and the Loya Jirga to "cooperate with the international community in the fight against drugs and organized crime". Moreover, the conclusions of the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan, Tokyo 21 January 2002, recognized the vital importance of counter narcotics issues to the success of reconstruction. Finally, The Afghanistan Compact also recognized the importance of this fight in the implementation of Afghanistan National Development strategy.

During 2002-2008, HE President Hamid Karzai has issued a number of decrees banning cultivation, production, drug abuse, trafficking of narcotic drugs and rewarding communities who respect the central government's policies. Various Ulema councils have issued fatwas which declared poppy cultivation contrary to Islamic sharia. Similarly, the Constitution of Afghanistan ranked opium cultivation, trafficking and consumption on par with terrorist activities as threats. Article 7 of the Constitution states; "The State prevents all types of terrorist activities, cultivation and smuggling of narcotic drugs and production and consumption of intoxicants."

In 2006, 28 provinces of Afghanistan were cultivating poppy, only six out of 34 provinces remained poppy free. The government decided to focus its efforts on increasing the number of poppy free provinces with the intention to suppress poppy cultivation in the south where most of the Afghan poppy is cultivated. Now three years after, 18 provinces out of 34 are poppy free. This shows a remarkable progress. This Year we have also seen a decrease of nearly 20% in cultivation of opium poppy and 6% decrease in production.

Now, almost all of the cultivation takes place exclusively in a small number of provinces, those most affected by insurgency in the southern part of the country.

During the past three years the Afghan government with the support of the international community has been able to reduce cultivation in some of Afghanistan's traditional opium cultivating provinces. These are Nangarhar and Badakhshan.

The success lies much on traditional methods and tactics. We have been working very closely with community leaders, local shuras, religious scholars, parliamentarians and governors. Our policy has been prevention and thus we have delivered counter narcotics messages through a nationwide pre-planting campaign. The communities, local administration, mullahs, central government officials and the international community representatives have actively participated in this nationwide campaign.

Prevention compared to eradication is an effective measure. Once the farmers decide not to cultivate poppy in their fields early in the season, they have other options to cultivate but eradication would force them to hunger and poverty as we will have to wait until the next cultivation season.

All in all, good governance, rule of law, security and self restraint are the important indicators in this fight. Pre-planting campaign and public awareness are the most effective tools in preventing communities from poppy cultivation.

The history shows that the cultivation trend has been up and down in the course of the years. Now, the challenge ahead of us this year is to sustain poppy free provinces and further reduce cultivation in the coming years. We have now laid the foundation of a strategic fight against drugs in Afghanistan. The progress this year shows that the National Drugs Control Strategy that was launched during the London conference on Afghanistan in early 2006 is working.

We must ensure that provinces like Nangarhar and Badakhshan do not cultivate poppy again. Farmers and laborers are expecting assistance. This year Afghanistan faced drought and high food prices which threatens a possible relapse next season if enough support is not delivered to the target communities.

In 2007, the government, supported by the international community - in particular the US and the UK - launched a new program of rewarding communities under the name of Good Performance Initiative of GPI. This program is an effective tool to encourage communities not to grow poppy. Currently the program covers 17 provinces with a total funding of 23 million dollars. This year the funding will increase to more than 45 million dollars.

We have recently developed and presented to the international community a new provincial-based planning approach for the effective implementation of National Drugs Control strategy. This major policy shift was required because for the past 4 or 5 years both the international community and the Afghan government have been arguing on what are counter narcotics related projects and what are not. Different terminologies were used - alternative livelihoods, legal livelihoods and alternative development - with no effective results on the ground.

Thus the government decided to come up with provincial counter narcotics focused plans that will present a comprehensive approach to development assistance as well as special counter narcotics activities related to drug demand reduction, law enforcement and criminal justice.

In years ahead we will focus our activities on the following major areas:

Year round pre-planting and public awareness campaigns

Using local councils, community elders, parliament members and social gatherings

Advocating good governance by punishing corrupt officials and rewarding loyal and clean officials

Rewarding communities by funding their priority projects through the Good Performance Initiative

Increasing pressure on traffickers and drug smugglers and their supporters by interdicting their convoys, destroying heroin processing labs and opium open bazaars.

Implementation of provincial counter narcotics planning process

Treating drug addiction and raising awareness among the communities on its harms by increasing the number of treatment and counseling centers in the country

Targeted manual eradication where legal livelihoods exists.

We will need more support and backing from our international partners to sustain the progress and achieve further successes in the coming years.

At the end I would like to thank once again the organizers of this important forum and I pray for a world free of drugs and terrorism.

Thank you for your attention.

Presentation by M.R. Disnadda Diskul, Secretary General, Mae Fah Luang Foundation, Thailand at the World Forum Against Drugs, September 8

Your Majesty, Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I am so pleased to see everyone here, 100 years after the Shanghai Conference, and the launch of a century of drug prevention. Today´s event is an important milestone in our fight against the world drug problem. Despite the demise of the Golden Triangle nearly 20 years ago and the success of demand reduction programs in many countries, the fight against narcotic drugs is still an urgent cause.

Drug dependence cripples the labour force; it diverts funds from the economy to the arms trade and terrorism, increasing instability in the world. Absolute numbers of cannabis, cocaine and opiate users have increased. Previous gains in containing the demand for drugs are in danger of being lost.

This comes at a time when we face the overwhelming challenges of a global food crisis and climate change. Exploding world population is forcing us to invade forest to make way for bloating cities. We encroach on arable land to feed more people, all while exhausting our supply of fossil fuels. Environmental degradation, food shortages, and rising fuel prices - these are the results of our own doing. For decades we have been consuming more than we give back, and nature will soon run out.

It is funny how we say that we are all affected by these changes and yet little efforts are put forth in addressing them. If we are suffering, imagine the lives of those who are less fortunate than us. I say that it is the poorest of the poor who suffer the most.

And the people contributed to our global problems the least. With commodity prices rising daily, and food supply dwindling, these people do not have a lot of choices. Faced with mouths to feed, poor land, no infrastructure - that´s why they have to get involved in narcotics. They have no choice. Narcotic crops are bought right at the farm gates, and they provide a way to soothe the desperation of their situation.

For these people, drugs will be a bigger issue than ever before, in terms of production and addiction. As long as we leave poor people vulnerable, they will grow narcotic crops. We must address the supply of drugs by giving everyone everywhere licit, sustainable, alternative livelihoods.

It begins and ends here, with poverty; by breaking the vicious cycle of sickness, poverty and ignorance, we can begin the process of lifting people out of their survival world so that they can be masters of their own destiny, and agents of their own future. These are the people who need help; this is who I work with. I am a DOER, working on the ground.

Allow me to tell you a little about our work. Established by the late Mother of His Majesty King Bhumibhol of Thailand over 20 years ago, the Mae Fah Luang Foundation is a "practitioner" of Sustainable Alternative Livelihood development, or SALD. SALD is "people-centric" - designed to help people help themselves.

Our primary activities take place in the heart of the infamous Golden Triangle. In the past, ethnic hill minorities used to grow opium because it was their SINGULAR means of survival. We worked to improve health, create employment and provide access to formal education for the roughly 11,000 people at Doi Tung - ex-growers, traffickers and recovering addicts alike.

Today, the people of Doi Tung have choices. A choice to work on the project's macadamia economic forests, or in coffee-roasting plants. They have the choice to work at our tourist destinations, guest houses, and gardens. They can tell their story to customers at Doi Tung cafes and Lifestyle shops scattered throughout the country. Daughters who had been sold to work in the sex industry now work in tissue culture facilities in the horticulture industry, and in sales, and many other alternatives. Grandmothers can choose to work in the handicraft center alongside their children, creating a world-class fashion line. Ex-addicts reforested hillsides denuded from slash and burn cultivation. Ex-opium have learnt landscape design. These local people have made Doi Tung a signature Thai brand. Opium is all but a thing of the past. Most of all, the people have regained pride and dignity, which money cannot buy. They dare to dream of a brighter future for their children.

In recent years Thailand has extended SALD assistance to Myanmar, Afghanistan and Indonesia, sharing best practices and lessons learned in our fight against drugs.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the drug problem, but DOERS must find ways to work together, contributing in more ways than any government whose financial resources are bound by red tape, whose technical assistance is clouded by political motives.

Forums like this one matter. People like you matter. We can´t just come here and talk for the sake of talking. We must act. We must build on this opportunity to trade best practices and learn from each other in order to improve the lives of future generations, because all countries, communities, and companies, no matter how large or small, developed or not, rich or poor - we are all affected by the drug problem.

If more people are ready to take up this cause, we will leave here knowing that we have provided a better world for our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Thank you for your kind attention.  

Robert L. Dupont, MD., President of the Institute for Behaviour and Health, USA gave a presentation on The Battle over the Future of Drug Abuse Prevention at the World Forum Against Drugs on September 8.

You can read the presentation here.

Honourable ministers, Mrs Dahl, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, participants of this important conference.

It's truly an honour for me to welcome you all to Stockholm - The capital of Scandinavia. A city on water. Stockholm is built on 14 islands connected by 57 bridges.57 sounds a lot, but I can assure you that we need to build more bridges and tunnels to get the growing city to work. In the archipelago we are surrounded by another 23 000 islands.

As the mayor of Stockholm it is a great honour for me to welcome you to my city, and I am proud that the 1^st World Forum Against Drugs takes place in Stockholm.

We are going to talk about the serious problems connected to drug abuse across the national borders. Drug abuse is also a serious problem in Stockholm even if our problems are much less severe compared to many other cities. For example, in Stockholm about 10 percent of young people have tested narcotics. It is too many, but in another Nordic capital the number is 25-30 percent. In other parts of Europe there are cities where about 50 percent of young people have tested drugs

In order to protect young people, drug prevention is an area with high priority in Stockholm. The availability of various drugs has increased as well as the experimental use of different drugs. Adolescents and young adults are much more exposed and vulnerable to various drugs as a result of growing globalization and access to the Internet.

The Social Services in Stockholm have recently granted money to develop field work on the Internet, where young people, who are exposed to risk and receptive to substance abuse, are surveyed on the net.

In this way the Social Services in Stockholm are increasing their knowledge about where young people make contacts on the internet and can deal with problems that occur much earlier.  It will also be possible for children and youths to ask questions about mental health and drug addiction and get answers on the net.

The City of Stockholm has an alcohol and drugs policy statement  - Stockholm Tobacco, Alcohol and Narcotics Programme - the STAN programme. The purpose of the STAN programme is to help to make the City of Stockholm a good place to live and work in. The City of Stockholm is to be a place where children and young people can grow up in a good, health-promoting environment. In order to succeed with this, there must be wide consensus and collective responsibility among the various parties concerned in the City. And I am happy to say that we have a big consensus on these issues. It is very much due to the hard work from the many non-governmental organisations behind this conference.

The STAN programme consists of a comprehensive framework for joint development, stating the principles, goals and priorities which apply within the City as a whole concerning tobacco, alcohol and narcotics. The programme applies to all of the City's boards and companies.

The STAN programme takes its ethical starting point in the intentions of the Social Services Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which stipulate the basic rights of children and young people to protection and support. The programme is based on national goals and current legislation. The aims and objectives of the programme are based on current research and on knowledge built in the City on what kind of prevention work has the best possible positive effect, and on what is known so far to give the best conditions for care and treatment.

The STAN programme has three main components: 1. Preventive measures, 2. Early measures and 3. Care and treatment. These three parts complement each other.

The City of Stockholm's long-term goals concerning tobacco, alcohol and narcotics are among others:

- Childhood and adolescence must be free from tobacco, alcohol and narcotics.

- A narcotics-free Stockholm.

- The residents of Stockholm who abuse alcohol or other drugs shall be offered help in order to stop their abuse.

The long-term goals are made concrete in the following measurable intermediate goals:

- To postpone the age of the first alcohol intoxication.

- To reduce the number of children and young people who use tobacco.

- To reduce the number of children and young people who at some point try using narcotics.

- To reduce intoxication drinking by both adults and young people.

- To reduce the recruitment of new abusers.

- To induce more abusers to stop their substance abuse.

- To reduce the injurious medical and social effects of alcohol and narcotics.

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One of the prioritised aims is that every other year, the Social Services Committee shall conduct regular inventories of school pupils' drug habits and risk- and protection factors related to drug use. The inventories willbe done in the ninth year of the compulsory school and in the second year of the upper secondary school.

The latest inventory showed - I am sorry to say - that substance abuse has increased. More of the young people in Stockholm use drugs. I am also sorry to say that more young women use drugs, drink more alcohol and smoke tobacco, and the gap between women and men is closing in this area.

The first part in the STAN strategy is preventive measures. This means measures that can be taken before risk behaviour or injury has occurred. As a part of this broad strategy, the Social Services Administration of Stockholm has initiated the Prevention Center of Stockholm, Precens, which is a resource center for primary prevention of alcohol, drugs and crime.

The City of Stockholm is divided into 14 city districts, and Precens's main task is to support professionals to improve their preventive and promotional local work against alcohol, drugs and crime.

Parents and family are the primary and most important arenas for prevention work. I myself have two teenagers at home and I know how important my role as a parent is when it comes to giving my children the right values - and not least important - learn my children to say the little but important word: no.

Therefore it is crucial to get parents involved in prevention work. To a great extent this can be done through the schools, but media measures and various types of parental training programmes are also important. In the budget 2009 the Social Division will be given more resources for this purpose.

The second part in the STAN programme is early measures. This means measures aimed at identifying and supporting persons in risk situations and/or persons displaying risk behaviour as early as possible.

The third part is Care and treatment - measures aimed at a manifested problem or injury at the level of the individual.

Few of the most serious substance abusers are completely unknown to the care services of the community. This I think says something about the relatively small number of heavy substance abusers we have in Stockholm, which is a good sign that indicates that the problem is not too serious compared with other cities. For this group of heavy abusers it is important to build up professional networks in order to give long-term support to the most vulnerable and to those who are hardest to motivate.

By taking the initiative of forming "European cities against drugs" (ECAD), the City of Stockholm is participating actively in international narcotics politics. ECAD aims to unite major cities in a joint fight to stop the legalisation of narcotics. Stockholm is and will continue to be a strong voice in the fight against the use and legalisation of narcotics, ECAD is also one of the partners behind this important world conference, which I am happy to welcome here today to Stockholm.

Thank you. 

Your Majesty, visiting dignitaries, ladies and gentlemen.

It is with great pleasure that I take part in this opening of the first World Forum Against Drugs, and I suppose it is the first time in Sweden for many of you - so heartily welcome to Sweden.

I am very proud that this forum takes place here in Sweden, and I can only thank the many active, local NGOs for their tireless work as organizers.

There are participants from more than 80 countries and from different professions and organizations. This mix of people and experiences will help to make this conference useful and successful.

Sweden has for a very long time been active in the field of prevention and, If I may say so, we have had some successes along the way but we have also learnt that this work needs to be an ongoing priority for society. Consequently, Sweden has invested heavily in addressing the drug problem. We have among the highest proportion of drug related expenditures in the European Union.

This conference puts a lot of emphasis on the voluntary or NGO sector. Rightly so. In many instances, NGOs and volunteers play a crucial role in the work against drugs. NGOs are extremely good at detecting new social problems which the government agencies can be unaware of. NGOs are vey good in meeting specific needs which are crucial for a person to be able to overcome the problems associated with poverty and exclusion.

Therefore we must work together in prevention, in care and treatment, and in the very important rehabilitation.

Here in Sweden we are fortunate to have a number of active NGOs. The government's primary role is to make policy decisions, to draw up overall strategies - after listening to the NGOs - and to give the appropriate support. But we also need support from the general public.

In my country we have today a political consensus and a broad public support for our comprehensive and restrictive drug policy. This drug policy is based on the UN conventions. It aims to reduce both the supply and the demand of narcotics. More specifically, the policy focuses on prevention, treatment and control - three equally strong pillars.

The vision is a drug free society.

Our view is that some measures of harm reduction are a complement to other policies and efforts. Therefore, during your visit here, you will see that Sweden accepts measures aimed at limiting the adverse consequences of drug abuse. But they can never be the only policy option. They are elements in a comprehensive care system, and they don´t change the fact that illicit drugs cannot be accepted, and that the respect for human dignity demands a strong commitment to combat drug abuse. To reduce the demand for drugs and to tackle the negative social and health consequences are complementary efforts.

Ten years have now passed since the world community came together to plan for the work against drugs. The plans were both comprehensive and far-reaching, but maybe we have not always been successful in implementing them. The resolution which will be adopted here at this conference is part of a global UNGASS review process.

Sweden has always been a staunch supporter of the UN conventions on drugs and of international collaboration in general. In our view, illegal drugs are connected with poverty, with hiv/AIDS, with corruption and criminality.

Illegal drugs constitute a threat to security and to a democratic development in the world. The approach, consequently, requires close international collaboration, and e.g. also using development assistance to combat drugs.

I am happy to reiterate Sweden's active support for a continuous central role for the UN conventions. The strong commitment from your side to show that there is public support for the conventions will further uphold respect for them.

Sweden has a low level of drug use or experimental drug use among young people. We have made surveys among school kids, about their drug use, since 1971. It is a unique material, and we make good use of it. The agency that coordinates the gathering and presentation of these surveys are also involved in the European ESPAD surveys. They are just about to begin the coordination of a new all European survey that will now include 44 countries.

Nationally, the Swedish government has adopted an action plan on drugs for the coming years. Among the priorities are young people, and one way to support them is by supporting their parents in their parenting efforts. Another priority is to follow the introduction and evolvement of new drugs. The Internet is a newly opened shop to market and sell new drugs. It is open 24 hours and always reachable wherever you are. What used to be only a place for drug liberal views is now a place to get hold of new, dangerous drugs.

Different kinds of designer or synthetic drugs are sold over the Internet, and just recently my government classified Fenazepam and prohibited this dangerous drug. In these cases we have to step in actively with efforts to protect children and young people, and we have to do it quickly once a new drug is detected.

It is extremely important for NGOs and government bodies to learn to monitor the Internet closely and to learn about the new drugs which are sold there. Let me therefore say that this conference is a perfect place to gather new knowledge and to share experiences.

Probably you have, just as I have, watched the Olympic Games. New world records, or Olympic records, or world records, were set. Athletes improve their performance and get better - this is the basic idea about sports. But I also know that we can improve our performance - our work against drugs. We can get better in what we do. Let me therefore declare the World Games Against Drugs inaugurated. I welcome you to improve your performance and maybe even to compete in how to best tackle the illegal drug situation.

Thank you. And now - let the Games begin!

Dear Mrs. Dahl, former speaker of the Parliament; dear Mrs. Larsson, Minister of Health; Excellencies, dear Mrs. Diskul - thank you for coming. Last we met was at the Golden Triangle in Thailand.

I am so very pleased to see and welcome delegates from so many countries at this important conference.

Unfortunately, drug abuse has become a global problem. In the past we could talk about producer countries and consumer countries. But the situation has changed. Now we have a universal problem and a challenge which demands joint solutions. All countries and all people must work together to find these solutions.

Young people have become particularly vulnerable to drug abuse. We must try and protect young people from exposure to narcotics, and of course to prevent them from drug addiction. When young people become involved with drugs, it leads all too often to suffering - not only for the addicts but also for their relatives and friends.

It is our highest priority to work together, all of us, to prevent drug abuse and the harm that drugs can and do cause.

This is why I myself became involved with Mentor Sweden and I am proud to be one of the co-founders and president of Mentor International. Mentor's mission is to prevent drug abuse among children and young people and to promote their health and well-being. One way Mentor works to prevent drug abuse among young people is by giving them the self-confidence and the strength,  skills and abilities to say no to drugs.

Parents are also an important group for Mentor. It is vital for parents to support their teenagers and make sure that they have education and support to help in communicating and relating with their children.

This is an important conference - a forum - an exchange of knowledge and views in the campaign against narcotics. I am delighted to see how many we are who are determined to work for prevention and against the global problem of drug addiction. The gathering is an important opportunity to learn from each other. We need to work together and offer a team approach in our responses.

We can prevent. We can provide opportunities for young people. We can protect our young people from drugs.

We are offering a message of hope and health for our young people.

Thank you and all good wishes for a successful forum!

Your Majesty, Members of Royal Families and Ministers, Honorary Ambassadors and Guests, Prominent Speakers and Moderators, Distinguished Delegates 

Welcome to Stockholm and the first World Forum Against Drugs. My name is Båb Bergvall, and I am president of the Organizing Committee. 

Some years ago eleven Swedish organizations, all working to reduce drug abuse and stop drug trafficking, decided to jump off a cliff. We started to plan for the first World Forum Against Drugs ever. 

One of our major goals was to reach out to non-governmental organizations on all continents and invite their members to a world conference where they could share experiences and talk about a vision of a drug free world.

Today we are more than 600 participants at this opening session, from more than 80 countries - an outcome much better than we ever hoped for. 

This is of course a result of hard work, but we could never have done it without strong support and generous contributions from the Swedish government, the City Council of Stockholm, public authorities as well as numerous non-governmental organizations. We also thank the 20 Swedish private companies who decided to stand behind us and who as sponsors so generously support the conference. 

We will now have three days together to listen to speeches, attend major sessions, take part in workshops and  do a lot of networking in between. All of that will be very exciting for me and my fellow organizers. I am sure it will be equally exiting and interesting for all of you too. 

Once again, welcome to Stockholm and the first World Forum Against Drugs! 

Now it is my privilege to introduce our moderator for this opening session - a truly respected politician and former speaker in the Swedish Parliament, Mrs. Birgitta Dahl 

Thank you