MAIL Online: A pioneering Swiss programme aimed to curb drug abuse by providing addicts with a clean, safe place to take heroin is expected to be made permanent by voters in a referendum on Sunday.
The programme has been criticized by the United States and the U.N. narcotics board, which said it would fuel drug abuse.
But governments as far away as Australia are beginning or considering their own systems modeled on the Swiss one, which is credited with reducing crime and improving the health and daily lives of addicts.
It has won wide support within Switzerland since it began 14 years ago to eliminate scenes of large groups of drug users shooting up openly in parks that marred Swiss cities in the 1980s and 1990s.
Dr. Daniele Zullino's office, part of the Geneva University Hospitals, is one of 23 such centres in Switzerland. Switzerland Set to Approve Prescription Heroin as 'Safe Alternative' for Addicts >>> | November 29. 2008
TIMESONLINE: Swiss Voters Back £14m-a-year Health Scheme to Give Addicts Free Heroin
The free provision of heroin to addicts won the overwhelming support of Swiss voters yesterday.
Projections based on early results indicated that 69 per cent of voters approved the programme, believed to be the first of its kind in the world, in a poll called under the country's system of direct democracy.
Crime by heroin addicts has fallen 60 per cent since the initiative to allow health clinics to administer controlled doses of the drug began 14 years ago, according to the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health.
The support for the plan came in a referendum called by opponents of a government policy that treats hardened drug users as patients rather than criminals. Critics, including conservatives who called for the referendum, object to the annual cost of 26 million Swiss francs (£14 million), covered by the health insurance that all citizens pay and the Government covers for those who cannot afford it.
While the Swiss have a more tolerant attitute towards drugs than most European countries, a parallel referendum to legalise small-scale cannabis growing and use was soundly rejected by a margin of about two to one.
The heroin scheme was introduced in response to a public outcry over the sight of addicts openly injecting the drug in public parks, as well as a rise in HIV and hepatitis infection. About 1,300 addicts are currently on the programme of carefully supervised doses, measured to satisfy their cravings yet avoid the risks of overdose and catching infections from dirty needles.
The addicts attend one of the country's 23 heroin centres and, in groups of four, inject themselves under the watchful eye of a nurse. They leave after a few minutes — those with jobs going back to work. >>> David Charter, Europe Correspondent | December 1, 2008
BBC: Swiss Approve Prescription Heroin
Swiss voters have approved a change in health policy to offer prescription heroin to addicts on a permanent basis.
Final results from the national referendum showed 68% of voters supported the plan.
The scheme, allowing addicts to inject the drug under medical supervision at a clinic, began in Zurich 14 years ago before spreading across the country.
But in another referendum vote, 63% of voters rejected the decriminalisation of cannabis.
The heroin vote was one of a series of referendums held to decide policy on illegal drugs.
Under the scheme, addicts visit clinics up to twice a day, where they inject the drug under medical supervision. They can also be treated for other medical issues or mental health problems, out correspondent says.
The policy is described as one of last resort - prescribing addicts with the very drug that caused their problems in the first place - but supporters say it works, and Swiss voters appear to have agreed, the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Berne says.
Switzerland will be the first country to include it in government policy. >>> | November 30, 2008
TAGES ANZEIGER: BBC berichtet über Heroinabgabe
Das Ja der Schweizer Stimmbürger zur Revision des Betäubungsmittelgesetzes ist weltweit Thema.
So hat etwa das News-Portal des lokalen News-Senders Central Florida News eine entsprechende Meldung der Nachrichtenagentur Associated Press (AP) aufgeschaltet. Auch die BBC berichtet über das klare Votum für die gesetzlich legitimierte Weiterführung der Heroinabgabe («Prescription Heroin»). Die Schweizer Drogenpolitik habe zum Verschwinden der offenen Drogenszenen und zu einer Reduktion der Beschaffungskriminalität geführt. Dies habe das Stimmvolk nun anerkannt und sei somit den Argumenten der Befürworter gefolgt.
Einer der Befürworter ist Ueli Spörri, Geschäftsleiter der Zürcher Heroinabgabestelle Arud. «Der Entscheid ist hoffentlich wegweisend auch für andere Länder. Dass unsere Drogenpolitik funktioniert, zeigt das klare Abstimmungsresultat. Wir sind selber ein bisschen überrascht, dass kein einziger Kanton Nein gestimmt hat», sagt Spörri. Mit dem positiven Entscheid können 23 Heroinabgabestellen ihre Arbeit weiterführen. [Quelle: Tages Anzeiger] 1. Dezember 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch und Gebundene Ausgabe) – Versandkostenfrei innerhalb der Schweiz >>>
