(Translation = An Addict but not a Criminal)Criminalization of drug users have detrimental effects on the HIV/AIDS response in the populations of injecting drug users. Criminalization efforts have proved to drive targeted populations underground and deter efforts needed to effectively lower their risk levels. Criminalized behaviours are less likely to be reported and those who practice such behaviors are also less likely to seek services based on their behavioral risks.
In Lebanon, organizations of the civil society (mainly Oum el Nour and SKOUN) have been quite active in lobbying for non-criminalizing regulations towards drug users. Such lobbying efforts were successful in changing the penal codes such that arrested users are referred to treatment and rehabilitation centers. The new regulations fall short were they fail to recognize an addict, a non-addict drug user, small-time dealers and large dealers. This is important since drug dealers are criminalized. Thus, the system is still cracked and IDU can be easily charged with drug dealing and trading. The lobbying is far from over.
In Lebanon, organizations of the civil society (mainly Oum el Nour and SKOUN) have been quite active in lobbying for non-criminalizing regulations towards drug users. Such lobbying efforts were successful in changing the penal codes such that arrested users are referred to treatment and rehabilitation centers. The new regulations fall short were they fail to recognize an addict, a non-addict drug user, small-time dealers and large dealers. This is important since drug dealers are criminalized. Thus, the system is still cracked and IDU can be easily charged with drug dealing and trading. The lobbying is far from over.
4 comments:
Whered you find the stencil?! Ive never seen it,
the sad thing is that theres ONLY Oum El Nour even though Lebanon has a SERIOUS addiction problem. I've heard about so many people that have applied to go in and weren't accepted because of the demand. Its good there's SKOUN though to follow up.
Hey Ahmad! Great picture, where is it from?
It is good to hear that there is some small progress in Lebanon about referring people who use drugs to treatment centres instead of giving them jail sentences... in Canada our system will still send people to jail and see people who use drugs and criminals.
What kind of strategies do Oum el Nour and SKOUN use to lobby? Are there any public awareness campaigns or mobilisation efforts?
Hi Ahmad,
I lived in Vancouver (Canada) when there was intensive lobbying to open up Canada's first supervised injecting site. A lot of initial work focused on building an economic case for approaching drug use as a public health issue rather than a criminal justice issues. You may be interested in reading some of the peer reviewed and newspaper articles about In-Site. Here's a good website: http://www.communityinsite.ca/
I'm also interested to hear more about the reasons why addictions are such a serious problem in Lebanon...
i keep saying who are we to judge people or who gave us the right to judge them ?!!
Using Drugs is a problem and its a seriuos one , but behind using drugs can be alot of causes , lets try to figure out the causes and rehab people who use it , its ont a compition to put as many addicts as we find in jeal , u know i know i guy who is an addict , even his family prefers if he stays at jail !!!! it makes me sick insted of him going in and going out all the time , lets figure out how we can help him not to leave him to the streets , we are humans after all , what if i was in his shoes !!! wuld i want to be eliminated like this ??
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