Björn Fries – en modern hjälte!

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Björn Fries var tidigare Regeringens narkotiksamordnare (låt vara för den gamla S-regeringen), som sådan hade han uppgiften att bedriva traditionell svensk narkotikapolitik med nolltolerans och annat högtravande orealistiskt och moraliserande nonsens.

Men arbetet som nakotikasamordnare fick Fries att se både brukarnas och missbrukarnas världar inifrån, och den upplevelsen fick honom att tänka till. Som alla genuint stora människor såg Fries verkligheten och lärde ödmjukt av den och efter att han slutade sitt arbete som narkotikasamordnare har han kommit ut som en modig förespråkare för en ny linje i narkotikapolitiken, för skademinimeringslinjen.

Nyheter 24 har gjort en utmärkt intervju med Björn Fries där han berättar engagerat och öppenhjärtigt om sin syn på svenskarnas destruktiva relation till narkotikapolitiken:

http://nyheter24.se/nyheter/inrikes/202075-sverige-hatar-vara-knarkare

Tyvärr finns det fortfarande människor som påstår sig vara liberaler som inte har sett och lärt sig som Björn Fries. De skulle göra klokt i att lyssna på en så klok man och ta in hans erfarenheter och kunnande. Stora människor byter åsikt när de inser att de har fel. Bara små människor klamrar sig fast vid åsikter som fortsätter att skada andra människor och till och med berövar dem livet (som de sista motståndarna till de bevisligen fungerande och livräddande sprutbytesprogrammen, varav det beklagligt nog fortfarande finns några även inom Folkpartiet).

Skrivet av AlexanderBard | Taggar: , , , ,
Kategorier Socialpolitik |Publicerat 5:57 30 april, 2009
En kommentar to “Björn Fries – en modern hjälte!”
  1. Homo Illuminatus? Says:

    Läs detta om ett live experiment om avkriminalisering av droger i Portugal. Alla förbuds ivrares profetior om att det går åt helvete om droger avkriminaliseras i allmänhet och för ungdomar i synnerhet. Det portugisiska exemplet visare precis på motsatsen mindre missbruk och bruk i allmänhet men störst minskning hos ungdomar.

    Drug Decriminalization in Portugal:
    Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies

    by Glenn Greenwald

    On July 1, 2001, a nationwide law in Portugal took effect that decriminalized all drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Under the new legal framework, all drugs were ”decriminalized,” not ”legalized.” Thus, drug possession for personal use and drug usage itself are still legally prohibited, but violations of those prohibitions are deemed to be exclusively administrative violations and are removed completely from the criminal realm. Drug trafficking continues to be prosecuted as a criminal offense.

    While other states in the European Union have developed various forms of de facto decriminalization — whereby substances perceived to be less serious (such as cannabis) rarely lead to criminal prosecution — Portugal remains the only EU member state with a law explicitly declaring drugs to be ”decriminalized.” Because more than seven years have now elapsed since enactment of Portugal’s decriminalization system, there are ample data enabling its effects to be assessed.

    Notably, decriminalization has become increasingly popular in Portugal since 2001. Except for some far-right politicians, very few domestic political factions are agitating for a repeal of the 2001 law. And while there is a widespread perception that bureaucratic changes need to be made to Portugal’s decriminalization framework to make it more efficient and effective, there is no real debate about whether drugs should once again be criminalized. More significantly, none of the nightmare scenarios touted by preenactment decriminalization opponents — from rampant increases in drug usage among the young to the transformation of Lisbon into a haven for ”drug tourists” — has occurred.

    The political consensus in favor of decriminalization is unsurprising in light of the relevant empirical data. Those data indicate that decriminalization has had no adverse effect on drug usage rates in Portugal, which, in numerous categories, are now among the lowest in the EU, particularly when compared with states with stringent criminalization regimes. Although postdecriminalization usage rates have remained roughly the same or even decreased slightly when compared with other EU states, drug-related pathologies — such as sexually transmitted diseases and deaths due to drug usage — have decreased dramatically. Drug policy experts attribute those positive trends to the enhanced ability of the Portuguese government to offer treatment programs to its citizens — enhancements made possible, for numerous reasons, by decriminalization.

    This report will begin with an examination of the Portuguese decriminalization framework as set forth in law and in terms of how it functions in practice. Also examined is the political climate in Portugal both pre- and postdecriminalization with regard to drug policy, and the impetus that led that nation to adopt decriminalization.

    Glenn Greenwald is a constitutional lawyer and a contributing writer at Salon. He has authored several books, including A Tragic Legacy (2007) and How Would a Patriot Act? (2006).

    The report then assesses Portuguese drug policy in the context of the EU’s approach to drugs. The varying legal frameworks, as well as the overall trend toward liberalization, are examined to enable a meaningful comparative assessment between Portuguese data and data from other EU states.

    The report also sets forth the data concerning drug-related trends in Portugal both pre- and postdecriminalization. The effects of decriminalization in Portugal are examined both in absolute terms and in comparisons with other states that continue to criminalize drugs, particularly within the EU.

    The data show that, judged by virtually every metric, the Portuguese decriminalization framework has been a resounding success. Within this success lie self-evident lessons that should guide drug policy debates around the world.

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