Heroin Assisted Treatment (HAT) was adopted in Switzerland after many drug users were not responding to traditional abstinence-based treatment programs (Uchtenhagen 2001). The Swiss were encouraged by the renewed British practice with injectable heroin. Participants who were chronically dependent, who suffered from health and social problems as a consequence of their addiction and who had (without success) engaged in other treatment programs at least twice, were accepted for participation in the HAT program (Uchtenhagen 2001). In the HAT program, they found that homelessness was significantly reduced in the study group. “Most spectacular was the reduction of criminal activities according to self-report and police data” (Killias and Rabasa 1998). In the Netherlands, the main objective of drug policy is to reduce the risks that drug use poses for the drug user themselves, their immediate environment and for society as a whole. They believe that it is important to take the risks to society into account; the government of the Netherlands is committed to ensuring that drug users are not caused more harm by prosecution and imprisonment than by the use of drugs themselves (Riley 1998:54). There is a misconception that soft drugs are legal in the Netherlands but in fact they are not. However, there is no targeting of the police to detect possession of drugs for personal use, or for selling or possessing up to 5 grams of cannabis products (Keizer 2001:3). "In a number of Dutch cities there is undisturbed sale of marijuana in coffee shops, where the use of alcohol and hard drugs is not allowed. The authorities monitor the coffee shops and youth centers where marijuana trade occurs to ensure that there is no sale of large quantities, no sale of other drugs, no advertisements, no encouragement to use and no sale to minors" (Riley 1998:55). The Netherlands is one of the birthplaces of modern harm reduction. Methadone programs began in the 1970's and were expanded on in the 1980's in order to deal with arising issues such as HIV, Hepatitis C, drug-related crime and other harms. These were considered “low threshold programs” since they do not aim at treating the addiction, and instead they are focused on regulating and stabilizing drug users (Riley 1998:55). Research has shown that programs need to be less rigid in order to reduce rates of crime, reduce other drug use and reduce exposure to infection (Riley 1998). An example of a program that does this is the "methadone by bus" program in Amsterdam. The methadone clinic cruises around the city dispensing methadone at different locations. Methadone is consumed on the spot and needles and condoms are also made available. They require no urine samples and no mandatory contact with counselors. This program has doubled the number of people entering drug treatment and re-socialization programs in Amsterdam since the early 1980's (Riley 1998). Other projects were developed in the Netherlands because of the amount of public nuisance caused by hard drug users. In the early 1990’s, 20% of the hard drug users were involved in petty crime, disorderly conduct, and making the public feel unsafe (Keizer 2001). The government responded by developing new programs and providing a substantial budget to fund it. Among other things, the project involved developing better shelter facilities for problem addicts (Keizer 2001). Municipal authorities and local addiction organizations had the primary responsibility for implementing the program. “A host of new facilities emerged, such as experimental user rooms (where drug use is tolerated), social hostels, and new forms of addiction clinics specifically developed for this group of problem addicts” (Keizer 2001). Public nuisance was reported to decline after the implementation of these programs. |
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