THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON GLOBAL DRUG POLICY

On the occasion of the 48th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, ICOS convened senior policy-makers and civil society leaders at The Fourth International Symposium on Global Drug Policy. The Symposium was organised around two panel discussions: (I) Promoting Public Health Policies and Practices and (II) Building an Effective Drug Policy with Afghanistan. The presentations on public health measures were given by the keynote speaker Dr Massimo Barra, Vice-President of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Dr Benedikt Fischer, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, researcher with the North American Opiate Medications Initiative (NAOMI) and were provided with commentary by Prof Rainer Schmid, Associate Professor at the University of Vienna.

The presentations on Afghanistan’s drug policy were presented by the keynote speaker HE Eng Habibullah Qaderi, Aghanistan’s Minister of Counter Narcotics, Vitalino Canas, Member of the Portuguese Parliament and former State Secretary responsible for drug co-ordination and Mr Christoph Berg, Head of the Development-oriented Drug Control Programme for GTZ, Germany.

The Vienna International Symposium was also the forum for the public launch of two important projects by ICOS. The first was ICOS’s Opium for Morphine Feasibility Study, which is to be conducted over the coming months and which was presented to the public by Mr Emmanuel Reinert, Executive Director of ICOS. The second was the public launch of A Fourth International Convention for Drug Policy, which provides countries a legal framework within which to promote public health policies.

Promoting Public Health Policies and Practices

In his keynote address, Dr Barra emphasized the need for drug policies that are both compassionate and take into account scientific findings. He pointed towards the stigmatization of drug users as one of the most dangerous trends in current policies for both drug users and their communities. He offered as an alternative the inclusion of public health measures such as needle exchange programmes and methadone treatment programmes, which have been proved to be viable and necessary aspects of effective drug policies.

Dr Barra drew attention to the Red Cross’ 2003 report on harm reduction, Spreading the Light of Science, and discussed the importance of harm reduction strategies in caring for drug users. Their implementation was not an act of complicity but one of humanity.

This was exemplified by Dr Fischer’s description of the North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI), which he contextualized within the drug problem in Canada, a country which has 60,000-100,000 drug users and which sees 500-1000 deaths per year attributed to drug use. Dr Fischer pointed to the Swiss model for heroin prescription as a template for a Canadian programme, but was careful to point out that NAOMI was not a prescription heroin programme but a scientific investigation into the effectiveness of heroin treatment versus methadone treatment. Dr Fischer underlined the importance of media and public relations in ensuring a positive public response to controversial or experimental drug programmes.

In his comments, Prof Schmid discussed the term ‘harm reduction,’ stating that because it is often linked to policies and programmes that are not related to reducing harm it has unfortunately become increasingly politicized. He offered instead a succinct description of harm reduction as any measure that minimizes harm on an individual, social, or global level. Dr Schmid stressed the need to develop programmes that can be easily and inexpensively implemented in countries that are wracked by drug-related problems, and he pointed to the exponential rise in the number of HIV/AIDS sufferers and drug addicts in certain regions as proof of the dire need for richer countries to offer their aid.

By sharing their knowledge, Western countries could help administer solutions quickly, which is a key measure of success considering the staggering rise in drug addiction and disease in certain regions.

A Fourth International Convention for Drug Policy

As the panelists’ presentations made clear, there is a lack of clarity concerning the legality of life-saving public health measures. This is particularly critical to developing countries with rising HIV/AIDS rates which look toward the international community for clear signals on whether to include public health measures as a part of their drug policies. ICOS therefore commissioned the British Institute for International and Comparative Law to prepare A Fourth International Convention for Drug Policy, a document to address this lack of clarity and provide a legal and realistic international framework for the inclusion of harm reduction and public health measures within countries’ drug policies. A Fourth International Convention for Drug Policy was presented at the close of the panel discussion on public health measures as a template for countries and international organisations to use in promoting public health policies.

Building an Effective Drug Policy with Afghanistan

HE Eng Habibullah Qaderi, Afghanistan’s Minister of Counter Narcotics, began his keynote address by providing a contextual background to the current near-crisis situation in Afghanistan. Two decades of war, civil conflict, massive drought, the creation and propagation of terrorist and drug trafficking networks, and the increasing power of warlords have all contributed to an increase in the cultivation of poppy for opium in all provinces of Afghanistan in addition to bringing the country to the brink of becoming a narco-state. The side-effect of this economic trajectory has been an increase in the rates of drug addiction in Afghanistan, with estimates of up to 50% addiction rates in some provinces.

Since 2002, the government of President Hamid Karzai has given priority to building Afghanistan’s drug control capacity and has instituted an eight-point counter narcotic implementation plan which includes law enforcement, poppy crop eradication and harm reduction strategies, among others, and includes Afghanistan’s religious community, Afghan farmers and other national and international organisations.

HE Qaderi also outlined several challenges that Afghanistan still faces in tackling the drug problem. The first of these challenges is helping the international community understand the fragile situation of Afghanistan’s farmers, and convincing the international community to respect the rights of these farmers. This understanding goes hand in hand with the Karzai government’s refusal to condone aerial crop spraying. The second challenge is increasing the amount of training, money, expertise and experience devoted to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Counter Narcotics, especially in the area of alternative livelihood programmes for farmers. The third challenge is to properly address the drug addiction problem in Afghanistan by expanding current demand reduction programmes in the country and focussing on the reintegration of drug addicts into society. Lastly, HE Qaderi pointed to corruption in Afghanistan as a serious problem that must be dealt with before drug control measures can truly be effective. He welcomed the support of the international community to help overcome all of these challenges.

To conclude, HE Qaderi stressed the importance of the international community’s role in helping Afghanistan rebuild its irrigation and water systems, and especially to help fund subsidies for alternative livelihood programmes for farmers. Without a devoted subsidy fund, it will become increasingly more difficult to convince farmers not to grow poppy crops. Finally, he thanked GTZ for their development work in Afghanistan.

In his presentation, Mr Christoph Berg outlined some experiences and insights that GTZ has gained through its work in Afghanistan. One key issue was the complexity of the farmers’ situation.

Afghan farmers find themselves trapped within Afghanistan’s drug industry, dependent on the two other major actors in the illicit drug economy – land owners and protectors/traffickers. In 2004, Afghan poppy farmers received only 21% of the revenue from drug profits, down from 44% in 2003. This has resulted in a drop of poppy farmers’ annual income to 260$ US in 2004, from 600$ US the year before. This cycle of dependence is perpetuated by a system of loans and credits which are entirely funded by the opium economy.

The extreme interconnectedness of the drug economy and Afghanistan’s licit economy makes the abrupt cessation of drug revenue through crop eradication dangerous to the lives of the most poor elements of Afghani society. As well, eradication measures have the effect of driving up street prices of heroin elsewhere, which benefits the ‘protectors’ and traffickers. This was the outcome of the Taliban’s ban on poppy growing which led to the doubling of heroin prices in some European countries, for example Austria. Eradication also creates further instability at a crucial time for the still nascent government of Hamid Karzai.

Mr Berg stated that key to the success of curbing Afghanistan’s drug economy is the proper sequencing of drug control measures. Specifically, eradication measures can only be taken when alternative livelihood programmes are in place, a situation which will take years to develop. At the same time law enforcement must be refocussed so that interdiction efforts are directed towards the higher strata of the drug trade.

In his presentation, Mr Vitalino Canas delineated the links between the drug problems faced in Afghanistan and Europe. He opened his presentation by stating that Europe has a moral obligation to help Afghanistan combat its drug crisis through increased funding and support for the institutions of Afghan society. He pointed to the high level of heroin found in Europe that is sourced from Afghanistan (70-90%), and stated that it was irrational to blame Afghanistan for this, as if it wasn’t Afghanistan, another country would fill the European demand. Europe has a duty to curb its demand as well as a duty to help Afghanistan curb its production and cultivation of drug crops.

This can be effected in Afghanistan, Mr Canas said, through alternative solutions like ICOS’s proposed Opium for Morphine Feasibility Study. The Western response cannot be to solve the Western drug problem in Afghanistan without thinking of Afghanistan’s problems, Mr Canas said. This was the thinking behind the US’ failed Plan Colombia, which made victims of the Colombian population without making any real progress against the Latin American drug trade.

Finally, Mr Canas cautioned against eradication efforts and pointed towards ICOS’s Opium for Morphine Feasibility Study as a potential breakthrough in finding an alternative solution to the expansion of Afghanistan’s illicit drug economy.

ICOS’s Opium for Morphine Feasibility Study

As was evident by the panel discussion, combating Afghanistan's illicit drug trade presents many challenges that cannot be met by current strategies. Crop eradication is not an option given the extreme collateral damage that results from its implementation. The favoured solution is the use of alternative livelihood programmes which are effective in developing a strong economic and social infrastructure, but unfortunately only yield results in the long term. In contrast to these, Afghanistan needs a convincing and fast-working concept and the organisation which could implement it.

In the light of this complex situation, Mr Reinert presented ICOS’s Opium for Morphine Feasibility Study, which is to be conducted over the coming months to fully explore the possibilities for Afghanistan’s economy, its social and cultural situation, and its fight against the illicit drug trade, of growing opium for morphine and other essential medicines. The study will cover all aspects – economic, legal, social, cultural, ecological and political – involved in such a solution.

Licit opium for morphine production in Afghanistan would also address the international community’s severe shortage of morphine and other essential medicines.

The findings of the study will be presented at the Kabul International Symposium on Global Drug Policy, which will be held 25-29 September 2005. The symposium will bring together policy makers, academics, and civil society organisations from Afghanistan, Central Asia, Europe, Latin America, Canada and other regions with experience in drug policy applications at the national and international level.