Pubdate: Tue, 13 Dec 2005
Source: Bermuda Sun (Bermuda)
Copyright: 2005 Bermuda Sun
Contact:  http://www.bermudasun.bm/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

LET'S TALK ABOUT A REVOLUTION

For decades the world has ploughed billions of dollars - and countless
man-hours - into a so-called 'war' on drugs.

But the problem now is worse than it has ever been.

We spoke to Dr E.K. Rodrigo, who runs the Government's only drug
treatment centre - Turning Point, about his personal views on an
alternative approach to the international drug problem. Dr. Rodrigo is
a psychiatrist with more than 30 years' experience in Sri Lanka, the
U.K. and Bermuda.

The doctor, formerly Sri Lanka's drug tsar, believes it's time to
think out of the box. We talked to him about legalisation of all
drugs, teaching people better ways to be relaxed and happy and the two
most dangerous drugs of all - alcohol and tobacco.

Q. Which drugs represent the biggest problem?

A. Alcohol and tobacco are the biggest problems but the focus is
always on illegal drugs.

Usually you ask people - what do you think is the biggest problem?
They will say heroin or cocaine - this is far, far from the truth.

Illegal drugs are a comparatively minor problem in terms of health. If
you take substance use and related disorders the illicit drug relation
to morbidity and mortality is minimal.

Tobacco is the biggest killer of man worldwide. 11,000 people die
every day from diseases related to smoking. If you add all other
causes of death - suicides, Aids and so on and you add them all up it
is still less than tobacco.

Q. Is there an element of hypocrisy, then, about the 'war on
drugs'?

A. Alcohol and cigarettes are seen as social drugs not killer
drugs.

When people hear you say 'don't take drugs' and you are smoking and
you are drinking it lacks credibility.

There would be greater consistency if you say all drugs are
dangerous.

Q. Are we focusing on the wrong drugs?

A. All drugs are a problem, but in health terms alcohol and tobacco
are the biggest issues.

In most general hospitals around the world about 30 per cent of the
people are there for alcohol or tobacco related disorders.

Around 30 per cent of national health bills are directed at alcohol
and tobacco. There are 300 people at Turning Point (the only drug
treatment centre on the island) seeking treatment for mostly heroin
addiction.

If alcohol was discovered today it would not see the light of day.

When I was working in Sri Lanka, heroin had arrived in the country in
the '80s and there was public uproar. There are now five treatment
centers for heroin but still none for alcohol and tobacco.

There is hysteria about illegal drugs like heroin but drugs like
alcohol aren't always seen as a problem.

Q. What about making all drugs, including alcohol and tobacco,
illegal?

A. Prohibition would not work it would just create another criminal
industry.

In the early 20s and 30s the U.S. courts were filled with alcohol
related cases, just as so much of police, court and political time is
now spent on dealing with drug related crime.

The main problem with cannabis, coke and heroin is that there is a
huge illegal industry behind it and to catch this industry there is a
huge police force.

Half the people in Westgate are there because of drug
problems.

Q. Why not continue with the enforcement approach?

A. The centuries old drug war has failed.

Billions of dollars have gone into the anti-drug war and it has
brought only huge criminal organizations.

When you have poured in money for a century surely it is time for you
to decide it is not working.

Q. Should we make a distinction, when we talk about drugs, between
cannabis and other, so-called harder drugs?

A. I look at all drugs as the same. They are all potentially harmful
to health. I would say nicotine and alcohol are the most dangerous.

Ideally you would have a situation where all drugs were legal but
people did not take them.

Q. How would they be sold and supplied?

I imagine it would work in the same way as alcohol. People would apply
for a licence to sell cannabis, coke and heroin.

It would help people who were using drugs to do it more safely. The
Government and the legal bodies would be freed from chasing these
people and it would be a controlled legal trade.

You would still have the problem with health, but you have that
anyway. At least this would take away the criminal aspect and we could
concentrate on reducing the health problem as much as possible.

No drugs should be allowed to be marketed. Make all of them available,
but no promotion.

Don't allow the people who are marketing the drugs to control the
image portrayal.

Q. Surely if there were drug cafes for heroin and coke, usage would go
up?

That would happen initially but then I think it would go down. The
Netherlands legalized cannabis and after an initial increase in use,
it went down.

The main problem they have is actually with drug tourism.

If you legalize drugs, with each drug say 'this is what it will do'.
If you give people the advantages and the disadvantages they have the
skill to make a decision.

Some people would still take drugs - yes. But how many people actually
chose not to take drugs because they are illegal?

If you have an educated population people can make an informed
choice.

Legalizing drugs would make them cheaper and less exciting -they
would lose their mystique.

Q. How would you ensure people didn't take drugs?

Most people who take drugs do so as a way of handling stress or
unhappiness.

Teach people how to be happy. There are eight simple things you can do
to be happy - count your blessings, thank people who have mentored
you, be kind both systematically and randomly, look after your body -
eat well, sleep well - exercise, spend time and energy with your
family and friends, enjoy small things and learn to cope with problems.

Instead of teaching children simply don't take drugs - teach them
better methods of dealing with stress, with anger - teach life skills
- - if drugs come up - be honest - don't deny that they can give
pleasure because you are just not credible but mention other less
costly and more lasting pleasurable activities.

Q. What do you think the effect would be of mass legalization of
drugs.

A. You would, for one thing, pull the carpet right from under the huge
criminal industry that surrounds it.

It would relieve the legal system like it did in the early '20s and
'30s when the U.S. courts were filled with alcohol related cases. It
is high time we took a scientific view of this. What has the
international drug war done to ease the drug problem?

Q. What advice would you give to Wayne Perinchief, the Government's
new drug's minister?

A. I was made the government's drug tsar in Sri Lanka. I resigned
after one year because it was just a window dressing.

I hope Mr Perinchief's appointment is not a political exercise. If you
are going to have a drug tsar you need to give him real power. He
needs to galvanise and push through policies. If you are sticking to
an enforcement policy, then make sure illegal drugs don't come into
Bermuda.

It is a small enough country to police. You really need to question if
the people controlling the import of drugs into this country are doing
their job.

I talk to my users and they know who the dealers are so the police
should know. The ones that go to Westgate say. "Dr, it is easier to
get drugs in prison".

It is very likely that there are some blind eyes being turned.

He must look at it in two ways - supply and demand. On the demand side
you develop an educated population which learns to deal with stress
and anger and doesn't need to take drugs. Once the demand reduces, the
supply will also reduce.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin