Details of 10 Specific Rights of Drug UsersRussell Newcombe, Senior Researcher, Lifeline, Manchester , England ; May 2007 Drug users have the three general rights to (a) consume drugs, (b) receive help for drug problems, and (c) be subject to fair drug laws and policies. Under these three headings, drug users have the specific rights (1) to ingest drugs and be intoxicated, (2) to possess and store drugs, (3) to share drugs with others, (4) to access quality drugs, (5) to access drug-taking equipment, (6) to access information about drugs, (7) to receive help for drug problems, (8) to be accurately described, (9) to be subject to reasonable drug laws, and (10) to social inclusion without discrimination. Drug users and non-users also have universal rights under the Human Rights Act (based on the European Convention on Human Rights). Consumption . Adults have the right to obtain, prepare, and ingest drugs, and to be intoxicated on drugs, according to their own personal decisions without criminalisation or unsought interference from other individuals or organisations, as long as their drug use does not directly harm other people*. Drug use is a victimless crime. Therefore, national laws making drug use/possession a criminal offence should be repealed (the UN Conventions permit this). This right covers the time, place and style of drug use, i.e. people should have the right to take drugs (a) in their own free time, (b) on private premises or in any public venues licensed for such purposes, and (c) by whichever methods of use they choose (amounts used, frequency of use, methods of administration, etc.). Though public ingestion of drugs needs to be prohibited, intoxication in public should only be an offence when associated with disorderly behaviour (cf. ‘drunk & disorderly’) or unsafe behaviour (eg. driving while unfit through drug use). Storage/possession . Drug users have the right to possess in their own property an amount of drugs compatible with several months’ supplies for personal use (though drug supplies must be stored in safe and secure conditions); and a right to possess reasonable amounts of drugs in their clothing or baggage when moving through public spaces (several days’ supplies), or travelling for business or leisure (several weeks’ supplies). Drug sharing . Drug users have the right to share drugs with other adults, either by giving or receiving them freely (as a gift) or for the same price (reimbursement) – which is put forward on the grounds that the spirit of the UN Drug Conventions is concerned with banning the supply of drugs for profit (‘dealing’), not with criminalizing people for sharing drugs with their friends. Legalisation of commercial supply would first require changes to the UN Drug Conventions. Access to quality drugs . Drug users have a right of access to quality controlled, pure (unadulterated, uncontaminated), hygienic, reasonably priced drug products. Within the constraints of the UN Drugs Conventions, this access is restricted to three sources: (1) ‘legal drugs’ sold through licensed retailers (alcohol and tobacco) or ‘headshops’ (eg. salvia), (2) controlled drugs prescribed by doctors and dispensed through pharmacies, and (3) the cultivation of drug plants for personal use on private property. Access to a supply of most drugs is disenabled by the UN Drug Conventions which require that national laws prohibit activities such as cultivation, manufacture, import/export and commercial supply as ‘drug trafficking’. Equipment . Drug users have a right of access to appropriate equipment and materials for preparing and administering drugs in the safest and most hygienic way – covering all four methods of ingestion: digestive (swallowing), respiratory (inhaling), circulatory (injecting), and membranal (absorption – notably sniffing, chewing, suppositories, and skin-patches). Similarly, drug users have a right of access to suitable containers and facilities for storing, transporting and disposing of used equipment (notably syringes) and other waste materials. Information. Drug users have a right to accurate and up-to-date information about safer drug use, particularly on the effects of drugs, and the links between consumption behaviours and harmful consequences. This information should be based on both state-funded and independent scientific research, and provided through multiple delivery channels – including mass media advertising, health agency publications, and messages on drug-related equipment and materials. Health & helping services . Like other health service patients, drug users have a right to medical help and psycho-social assistance for preventing risks and dealing with any harmful consequences arising from their drug use – including risk/harm-reduction services (eg. needle exchange, consumption rooms, substitute prescribing) and abstinence-oriented services (eg. detoxification, rehabilitation). This right includes access to the same medical treatment and health services inside prison as they would be entitled to receive outside prison. Accurate description . People who ingest drugs have a right to be legitimately (accurately) described as drug users, drug takers, or drug consumers – where ‘drug’ can be substituted by the name of any particular drug, and ‘user’ by the name of any particular method of use, eg. injector/smoker. But it is discriminatory to refer to them as drug misusers, drug abusers, drug addicts, or problem drug users except when applied as a professional judgement (eg. medical diagnosis, legal ruling) about a particular individual. This is because most drug use is normal behaviour arising from an interaction of genes and environment, not a sign of immorality, criminality, madness or sickness. Prejudicial names and statements should also be regulated (as with racism and sexism). Reasonable drug laws . First, drug users also have a right to expect that laws regulating drug use and intoxication in particular contexts – notably when driving and in public places – (a) should be based on scientific evidence about the specific effects of each drug (eg. whether the drug negatively affects driving/work performance); and (b) should impose reasonable penalties for such drug-related offences, similar to those for comparable offences (eg. driving/working when sleep deprived). Under-age drug use should be a civil offence dealt with by psycho-social interventions (eg. counselling). Second, drug users have a right to expect that the methods of law enforcement agencies respect their general rights and freedoms, i.e. regarding detection, detention, prosecution, etc.. Intrusive broad-sweep methods of detecting drug use – including searches of people and property, drug-sniffing animals, drug tests on body fluids/products, electronic monitoring, and other drug-identifying technology – should not be employed routinely in educational, work or other public settings (which may violate Article 8 of the Human Rights Act). Instead, these detection methods should be employed only as ‘with-cause’ interventions in individual cases involving public safety or security, and/or when evidence about drug use is legally required (eg. drivers in road accidents, incidents involving regulated professionals). Social inclusion . Drug users have the right to equal opportunities with regard to the institutions and organisations of society – including work, education, housing, finances, driving, travel, parenting, leisure, health services and criminal justice. This means that people should never be treated differently from other people just because they are known to use drugs, nor should sub-groups of drug users be treated differently from each other. This right incorporates (a) protection from medical, legal and social discrimination; (b) equal access to the resources of the community; and (c) representation on any statutory bodies or groups responsible for determining drug policy and drug strategy. Of course, rights entail duties (social responsibilities). Drug users have two primary duties: a specific duty to obey national laws regulating drug consumption and intoxication in particular contexts, notably those involving driving, public use, disorderly behaviour, under-age drug use, and administering drugs to others without their consent (‘spiking’); and, a general duty to avoid directly hurting other people in any way when consuming drugs or while intoxicated – including such potentially harmful activities as smoking in other people’s air-space, casually discarding drug-taking equipment, and using drugs/being intoxicated while at school/work. ___________________________________________________________________________ * ‘direct harm’ to others arising from drug use needs careful definition, but (a) would include all types of physical harm, and (b) would exclude some psycho-social harms – for instance, emotional stress to significant others who disapprove of drug use would be classified as an indirect (minor) harm. For example, no one would seriously suggest that we prohibit behaviour purely on the grounds that it emotionally upsets some people, while having no other harmful consequences. Democratic freedom means that the citizen is permitted to do whatever they want, as long as they do not do things which significantly harm other people (called crimes). Laws against crimes are enforced by the police – though a small number of undemocratic laws involve ‘victimless crimes’ (i.e. not causing significant harm to others) – notably drug use. The issue of what constitutes ‘significant’ drug-related harm is of critical importance. . Source : R. Newcombe (2007). Second Class Citizens: discrimination against drug users. Paper presented at the 7 th International Conference on Diversity in Communities, Organisations and Nations; Amsterdam , Netherlands ; July 2007. |