Medicalising prohibition. Harm reduction in Finnish and international drug policy
Julkaisun nimi:
Medicalising prohibition. Harm reduction in Finnish and international drug policy
Tekijä:
Tammi, T.
Ingressi:
The purpose of the study is to examine the change of drug policy in Finland. The general conclusion of the study is that rather than posing a threat to a prohibitionist drug policy, harm reduction has come to form part of it.
Julkaisukieli:
Englanti
Julkaisutyyppi:
Yliopistollinen/sektoritutkimus
Julkaisuvuosi:
2007
Julkaisun tiedot:
Helsinki: Stakes, Research Report 161.
Lyhyt kuvaus:
The purpose of the study is to examine the change of drug policy in Finland and particularly the political struggle surrounding harm reduction in the context of this change. The aim is, first, to analyse the content of harm reduction policy and the dynamics of its emergence and, second, to assess to what extent harm reduction undermines or threatens traditional drug policy.
The general conclusion of the study is that rather than posing a threat to a prohibitionist drug policy, harm reduction has come to form part of it. The implementation of harm reduction by setting up health counselling centres for drug users with the main focus on needle exchange and by extending substitution treatment has implied the creation of specialised services based on medical expertise and an increasing involvement of the medical profession in addressing drug problems. At the same time the criminal justice control of drug use has been intensified. Accordingly, harm reduction has not entailed a shift to a more liberal drug policy nor has it undermined the traditional policy with its emphasis on total drug prohibition. Instead, harm reduction in combination with a prohibitionist penal policy constitutes a new dual-track drug policy paradigm.
Keywords: drug policy, harm reduction, Finland
Tykkää, jaa