GERMANY IS NOT PUNISHING HASHISH USERS

Svenska Dagbladet, November 29.

Germany who has for a long time been in the European forefront with a
strict and inflexible drug policy is now turning toward a softer approach.
Under its new government shall even heavy users of heroin be able to obtain
the narcotic under prescription. "The German Government shall naturally not
sell heroin. But we must realize that there are a small group of users that
do not accept methadone. Those must have legal access to the real thing"
says the Minister of Public Health, Environmentalist Andrea Fischer.

The German Government is therefore asking the equivalent of FDA to approve
a pilot program allowing local communities to start heroin dispensing
programs. Under the pilot program users will receive daily doses under
condition that they participate in special therapeutic sessions. Already in
place in several large German cities are "shooting galleries" where users
can obtain clean utensils for injecting drugs. Frankfurt has four such
galleries which are used daily by hundreds of addicts.

The proposed program is at the moment in a legal and political limbo,
tolerated and condoned by the Prosecutor General, but still forbidden on
paper. The Bonn Government is now preparing legislation which will allow
all these programs. Minister of Public Health, Andrea Fischer also wants to
de-dramatize the consumption of marijuana and hashish. Persons discovered
with these drugs for personal consumption shall not be prosecuted. This is
already a facts in several of Germany's Bundesrepubliks but not all. The
Government wants the more liberal view to be a national policy.

"Cannabis is naturally not harmless" says the Minister "But it should be
compared to alcohol. Users here who are responsible and only drink a half
glass or so every evening have no problems."

In the recent election campaign the Environmental Party argued for a
complete legalization of hashish and marijuana for users over the age of
sixteen. The Social Democrats refused to allow this platform when the
Government was formed.

The Social Democrats do, however, also agree that the hard policy of the
previous Kohl government has failed. "Zero Tolerance" is a term that sounds
nice but doesn't help the problem according to the SPD experts who point
out that the number of addicts has remained stable for many years.

In Germany there are today between 100,000 - 150,000 users of heavy drugs
and if ecstasy is included approximately twice this number. The number of
fatal drug overdoses was last year approximately 1,500 a reduction from
2,000 eight years ago. At the same time the number of alcoholics is
estimated at 2,3 Million with 40,000 fatalities annually.

Checked-by: derek rea