News (Media Awareness Project) - Dutch cleric turned drug dealer raises eyebrows |
| Title: | Dutch cleric turned drug dealer raises eyebrows |
| Published On: | 1997-09-15 |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-07 22:35:16 |
By Wendy Braanker
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, Sept 14 (Reuter) Hans Visser is a Dutch
Protestant minister.
Depending on your point of view, he is also an activist, a trouble maker or
even a drug dealer.
>From the unlikely headquarters of a 19th century Rotterdam church, the
54yearold cleric pushes the legal boundaries to their limit in his work
with drug users and society's outcasts.
His latest scheme selling cutprice heroin to addicts goes too far,
according to his critics.
``We try not to provoke the public prosecutor,'' Visser told Reuters. ``My
aim is to decriminalise the hard drugs scene.''
His office in the Pauluskerk, or St Paul's Church, is dominated by a board
displaying the programme's rules.
Committing them to paper and distributing them to clients would only stir up
trouble, he explained.
``The scheme will not get off to an official start either.''
Those who are interested in his plan, due to be launched later this year,
must come to the Pauluskerk in the heart of the second largest city in the
Netherlands and read the handwritten rules in person.
The idea is simple: the church will supply heroin to a small group of addicts
judged to have no hope of kicking their habit.
VISSER'S PROJECT PREEMPTS GOVERNMENT SCHEME
There is no shortage of potential customers on the nearby streets around
Rotterdam's Central Station.
To qualify for the drugs they must have a long history of addiction. They
must also be in poor health and deemed to have severe social problems.
The church will undertake to inspect the drugs for quality and will restrict
their use by imposing a timetable.
``We have to be strict with the criteria, otherwise there will be too many
asking for heroin. A pub is not open 24 hours a day,'' Visser explained.
His project preempts a similar pilot scheme by the Dutch government to wean
heroin addicts off the streets and away from a criminal lifestyle.
>From next year, the Netherlands, which has the most liberal drugs policy in
Europe, will offer heroin to a test group of 50 to 100 users.
If the project delivers the desired results, Health Minister Els Borst wants
to extend it. But Visser is not at all sure she will be allowed to. In his
16year involvement with drug users he has encountered enormous resistance
from the authorities.
The recipient of an award from Washington's Drug Policy Foundation for his
work, Visser was forced to close a centre for the homeless three years ago
after relentless pressure from Rotterdam politicians who complained it
attracted drug users.
Unbowed, Visser continues to argue that dangerous drugs should not be banned
and exiled to the criminal underworld. Instead, they should be made available
under strict conditions.
``That is better than chaos,'' he said.
Constantly on the move, he cycles from one church project to another and can
always be contacted on his mobile telephone.
``My motive is to find a contemporary interpretation for today's church.''
Visser said.
``CHURCH IS NOT A REHABILITATION CENTRE''
In a book about his work with the homeless, ``Platform Zero,'' Visser wrote
that the church had become marginalised in today's urban society.
Expanding on those thoughts, he told Reuters he believed the church was a
place for contemplation but also for action and an inn for drifters.
About 75 to 150 people visit his church every day.
there are beds for refugees and a canteen serves coffee to drifters. One
visitor sat at the organ and gave an impromptu recital.
Visser offers advice over his mobile telephone as call after call
comes in.
Asked what he had achieved in the past 16 years, he cited the fact that the
Pauluskerk still existed, then added: ``We have not set our sights too high.
The Pauluskerk is not a drug rehabilitation centre.''
In its latest attempt to improve conditions for drug addicts, Visser saw his
church as a broker without a profit motive. He pointed to three dealers who
said they were willing to deliver heroin at cost price.
``But this does not mean that we have bags full of heroin,'' he
stressed.
He was willing to face the fact that the success rate among drug addicts was
low and that drug use was often associated with violence and intimidation.
But he remained upbeat.
``In Switzerland they have a similar experiment and I have heard the scheme
is running decently.''
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, Sept 14 (Reuter) Hans Visser is a Dutch
Protestant minister.
Depending on your point of view, he is also an activist, a trouble maker or
even a drug dealer.
>From the unlikely headquarters of a 19th century Rotterdam church, the
54yearold cleric pushes the legal boundaries to their limit in his work
with drug users and society's outcasts.
His latest scheme selling cutprice heroin to addicts goes too far,
according to his critics.
``We try not to provoke the public prosecutor,'' Visser told Reuters. ``My
aim is to decriminalise the hard drugs scene.''
His office in the Pauluskerk, or St Paul's Church, is dominated by a board
displaying the programme's rules.
Committing them to paper and distributing them to clients would only stir up
trouble, he explained.
``The scheme will not get off to an official start either.''
Those who are interested in his plan, due to be launched later this year,
must come to the Pauluskerk in the heart of the second largest city in the
Netherlands and read the handwritten rules in person.
The idea is simple: the church will supply heroin to a small group of addicts
judged to have no hope of kicking their habit.
VISSER'S PROJECT PREEMPTS GOVERNMENT SCHEME
There is no shortage of potential customers on the nearby streets around
Rotterdam's Central Station.
To qualify for the drugs they must have a long history of addiction. They
must also be in poor health and deemed to have severe social problems.
The church will undertake to inspect the drugs for quality and will restrict
their use by imposing a timetable.
``We have to be strict with the criteria, otherwise there will be too many
asking for heroin. A pub is not open 24 hours a day,'' Visser explained.
His project preempts a similar pilot scheme by the Dutch government to wean
heroin addicts off the streets and away from a criminal lifestyle.
>From next year, the Netherlands, which has the most liberal drugs policy in
Europe, will offer heroin to a test group of 50 to 100 users.
If the project delivers the desired results, Health Minister Els Borst wants
to extend it. But Visser is not at all sure she will be allowed to. In his
16year involvement with drug users he has encountered enormous resistance
from the authorities.
The recipient of an award from Washington's Drug Policy Foundation for his
work, Visser was forced to close a centre for the homeless three years ago
after relentless pressure from Rotterdam politicians who complained it
attracted drug users.
Unbowed, Visser continues to argue that dangerous drugs should not be banned
and exiled to the criminal underworld. Instead, they should be made available
under strict conditions.
``That is better than chaos,'' he said.
Constantly on the move, he cycles from one church project to another and can
always be contacted on his mobile telephone.
``My motive is to find a contemporary interpretation for today's church.''
Visser said.
``CHURCH IS NOT A REHABILITATION CENTRE''
In a book about his work with the homeless, ``Platform Zero,'' Visser wrote
that the church had become marginalised in today's urban society.
Expanding on those thoughts, he told Reuters he believed the church was a
place for contemplation but also for action and an inn for drifters.
About 75 to 150 people visit his church every day.
there are beds for refugees and a canteen serves coffee to drifters. One
visitor sat at the organ and gave an impromptu recital.
Visser offers advice over his mobile telephone as call after call
comes in.
Asked what he had achieved in the past 16 years, he cited the fact that the
Pauluskerk still existed, then added: ``We have not set our sights too high.
The Pauluskerk is not a drug rehabilitation centre.''
In its latest attempt to improve conditions for drug addicts, Visser saw his
church as a broker without a profit motive. He pointed to three dealers who
said they were willing to deliver heroin at cost price.
``But this does not mean that we have bags full of heroin,'' he
stressed.
He was willing to face the fact that the success rate among drug addicts was
low and that drug use was often associated with violence and intimidation.
But he remained upbeat.
``In Switzerland they have a similar experiment and I have heard the scheme
is running decently.''
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