NORWEGIAN PROFESSOR NILS CHRISTIE WARNS OF UPCOMING ALCOHOL PROBLEMS,
QUESTIONS PROHIBITIONIST APPROACH TO DRUGS

Christie Calls for Rational Debate - Opposes Taboos

At a seminar at the auditorium of the Finnish Parliament on Thursday,
the world-renowned Norwegian criminologist Professor Nils Christie
told his audience of more than 100 people that the war against illegal
drugs cannot be won, and that it is therefore better to concentrate on
reducing the harm caused by the drugs.

Christie's message did not come as a surprise to the listeners.
About two decades ago he and Finnish sociologist Kettil Bruun wrote
about these same ideas in a book entitled Den gode fiende:
narkotikapolitikk i Norden ("The Good Enemy: Drug Policy in the
Nordic Countries").

On Thursday Christie warned that Finnish policy toward intoxicants was
facing serious trouble - not because of illegal drugs, but rather
because of alcohol. Christie was alarmed about the prospect of a lower
tax on alcohol in a situation in which problems caused by drinking are
constantly on the increase. He pointed out that about 3,500 people in
Finland die each year as a result of using alcohol.

Christie emphasised that he is opposed to using all drugs, including
cannabis, recommending as an alternative stimulation from activities
such as hiking in the mountains.

However, he also said that society must accept the fact that not all
people are able to stop using drugs, and that such people need to be
helped.

"We cannot win the war against drugs. Drugs always exist and they
should be seen more as a problem of social policy rather than one of
criminal justice. We must assess the damage caused by various options,
and choose the one that involves the least amount of damage", Christie
emphasised.

Christie is also concerned about the increasing prison population in
Western countries, which he largely sees as the result of the war on
drugs.

The problem mainly affects the United States, where there are 730
prisoners for every 100,000 inhabitants. The figure is about ten times
as high as in the Nordic Countries.

He pointed out that crime rates can be influenced through choices of
penal policy. One example of this is the Finland of the 1960s, which
had an incarceration rate that was equivalent to that of East European
countries, but which later brought its policy more in line with
practice in the other Nordic Countries. Christie was also critical of
the fact that in the war on drugs Sweden - and to some extent Norway -
have allied themselves with the United States. In this respect,
Sweden, which has the reputation of being a "welfare paradise", gives
legitimacy to the war on drugs, while the United States provides the
power.

Christie feels that it is not realistic to base drug policy on total
prohibition. Instead, he favours harm reduction.

One example of harm reduction mentioned by Christie is to provide
hygienic conditions for the use of drugs - clean needles for
intravenous users, for instance - as well as easy access to drug
maintenance therapy. He pointed out that heroin addicts require their
doses even if they are in prison.

Christie also said that dangerous substances should be taken under
official control - as prescription medicines, for instance.

"After all, explosives are not sold at kiosks." Christie warned
against demonising drugs or turning them into such a taboo that it
would prevent rational debate on the problem. He recalled the uproar
that the book Den gode fiende... caused in Norway 20 years ago. He
said that at the time it was quite impossible to advance opinions
opposed to the official policy of total prohibition, as drug crime was
seen as the moral equivalent of murder.

Now Christie says that the situation has calmed down, although he
still gets some bitter comments.

"Most recently a listener said that he is happy that I am so old that
I will not be able to express my opinions very long."

At the seminar Tapani Sarvanti, an official at the Ministry for Social
Affairs and Health, pointed out that Finnish drug policy differs from
that of Sweden in an interesting way.

Sarvanti said that in recent years Finland has implemented an
"elegant" shift in the direction of harm reduction, away from the
prohibitionist approach.