About EURAD - Eurad

EURAD has a governing Council and dozens of affiliated organisations and experts. Our field of work is primarily to follow the drug policy agenda of the EU and the UN and to join the debate about the future of drug policies.

Mission

EURAD subscribes to a preventionist platform. Our mission is to reduce the burden on individuals, families and society at large by promoting comprehensive, balanced and integrated policies. We seek to reduce demand for and supply of illicit drugs through prevention (including law enforcement) and treatment.

We respect the fact that internationally there are important historic, cultural and social differences that impacts on how we talk about drugs and drug policy. We respect that people come into this policy field with very different backgrounds, motifs, experiences and perspectives.  

The drug problem

Drugs destroy lives and communities, undermine sustainable human development and generate crime. Drugs affect all countries; in particular, drug abuse affects the freedom and development of young people, the world's most valuable asset.

Drugs are a grave threat to the health and well-being of all mankind, the independence of tates, democracy, the stability of nations, the structure of all societies, and the dignity and hope of millions of people and their families.

Principles

EURADs vision may be described as a third way between the 'war on drugs' approach and drug liberalization. We are not against the user but the use. Our overarching purpose is not ideological, religious or cultural but rather the welfare, health and dignity of both individual and society. 

EURAD supports the UN drug conventions and the universal prohibition of narcotic drugs. The purpose of prohibition is not to penalize but to prevent the use of these very harmful substances in society.

Law enforcement is a vital component in drug policies but must be part of a broad strategy aimed at prevention (in supply reduction as well as demand reduction) and recovery - not a substitute for it.

Policy 

Eurad thinks preventing harm is always better than repairing - both in terms of human suffering, effectiveness and the cost involved. Prevention and long term follow up towards recovery and rehabilitation needs a far greater emphasis on today's drug policy agenda.

Drug policies is commonly divided in two: demand reduction and supply reduction. However we think it more adequate to talk about the continuum rather than the dividing drug policy in two compartments. The continuum starts off at the site of production and cultivation, through manufacturing, trafficking and sales to where it meets the consumer. The aim of policy up to this point is solely one of prevention.

Eurad sees prohibition and law enforcement as the most vital part of prevention. Behavior takes place in an environment where availability is defined by the mix of risk factors and protective factors. Prohibition is the most effective protective factor. But it is far from sufficient.

To influence behavior is the central theme of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention – or universal, indicative and interventionist prevention. The vital component in such settings is information, awareness on the one hand and the management of risk factors and the strengthening of protective factors.

The synergies of a comprehensive approach are more important than the single interventions. There are tendencies to view attitudes, behavior and environmental factors such as availability and the law as separate domains and phenomena – while the way they interact is often neglected.

Eurad thinks harm reduction has its place in the tool box of a recovery and prevention oriented strategy. Harm reduction cannot and should not replace the preventionist strategy which is the vital foundation of national and international drug policies.

We want to see a more in debt debate on the strengths, limitations, and unintended negative consequences of harm reduction in order to arrive to a better understand of harm reduction in an integrated policy.  

The social dimension

Eurad emphasizes the social dimension of the drug problem, the generational dimension and the long term perspective. Nobody becomes a drug user overnight. There are push and pull factors and there is the chemical impact of the drug itself. There are cultural and social factors; there are psychological and irrational factors and not least biological. But for the bulk of the problematic drug users the social problems in childhood is common trait.

Without a proper understanding of these three factors and not least how they interact one will not understand the causes of drug use and the way the drug related problems develop either individually nor how it spreads by means of social relations.

Finally, without the proper understanding of the social causes of the drug problem any treatment objective like social integration, recovery or rehabilitation will be difficult to achieve. 

History

Eurad was launched at a press conference in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 25th October in 1988. A constitutional meeting was convened on the 7th-9th April 1989 in Berlin, funded by the European Commission, formally establishing EURAD.

Eurad is registered as a foundation ("stichting") under Dutch law (reg. number: 41155759).

Eurads governing body is its Council. Individuals and organizations may join to become affiliated to Eurad.