Rehabilitation / Care / Treatment / Therapy - Limitations
Every country which calls itself civilised must devote reasonable resources to people with drug problems. However, the solution of the drugs problem is not to be found primarily in an enormous investment in care and treatment, but rather a completely new strategy. This new strategy obligates community authorities to intervene at an EARLY stage of drug abuse and teaches parents and community workers to recognise the signs of early drug abuse and not to trivialise the drug use. This strategy takes into account the fact that experience proves that addicts seek treatment first after a long period of drug use, during which they have established a dependence on the drug and their social problems have overwhelmed them. In many cases they have have also spread their drug abuse to their close friends and partners during the early stages of their drug abuse. Treatment therefore has the disadvantage of being introduces too late to affect the spread of the drug to any great extent. Further, the individual has often accumulated severe social, economic, psychological and medical problems which make rehabilitation a long, difficult process with uncertain results - and which is also very expensive.
Market Phenomenon
Preliminary Growth Phase
In its principle structure the drugs problem is a market and must be combated on this basis. During its introductory growth phase, the market needs the power of attractive and appealing ideologies to make itself more sophisticated. With safety it can be stated that the apostles for legalisation in the early 1960s created various ideological motives to justify their drug abuse themselves and the rest of the world. The drugs market acted openly and extrovertly and appealed not only to the so-called rebels and radicals but also to honest progressive people, when it pointed out serious social flaws. It then continued to relate legalisation efforts to peace, freedom, love, truth and personality development. The 1960s drug users wanted to enjoy the drugs without being arrested. There was room for this kind of ideology ("cannabis expands consciousness", etc) partly because there was too little knowledge amongst the general public both in Europe and the United States. Also established standards and values were being questioned. In addiction, assistance was given from the mass media and the music culture.
Established Market Phase
An established drugs market, on the other hand, has no need of ideology. It remains in force because it ensures the supply of a popular intoxication medium, creates dependence, and, thus extremely loyal consumers who in turn advertise and spread the use of drugs among their circle of acquaintances.
The market reacts in different ways depending on the nature and degree of social resistance. The policy pursued by the western world up to the present has not been able to stop the spread of drug abuse. A disastrous consequence of this failure is that abuse has gradually gained an increasing strong foothold with a privileged group of well- educated and socially well-adjusted individuals. In a social climate which is restrictive toward drugs, this group finds it best to refrain from attracting attention. When the market has expanded and/or social resistance is reduced, development proceeds to a new phase.
Latter Market Phase
This latter market phase is characterised by concern and alarm with a renewed demand for legalisation under somewhat altered conditions and motivated by arguments different from those in the preliminary growth phase. Broad and well-established groups cannot see any other alternative and also begin to insist upon their right to enjoy the newly discovered intoxicating substances without risking arrest. The rights of the individual versus the rights of society as a whole come into question. Legalisers argue to convert standards violations into new standards;
A more detailed description of the situation would also include the fact that everyone who begins to advocate legalisation at this point is not necessarily a drug consumer himself. The situation makes a number of alliances attractive, for instance between:
A. Those who cannot envisage any other situation;
B. Those who are representatives of generally liberal standpoints and who are in principle opposed to all forms of interference by the authorities;
C. Those who are addicts themselves and are interested in easy access to cheap drugs;
D. Those who are acquainted with a drug consumer who has not reached the final stages of addiction;
E. Those who entertain a desire to be able to "try" the drug a least, and who would do so if it were not forbidden and socially acceptable (in other words, the latent and enormous market which is every drug dealer's dream)
F. Those who are called the "1968 generation", i.e. persons who were young at the end of the 1960s and who experienced all that "1968" came to represent. Then cannabis was weak and the spirit was strong. Now cannabis is strong and the spirit of rebellion has deteriorated in most people. These "68ers" have now acquired positions in society corresponding to their increasing age and incomes. They remember cannabis as something "harmless", do not think that it was dangerous then and do not believe that cannabis is anything to be worried about now either. Even if these people no longer smoke cannabis themselves, they still retain their basically liberal attitude toward the drug;
G. Those who for social and emotional reasons cannot accept that their children and relatives could be criminalised and therefore refuse to accept a policy which places the individual addict in focus and makes the addict responsible for his behaviour.
