Video 6: How law enforcement and health can cooperate to improve health

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Del curso dictado por University of Geneva

Drugs, drug use, drug policy and health

22 calificaciones

University of Geneva

Drugs, drug use, drug policy and health

22 calificaciones

This MOOC is the first of its kind, since it addresses critical issues related to drugs from a multidisciplinary, health and human rights-based approach. Throughout the course you will cover a range of questions including what are drugs and why they controlled? What are the benefits and harms of taking drugs? How public health policies can address drug use? You will also learn about the intricacies of the international drug control framework and the negative consequences of widespread prohibitionist drug policies around the world. Finally, you will examine ways of furthering drug policy reform. The topics will be presented by over 40 speakers from scientific, academic and institutional backgrounds, spokespersons of civil society as well as people who use drugs presenting their views. By the end of the course you will have: - a strong understanding of the major health issues related to drug use and drug policy; - a clear vision of why drug policy is debated today; - and, if you so wish, you will be equipped to engage in the drug policy reform movement at your local or regional level.

De la lección

Module 4: Questioning prohibition-based policies

Welcome to Module 4 which looks at questioning prohibition-based policies. In this Module, you will discover that most drug policies in the world are based on prohibition law enforcement and criminalization of drug use ; and see that such policies have a number of negative consequences on people’s health as well as on their human rights. This Module will also look at law enforcement more closely and reveal how it can cooperate to improve health. You will learn about the human rights framework and the drug control framework and see what human rights violations, stemming from the implementation of prohibitionist drug policies, look like around the world. Finally, you will also see that drug policies are connected to development and the environment, most often not in a good way, with prohibition fueling violence, crime and corruption and impeding development. By the end of this Module you will be able to: • Evaluate the extent to which prohibition-based policies have succeeded or failed in reducing drug production, trafficking and consumption; • Describe the negative impacts of prohibition-based policies on health, human rights and development; • Recall how prohibition-based policies fuel organized crime and trafficking. We hope this week will provide you with valuable insight into the reality of prohibitionist drug policies, for people in communities all over the world ; and help you see what have been the consequences of these policies, in terms of their impact on human rights, health and development. We also hope you enjoy the essential reading and optional additional resources we have prepared for you. Best wishes,The Drugs, Drug Use, Drug Policy and Health team

Introduction to Module 43:08

Video 2: Most drug policies in the world are based on prohibition law enforcement and criminalization of drug use9:59

Video 3: Are prohibition law enforcement drug policies effective?7:03

Video 4: The negative impact on health of prohibition law enforcement drug policies5:25

Video 5: The impact of law enforcement on public health and public safety6:03

Video 6: How law enforcement and health can cooperate to improve health8:11

Conoce a los instructores

Michel Kazatchkine
Senior Fellow
Global Health Center, Graduate Institute for International Affairs and Development, Geneva
Barbara Broers
Professor (in Addiction Medicine)
Community Health Departement, Geneva University Hospitals
Jennifer Hasselgard-Rowe
Researcher and Lecturer
Institute of Global Health, University of Geneva
Aymeric Reyre
Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Medicine, Paris 13 University

So, some of the, I guess,

more effective policies and practices that have

been implemented by Law enforcement throughout the world include

policies where police agree to not

patrol or not target the distribution of needles and syringes,

whether that's through drop-in centers,

whether it's a needle and syringe programs or on average workers.

We know that if police do target those programs,

that many injecting drug users will not be aggregated supply of clean needles and

syringes they will share needles and syringes and

therefore blood-borne viruses will be easily transmitted.

We also need to look at policies and programs implemented by police that support

Naloxone which is the opiate or heroin overdose reversing drug.

Meaning law enforcement officials are now carrying

those substances such as Naloxone to reverse overdoses and

it's been shown to be quite successful particularly United States where

Law enforcement agencies are carrying Naloxone to reverse opiate overdoses.

We also have a good examples of Law enforcement approaches towards

overdose where they have implemented policies where they do not attend to overdose.

Which I guess gives confidence to people who read it and

over dose saying that the police aren't going to turn up and start arresting people.

That would be a deterrent for people calling an ambulance,

for example when an overdose occurs.

So police not attending overdoses,

police supporting Naloxone by carrying Naloxone and

not targeting needle and syringe programs to arrest people.

A good examples of how police can reduce risks for people who use drugs.

There's also some other good examples of how law enforcement

can support the reduction of drug-related harm,

particularly disseminate information about harmful drugs,

harmful substances for example,

many substances such as ecstasy, other party drugs,

social recreational drugs which are manufactured in an illicit or illegal environment.

The ingredients or the substances that are often mixed with

those drugs can be contaminated,

they can be risky and they can often be very dangerous and deadly.

So many law enforcement agencies now are introducing

warning systems where they receive information and then light

strokes that indicates strokes can be harmful and send that information out

to drug using groups and other venues such as nightclubs dance parties,

music festival, saying to people who use drugs in those environments look,

there's a risky drug out there,

this is what it looks like,

you need to be mindful, we suggest strongly that you don't use that drug.

Another good example of how law enforcement can support

programs that reduce drug regulated harms is to implement drug diversion programs.

One of those programs that has been introduced in

United States is called Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion.

That's where police find someone who is a low-level drug user and

sometimes even people who are trafficking

and using drugs trafficking to support their drug use.

So, if a police officer find someone who is a drug user and

that police officer I guess makes a decision that

determines that that person should go into treatment or that treatment option is offered.

Rather than going to court,

the law enforcement officer can divert that person through to assessment and treatment.

It also works for other programs where the person may be

homeless or experiencing mental health issues or family violence.

So I guess in that situation was some of those issues maybe criminal of nature,

the law enforcement officers have an option,

particularly with people who may find it

very difficult to get into treatment for example, drug treatment.

The police officer can directly divert that person

into a program where they can go into assessment treatment straight away.

So, getting that person into treatment,

really will help that person in terms of dealing with a drug use.

So, it's an option there for police rather than sending someone for example to

a court situation where they may end up in jail and we

don't want certainly don't want people who use drugs in jail.

There are other good examples that police reducing drug-related harm for example,

caring for people who may find themselves in custody and they are drug affected.

So, if a person is affected by alcohol and drugs there are programs where

police now introduce nursing and medical system into custody centers,

into custody suites, into watch houses,

into police lock-ups where people are affected by drugs can get

medical attention from professionals such as health nurses and doctors.

So, that's another example of reducing drug related harm.

I know also too in terms of the spread of HIV and also reducing injecting drug use,

that many law enforcement agencies now support methadone programs.

That includes the provision of methadone,

lots people in custody and also in prison settings,

but also diverting people through to methadone programs.

There are odyssey benefits for law enforcement in

that in that they can reduce injecting and therefore reduce

the risk of global viruses but there's also

some very good evidence that people who go into

methadone program also reduce their other criminal behavior to feed,

I guess feed their habit around particularly acquisitive crime,

burglary, theft, stealing to get the funds to buy heroin.

So, if you can get a person to methadone and you get them off heroin,

then there's a good chance that they will reduce

the rather criminal behavior as well which is a good outcome for place.

There's also some really good examples of police

supporting programs such as supervised injecting facilities.

For example, in Australia,

there is an injecting facility in Sydney.

There's legislation there that provides I guess some indications or some guidelines

for police around not arresting people who are

traveling to the in-taking facility with a small amount of the drug.

Who are genuinely going to use an injecting room,

so most people wouldn't think but know what injecting room is.

So, those programs have been set up in a number of

countries throughout the world and police support

them but from my own experience in Australia,

police support the one that's in Sydney and they do that by not

prosecuting people who were found with drugs who are going to use that injecting room.

Finally, I guess is a good example from Southeast Asia

where there's a significant issue around HIV,

and that is about the position of condoms,

particularly condoms by sex workers.

I now in the past in some countries that possession of condoms by

sex workers has been used as evidence of

sex work but I know in number of countries for example,

Malaysia places they're introduced policies that they

don't use condoms as evidence of sex work.

Obviously, we want condoms to be just distributed and used by sex workers.

We know that many sex workers have clients who are married men.

So, therefore the risk to the general community in fact, to anybody.

Obviously, use a condom in terms of HIV transmission is quite real,

so police not seizing condoms is [inaudible] is

another example of how police can be supportive of health outcomes.

So I hope that's a benefit.

I hope that that some clarifying the police role and I thank you very much.

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