control and welfare in danish drug policy - Journal of Drug Issues

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HOUBORGit referred to as, “the fundamental prohibition against all non-medical use of illegaldrugs.” This meant that some harm reduction measures such as safe injection roomscould not be accepted, as they would undermine this prohibition. In 2007, however,the Government was forced to accept the introduction of substitution treatment withheroin for a relatively small number of drug users.In a European context, the legislative changes bring Danish drug policy closerto the mainstream of drug policies of the member states of the European Union andaway from the minority of countries that have more liberal drug policies, such as theNetherlands, Germany, and Portugal (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs andDrug Addiction [EMCDDA], 2005). Whereas other countries seem to be movingtoward less punitive drug policies by making sanctions less severe and puttingmore emphasis on welfare and treatment, Denmark has moved toward a morepunitive drug policy while prioritizing treatment. In this way, Danish drug policyhas come to resemble the drug policy of the majority of European countries, whichemphasizes that the use and possession of illegal drugs should remain illegal andsubject to sanctions, while allowing more scope for welfare and treatment in theState’s response to illegal drugs. While drug use in many countries for many yearshas been responded to as a crime, this was not the dominant approach in Denmarkfor 35 years.As in the 1950s, Danish drug policy in the 2000s once again operates with twocategories of drug users: drug abusers who willfully break the law, and drug addictswho may not willfully break the law. The middle ground between abuse and addictionof normal social use of illegal drugs has disappeared. The new drug policy has,to a larger extent, redistributed the costs of the drug problem from society to theindividual, and tipped the balance of control and welfare toward a clearer emphasison control. In this way, today, drug use in Denmark is more than before ‘governedthrough crime’ (2007), rather than through welfare.NOTES1. By 1953, 300 persons had been registered (Home Office, 1953, p. 66)2. In this way, the development of the Danish drug problem resembles thedevelopment of the drug problem in other countries (Glanz, 1994; Mold,2004;Stimson & Oppenheimer, 1982).3. This was partly a response to the rapid development of the new drug problem,and partly in order to align Danish legislation with the drug legislation inother Nordic countries (Folketingstidende, 1968, appendix A, 2846). The newlegislation was made by adding a new section on aggravated violations of thedrug legislation to the penal code (Section 191).4. The idea of normalization has become a governing image in Danish drug policy.In 2004, a White Paper on the future organization of the police in Denmark798 JOURNAL OF DRUG ISSUES
CONTROL AND WELFARE IN DANISH DRUG POLICYcontained the following paragraphs about the normalization of drug use amongyoung people:In the field of drugs in recent years, a trend toward ‘normalization’has been revealed in which large groups of young people practice“recreational use” of e.g. ecstasy, speed and cocaine at weekends.This trend is visible all over the country —also among so-calledsocially integrated young people. (Justitsministeriet, 2005, p. 15)5. Liberal is not used in the American sense of the word.6. The tendency toward more control and punishment and less welfare in penalpolicy began under the former Government led by the Social Democrats, andit should be mentioned that the Social Democrats also supported the new druglegislation.7. The number of cases had risen from 9549 in 2004. Naturally, this near doublingof the number of cases was attributed to the new zero-tolerance policy.REFERENCESAndersen, B. R.1971 Den nye socialreform. In O. Gade-Lorentzen, Henningensen, K., & Kruse,A-M. (Eds.), Socialpolitik, socialmedicin, socialpædagogik. København:Hans Reitzels forlag.Andersen, H.1965 Euforiserende stoffer. Politiet, Februar.Andersen, H.1970 Stofbrugere i de københavnske fængsler 1/7-1965 - 1/7-1969. København:Vestre Hospital og Sociologisk Institut, Københavns Universitet.Asmussen, V., & Jepsen, J.2007 Dansk narkotika-kontrolpolitik—aktuelt og historisk. In J. Sejer Pedersen(Ed.), Ret og Samfund 2007. København: Frydenlund.Balvig, F.2004 When law and order returned to Denmark. Journal of Scandinavian Studiesin Criminology and Crime Prevention, 5, 167–187.Balvig, F., Holmberg, L., & Sørensen, A.-S.2005 Ringstedforsøget. Livsstil og forebyggelse i lokalsamfundet. København:Jurist- og Økonomforbundets Forlag.Becker, H. S.1953 Becoming a marihuana user. The American Journal of Sociology, 59(3),235–242.Benoit, E.2003 Not just a matter of criminal justice: States, institutions, and NorthAmerican drug policy. Sociological Forum, 18(2), 269–294.FALL 2010799
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