European Cities Explore Harm Reduction
By Dana Larsen
What is the Frankfurt Resolution?
In 1990, representatives from the four European cities of Amsterdam,
Zurich, Hamburg and Frankfurt gathered together in Frankfurt, Germany,
to create and put their names to a document which came to be known as
the Frankfurt Resolution. This resolution expressed the views of these
cities as to how the problems caused by the use of illegal drugs could
best be dealt with. The basis of their conclusions was that "the present
system of criminally prohibiting the use of certain drugs has failed,"
and that "drug related problems are not only caused by the effects of
the drugs themselves, but are primarily the result of the illegality of
drug consumption." As a result of these views, and of the combined
experience of these cities in dealing with the problems caused by the
illegal drug trade, the Frankfurt Resolution makes a number of
recommendations.
The resolution recommends that "purchase, possession and consumption of
cannabis no longer constitute a criminal offense," and further, that
"users of other illegal drugs are not punished for the purchase,
possession and consumption of small quantities of drugs for their own
personal needs." The Frankfurt Resolution also supports the
distribution of sterile syringes to IV drug users, and the
establishment of "shooting galleries" where drugs can be consumed
under supervision. Although these recommendations represent a radical
departure from the drug policies which most of us are familiar, the
cities that created the Frankfurt Resolution had been successfully
implementing these types of "harm reduction" measures for some time.
Every year since the signing of the resolution there has been another
conference of concerned European cities, and more cities have added
their names to the resolution.
The Cities of the Frankfurt Resolution:
Belgium
Charleroi, Croatia,Zagreb, Greece, Kallithea, Germany, Frankfurt,
Hamburg, Dortmund, Hannover, Slovenia, Ljubljana, Holland, Amsterdam,
Rotterdam, Venio, and Arnhem
Italy
Province of Rome, Province of Terramo, Province of Forli, and Catania
Switzerland
Zurich, Basel, Bern, and Luzern
DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN THE FRANKFURT RESOLUTION
In April 1992, the executive board of the signatories to the Frankfurt
Resolution decided to build a formal structure to organize future
conferences and coordinate the exchange of information between the
cities. This group was called the European Cities on Drug Policy (ECDP).
A few months after this a third conference of European cities was held.
This conference was attended by the representatives of fifty-eight cities
from fourteen European countries. Thirty-four of these cities agreed to
follow the progress of the Frankfurt Resolution, and joined the network
of the ECDP in order to participate in a continuous exchange of information
and experience. Representatives of a number of other national and international
organizations have also joined the network, including the International
Anti-Prohibitionist League, the European Forum for Urban Safety, and the
European Drugs Monitoring Centre.
In November of 1993 representatives from the ECDP and American, Canadian
and Australian cities met in Baltimore to discuss drug policy and the
Frankfurt Resolution. This meeting was organized in cooperation with the
Drug Policy Foundation and the International Anti-Prohibitionist League.
A cooperation between cities at an international level was agreed upon
at the conference.
THE FUTURE OF THE FRANKFURT RESOLUTION
Since the creation of the Frankfurt Resolution, a number of other positive
events have occurred in Europe. In April of 1994 the Constitutional Court
of Germany decided that the possession of small quantities of cannabis for
personal use should generally be decriminalized. The court ruled that the
various German states have the task of deciding what is to be considered a
"small quantity" within their territory. In Hessen, the state where Frankfurt
is situated, the amount is to be 30 grams. Other states, like Bavaria, are
reluctant to support this tolerant attitude and have declared a small quantity
to be very close to zero.
In mid-October a court in the Schleswig-Holstein town of Luebeck ruled that
possession of between two and four kilos of hashish should be treated as a
misdemeanor rather than as a crime. This reduces the maximum sentence to five
years from fifteen. The judges' decision read in part that "after hearing
extensive testimony from experts, the court came to the conclusion that there
are practically no objections to the consumption of hashish if it is somewhat
orderly."
A week after the decision, the Social Minister for the state of Schleswig-Holstein,
Heide Moser, told a Hamburg newspaper that Germany should allow soft drugs like
hashish to be sold in cafes. Chancellor Helmut Kohl, whose right of centre
coalition was reelected a few days before the decision, had campaigned on a law
and order platform with a strong stand against drugs. He strongly denounced the
decision, his Minister of Youth calling it "an invitation to drug dealing."
European cities are also experimenting with alternative ways of legally providing
drugs to drug users. In Zurich, for example, a program to prescribe heroin, morphine
and injectable methadone to 700 users has been in operation since 1993. This project
is being evaluated with the possibility of expansion if it proves successful.
THE EUROPEAN CITIES AGAINST DRUGS
There are however, those who feel that the tolerant perspective of the Frankfurt
Resolution is dangerously misguided. In April of this year a conference of the
European Cities Against Drugs (ECAD) was held in Stockholm. A resolution was passed
at this conference which clearly aims against any form of legalization or
decriminalization of drugs. The "Stockholm Resolution" was signed by mayors or other
municipal officials from the following twenty-one European cities:
The European Cities Against Drugs:
Berlin, Paris, London, Helsinki, Budapest, Oslo, Dublin, Madrid, Warsaw, Gdansk,
Reykjavik, Gothenburg, Malmo, Valetta, Prague, Lugano, Moscow, St. Petersburg
Riga, AND VANCOUVER?
In a press release given after the conference, the European Cities Against Drugs
openly attacked the policies of the Frankfurt Resolution:
"We also give a clear and distinct message to cities such as Amsterdam, Zurich,
Hamburg and Frankfurt- the lax politics of those cities cause even more young people
to ruin their lives by drugs. Such politics is completely irresponsible- both towards
the inhabitants of those cities and towards other Europeans."
In response to this, the European Cities on Drug Policy wrote a letter to the members
of ECAD in which they invited the ECAD member cities to attend the next conference
of the ECDP, and to offer their views there rather than through the press.
Earlier this year the Chief Coroner of British Columbia, Vince Cain, was ordered
to conduct an investigation into the large number of drug-related deaths in the
province. He concluded his public meetings in June, and was scheduled to release
his report in September. This report has recently been released and recommends the
decriminalization of the personal possession of drugs. The provincial government has
expressed their general agreement with this recommendation and are expected to broach
the issue with the federal departments of health and justice.
The Vancouver City Council has also been made aware of the Frankfurt Resolution, but
it has not been officially discussed within the council chambers. If you think that
the Frankfurt Resolution is something that the Vancouver municipal government should
support, or at least debate, then please contact them and let the councillors know how
you feel.
The Mayor of Vancouver is Philip Owen. There are ten councillors, as follows:
• Lynne Kennedy
• Don Bellamy
• Gordon Price
• George Puil
• Maggie Ip
• Jennifer Clarke
• Sam Sullivan
• Nancy Chiavario
• Craig Hemer
• Jenny Kwan.
The address of Vancouver City Hall is 453 W. 12th, V5Y 1V4.
To contact the European Cities on Drug Policy, email Susanne Schardt of the ECDP
Coordination Bureau at
frank@agora.stm.it.
(
geocities.com/hollywood)