How Civil Society Can Help Make
the EU Drugs Action Plan a Reality

Leading European Drug Experts warn
against efforts to normalize the use of illegal drugs

Brussels - October 12, 2005

This is the second in a series of conferences organized by the Foundation for a Drug-Free Europe to help unite members of civil society to forward government efforts in the fight against drugs. The discussion focused on the problems of legalization and harm reduction policies as opposed to the complete eradication of drugs.

The leading experts meeting in Brussels were Mr. David Raynes, Executive Councillor, UK National Drug Prevention Alliance; Mr. Eduard Lintner, Member of the German Bundestag and former German Federal Government Drugs Commissioner; Mr. Torgny Peterson, former member of the Swedish government’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Illicit Drugs and Psychotic Substances and Mr. Bo Persson, President Narconon Europe.

The event was hosted in the Church of Scientology International’s European Public Affairs and Human Rights Office in Brussels.

The question most frequently addressed by different speakers was whether or not harm reduction and legalization strategies are effective or whether they cause even more problems than they try to resolve.

Foundation for a Drug-Free Europe Advisory Board member, Mr. Kenneth Eckersley said, ‘The day was a great success. We really had some very enlightening talks and the participation and interest level of the audience was very high. If anything came out of this conference then it was a clear message that drugs are not safe and we should not compromise the future of our children by giving credence to theories that we must learn to live with drugs and that we can do nothing effective about the problem. The members of the Foundation for a Drug-Free Europe are each and every one of them convinced that there are ways to effectively combat the drug problem and that there are ways to effectively get people off drugs.’

The first speaker, Mr. Raynes, was a former Assistant Chief Investigation Officer of Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise National Investigation Service. He has served in a UK Cabinet Office and the Northern Ireland Office, UK. Mr. Raynes summarized the ways in which the pro-legalization lobby were attempting to undermine the UN
Conventions on Drugs which have been the bulwark against legalisation and are due to be reviewed in 2008. He exposed what he called the “BIG LIE – That legalizing drugs will take the criminality out of supply.” He pointed out that “criminals will simply adapt, change their methods and will do what criminals and smugglers have done forever.”

He was followed by Mr. Lintner, who has been a member of the German Bundestag since 1976 and is the Vice Chairman of the Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He emphasized the worsening statistics in Germany (a problem reflected in other countries too) where drug consumption starts at an earlier age these days. He also pointed out that there is an increase of 18% in first-time hard drug users – up to 21,100. This includes an increase of 40% of amphetamine users, 17% Ecstasy users and 11% cocaine users. Mr. Lintner thought that standardization of minimum penalties throughout Europe for the same offence is needed for drug trafficking and related drug offences. He emphasized that clamping down on drug use is still a valid measure to be used against both dealers and users. He further argued that any message that says or gives the impression that drugs are harmless is irresponsible and that giving drugs to addicts as part of official government programs is not a solution to the drug problem. He fully supported drug education starting as early as possible.

Mr. Pederson is an internationally renowned drug expert who has lectured around the world and has organized several major high-level international anti-drug conferences. His speech outlined the need to be constantly vigilant to attempts to legalise drugs whether this be directly or in more subtle ways, such as by introducing policies which gradually erode clearly defined anti-drug principles. He explained that harm reduction has now come to mean that people should learn to use drugs in a safe way – but the truth of the matter is that there is no safe way in which to use drugs.

Highlighting the dangers of vested interests he gave the example of a colleague whose views had been changed from directly opposed to any kind of drug substitution to support for a methadone program after receiving a $25,000 grant.

Mr. Bo Persson is President of Narconon Europe, a drug-free rehabilitation program developed by author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard. Narconon is a highly successful drug rehabilitation program dedicated to eliminating drug abuse and drug addiction through prevention, education and rehabilitation. Mr. Persson was speaking from experience – he is a graduate of the Narconon program and has been leading a drug-free life for 30 years. He closed the conference by explaining the methods and benefits of the program. His message was that a drug-free life can be achieved – and is regularly being achieved by Narconon graduates who move on to lead productive lives, free from the harmful effects of drugs. Narconon Europe manages 70 groups in Europe, Russia and Kazakhstan. Worldwide there are 143 centres in 43 countries.