THE wholesale criminalisation is not helping criminalising the young ones. Sending people easily to jail is not a solution. The limited decriminalisation can significantly reduce drug use by people, especially the younger ones. But it needs to be supported by other remedial measures. The government of incompetent people think that police are the solution for all problems, including drug problem. One should not think that it is addiction not for to tackle. It is also a lucrative big business. Even police cannot be trusted as not being involved in the big money business.
We have for them no medical and psychological solution because drug is a disease. We think of humanitarian solutions for the problem, including reduced accessibility of drugs and new methods of dealing with the drug business and drug addiction. In Bangladesh, carriers of drugs are easily dealt with by police cases as hundreds of young people are locked up in jail for being in possession of drugs. The unemployed young ones lured by easy offer of money became carriers but that is not seen as an unemployment problem.
Then there are those who are caught taking drugs for the first time, amount carrier of possession of drugs. Massive drug use is rather critically criminalising our younger population suffering from depression.
But most developed countries are now decriminalising use of drug by developing friendlier methods to treat offenders while reducing accessibility to drugs to reduce use of drugs. The first time the drug specialists counsel them and keep them under watch. They are even given a second chance to see if they can be helped without confining them into institutions.
It is no help to them drugs problem to send the young carriers to jail the easy way. The economic hardship must be the major consideration. Solving unemployment crisis is to be taken into account. Seen from any perspective the dangerous drug is not to be solve by police alone of the real factors are left out of consideration.
The drug is a big money making business and highly placed persons are involved and in a country where money can buy honesty easily the bosses of drug business remain untouchable by law. They can almost buy anybody for their protection, including police. Because the police have been politicised so like politics corruption has become their way also. We do say it for particularly blaming any class because politicisation has made all classes of people emerged in corruption.
What we want to emphasise is drug problem is not police problem. The social, political and economic conditions are to be blamed.
The Economist this week cited US State of Oregon is now trying to following the path by decriminalising possession of even hard drugs. It became the first state at the beginning of this month to start dropping criminal charges against those caught with small amounts of drugs and instead face a fine of $100 or a health assessment that could lead to rehabilitation rather than jail term. In that case the state will bear treatment funding from revenue to be received from legal sales of marijuana. However, such decriminalising must be accompanied by other corrective system to lead to improvement of the situation.
Struggling with drug dependency must also receive therapy while a recreational user battling with depression may receive mental health care at state organised facilities free of cost. We have nothing as such to heal our younger people. We must change our police approach altogether.
In Portugal, first-time offenders go before a health panel and receive a warning. Subsequent violations within five years of the first offence incur either a fine or other administrative sanction, such as community service. Punishment is individualised.
The Oregon Criminal Justice Commission expects the new law will reduce the load on the criminal-justice system to focus on improving other remedial measures. They expect arrests for possessing drugs will drop at least by 91 percent from 2019. Consequently, fewer Oregonians will be convicted and jailed and its impact is going to be huge. A handful of American cities have already decriminalised possession and sale of drugs. Canada has similarly decriminalised the use of drug for personal use.
In our opinion arresting helpless younger people for possessing drug as carriers will not resolve the problem except making it a good arrest business. We do not say that no action will be necessary, police action of sending to jail aggravating the crisis.
