At Møtestedet T5 in Arendal, there is hectic activity when Health Minister Jan Christian Vestre visits during Arendal Week. Here, addicts can come in for food, care, health care, clothes or help with housing or finances. Dozens of people from Arendal, Froland, Tvedestrand and Risør visit the low-threshold offer in Arendal every day. Secretary General of the Church’s City Mission, which runs the meeting place, has no doubts about what she wants when the topic is drug reform: – That it will come! In addition to the low-threshold preventive services, we must have enough treatment places. Then we are concerned with help and treatment, not punishment, she says. In 2021, Ap went to the polls to put forward a new drug reform, but it still has to wait. LOW THRESHOLD: Jan Christian Vestre visited Møtestedet T5 in Arendal today. Photo: Tommy Iversen / news In his first major interview about the drug reform as health minister, Labor deputy leader Jan Christian Vestre talks about: That drugs should still be banned. New, concrete measures for healthcare that will come in the reform. Why is it taking so long to submit it. The government’s parallel process on the police’s use of force, which Sp is concerned with. On average, shorter waiting times for drugs than under the Solberg government. Lang vei Conservative leader Erna Solberg presented a drug reform on the eve of her time in government. But the reform was voted down in the Storting, partly because Labor did not want to agree to any decriminalisation, i.e. removing punishment for smaller doses of drugs for personal use. Then Ap went to the polls to present a new drug reform in this parliamentary term. But where does it go? – We are working on a good drug reform. It must both prevent better, treat better and ensure that better health care is provided to those who need it. As soon as it is finished, we will launch the reform, says Vestre to news. – But when will it come? – It is a little too early to say, but we are working on it. – Isn’t it a little embarrassing that an election promise that was central to Ap three years ago has not yet been signed off? – After all, we have continuously worked on improving the drug policy. And then there are many demanding questions in a drug reform. I think we have to recognize that parts of the drug policy have failed over many years, says Vestre. The Labor deputy leader also brings recent statistics to the interview. – Users now wait an average of six days shorter for help than they did under Erna Solberg’s government. It is positive, says Vestre. The figures refer to the average waiting time for started health care in interdisciplinary specialized drug treatment (TSB), in the years 2014 to 2021, measured against the years 2022 to 2024. The picture also includes that the waiting time under Solberg was reduced from 55 days in 2014, to 33 days in 2021 .She is correct with the use of numbers. – We were the ones who halved the waiting time in addiction treatment during our years, says Solberg to news. She believes that addiction care needs a power and quality boost and says it has gone the wrong way under this government. Lightening the veil But now it is Vestre who is responsible for the drug reform. – It is too early to present the whole, but we have a clear starting point that drugs are prohibited in Norway, he says. – At the same time, we are concerned that those who struggle with narcotic substances, and have done so over time, must first and foremost have health care, not punishment, says Vestre. – So there will be no decriminalization? – We are not in favor of legalizing drug use. We never were. We have taken a clear and distinct stand there. For the first time, he is now announcing two concrete measures that will come in the reform: Strengthen and further develop offers with drug-assisted rehabilitation (LAR). Make arrangements to make it easier for municipalities to create offers for user rooms for their residents. Dispute over police power At the same time that Vestre is working on its drug reform, there is a heated debate and work to clarify which tools the police can use in their hunt for offenders. In 2021, several politicians reacted when the Attorney General, who leads the prosecution and is independent of the politicians, believed that the police had used too much coercion in less serious drug cases (see fact box). About the police’s use of force In 2021, the Attorney General, who leads the prosecution and is independent of the politicians, investigated how much coercion the police used in less serious drug cases. It was established that the police had gone too far with the rust testing of people, in addition to searching people, mobile phones or homes in search of evidence. The Attorney General specified what the police could do in these cases. Several politicians interpreted this as a restriction of the room for action that had existed in these cases. This spring, a committee proposed giving the police more opportunity to use coercion in drug cases. The proposals are now out for consultation. This summer SP leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum advocated strengthening the police’s ability to use force. – We see that the police need more tools to carry out checks and carry out sanctions, also on smaller user doses, Vedum told VG recently. GOVERNMENT PARTNER: SP leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum. Photo: Arne Sørenes – The government’s own expert committee says it is difficult to separate the groups that use drugs? – There are demanding trade-offs, says Vestre. He refers both to the committee, the Attorney General’s circular and the legal process in the Ministry of Justice. – What do you think about the signals from Sp? – Labor Party believes that the police must of course be able to enforce Norwegian laws, says Labor deputy leaders, and points out that work must be done on health, attitudes and the police’s efforts. – Do you think the police should be able to search? – The police must have the opportunity to ensure that Norwegian laws and regulations are followed. They have those opportunities today. They will also have that in the future. – Is it a disagreement between Sp and Ap that has led to the drug reform taking so long? – We work very well together with Sp in government. Then there are big and demanding questions. We have been keen to implement the fastest measures first in anticipation of the reform. – Embarrassing Vestre’s trail announcement does not impress Venstre leader Guri Melby. The time is overdue for a drug reform, she believes. – For three years we have been waiting for a drug reform from the government. If all that comes is a strengthening of LAR and looking at the possibility of more user rooms, then I have to say that it is embarrassing, says Melby to news. – It is really shameful, not least in relation to the 363 people who died of overdose last year. SP’s “desire for a harsh line of punishment” makes the government paralyzed, believes the Liberal leader. – Those who are addicted to drugs are some of those who have it the most difficult. They have major health challenges. They don’t get the help they need. On the contrary, they are still being pursued through the criminal chain. Venstre was a strong promoter of the drug reform that the Solberg government put forward in 2021. There, it was opened up for the decriminalization of small amounts of drugs for personal use, with the aim of putting health before punishment. – We got approval for a radical and important reform that would mean that some of the weakest in our society would not have to be persecuted through the criminal chain, and would rather get help through the health system. That left the government in the drawer. – What do you think about the fact that the government will not present a reform where they are in favor of decriminalisation? – After all, it is an abused chance to bring about a change that really means something. Published 16.08.2024, at 18.44
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– Drugs are prohibited in Norway – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
