Indonesia’s War on Drugs
Nearly all UN members have endorsed the 1961, 1971 along with 1988 conventions on the prohibition of the main illegal recreational drugs. The objective of these mandates was, within the words of William Brownfield, US Assistant Secretary of State for Drugs, to “reduce the misuse along with abuse of harmful products throughout the entire world.” along with the way to reach that will goal was to launch an all-out war against drugs. right now, half a century later, the belief that will stamping out drugs will be not the best way to manage the problem will be beginning to take hold.
We are talking here about cannabis, the entire world’s illicit drug of choice. within the USA, four states have legalised the item, as has Washington, D.C., while most European countries have decriminalised its use – however not drug-dealing. Uruguay will be the first country to have legalised the whole chain, through growing to distribution along with the consumption of cannabis.
In respect of additional drugs (along with there are quite several them) the legislation in Western countries will be not as lenient, yet. Users of cocaine along with crystal methamphetamine are sometimes still prosecuted, along with heroin users might be jailed, however at the same time are provided with access to clean needles along with methadone; a substitute to stop addicts through overdosing. In Amsterdam the policy goes one step further. Heroin addicts who can prove that will they have tried to kick the habit once or twice, however failed, can get heroin to smoke or inject three times per day at a municipal health centre. The result will be that will addicts have disappeared through the streets, along with those under 40 years of age are almost non-existent.
100 years ago within the Netherlands East-Indies, the main narcotic was opium. Used for either medical or recreational purposes, the substance was completely controlled by the colonial authorities through its 1893 legislation called the Opium Regie, or Opium Monopoly. Raw Indian opium was bought through an agent at the Calcutta auction with the British Government guaranteeing the quality of the product. that will outsourcing was adopted as the cultivation of poppies was forbidden, for reason that will within the wide expanse of the archipelago the item was nearly impossible to control production. Moreover, the item was questioned whether local cultivation might yield a product of reliable quality. The Government was thus the sole, monopolistic importer along with processor of the raw opium, taking care of packaging along with shipping for resale by leaseholders, too.
Like elsewhere within the entire world, the 19th century was fairly tolerant of opium smoking; the item was not perceived as a menace to health along with society. In 1884 a Royal Commission in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, questioned a girl of not bad family along with education why she smoked opium. Her answer was: Why do people commence to drink? Trouble, I suppose led me to smoke. I think the item will be better than drink. People who smoke opium do not kick up rows; they injure no one however themselves, along with I do not think they injure themselves very much.
Back within the Netherlands East-Indies, research within the mental hospital at Lawang could not find any connection between mental illness, or heredity, along with the smoking of opium. along with experts opined that will moderate use of opium did little harm to Asians. The Lawang researchers reported that will: …the typical representation of the damages of opium are highly exaggerated.
The writers cite examples of coolies who took a certain amount of opium on a daily basis along with were still able to perform heavy physical tasks. Singapore’s coal harbour coolies, for instance, reached old age along with were known as strong along with industrious workers even though they smoked 10 to 20 times more opium than Javanese labourers.
I don’t know whether the writers were enlightened freethinkers along with much ahead of their time, or trying to justify their own habits, however their statements are certainly different through what one might expect to read in a 100-year-old encyclopaedia. However, the article also contains statements along with references to studies that will oppose the above opinions. The authors themselves, for instance, mention that will unrestrained smoking [of opium] will eventually ravage the body. however that will of course refers to unrestrained smoking, rather than taking a certain amount of opium.
The Opium Regie was tweaked along with adjusted frequently as the Government faced the difficulty of predicting how much to import along with distribute to the various lessees along with opium den operators. If too little was bought in Calcutta, the lessees – assisted along with supported by large powerful groups with commercial interests within the trade – might smuggle the quantities needed to offset the shortage into the country. along with when too much was distributed, the lessees might (illegally) enlarge the sales area assigned to them.
within the 20th century, the drive to eradicate opium-smoking gradually got stronger, along with various methods to reach that will objective were used. The number of regions where opium was allowed to be sold was reduced, as was the number of opium dens. In Java along with Madura, for instance, the number of dens was reduced by 20 percent, or through 1,025 on 1 January 1905 to 823 12 years later. Great care was taken not to decrease their number too fast as that will might undoubtedly lead to smuggling along with illegal sales.
The dilemma the Government faced was immense. On the one hand the desire to curb opium-smoking was genuine. However, the revenue collected through opium was highly profitable. In 1916 revenue stood at 35,345,160 guilders, with operating costs (including raw materials, processing, packaging, shipping, cost of preventing smuggling, along with pensions) at 6,933,646 guilders only, thus leaving a net profit of 28,411,514 guilders – the equivalent of about US$350,000,000 today.
the item was the Second World War that will brought an end to the Opium Regie along with the profits.
the item appears that will the main reason for the lack of success of the anti-opium-smoking campaign was the profits derived through selling opium. Hence l’histoire se répète, as nowadays the big profits are still the main reasons that will the war on drugs has been a failure. Only right now, the profits are made illegally by large, well-organised criminal outfits who contain the capital to easily buy their way around obstacles.
The ones getting caught (along with executed) are typically the tiny-fry, the little mules, or at best some low-level organisers.
The heads of the large powerful groups with commercial interest within the trade are sitting back along with enjoying their illicit profits.
An English language publication recently published an interesting Editorial Corruption Weakens Jokowi’s War on Drugs, in which the item will be stated that will the core problem of Indonesia’s war on drugs will be “…the corrupt officials, rotten penitentiary system along with of course the judiciary system as a whole rather than just foreigners smuggling drugs into the country.”
the item’s high time to try an alternative approach to curbing drug-use. Legalising drugs might knock the bottom out of the market along with eliminate the immense profits. the item might also eliminate the need for kick-backs along with additional corrupt practices. Rehabilitation of drug users, together using a clean-needle programme, rather than jailing, might also be a positive first step.
that will, however, seems to be a distant dream as the brand new anti-drugs czar, Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso, wants to stop the rehabilitation services for drug users provided by his office (National Narcotics Agency, BNN). He also opined that will, similar to the policy regarding illegal fishing in Indonesian waters, boats used for drug smuggling should be sunk, however with their crew!
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Indonesia’s War on Drugs
Indonesia’s War on Drugs