Drug users must receive medical treatment in specialized institutions, instead of being put behind bars to spend financial resources on their maintenance in detention.  These are suggestions formulated at an international conference on drug policies in Moldova, held in the Parliament Building. The speakers noted that at the legislative level, the approaches to drug use and drug trafficking must be distinct. It is necessary to make a clear demarcation between consumers who are forced to sell drugs and those who traffic for profit, IPN reports.

Liliana Grosu, deputy head of the commission on social protection, health and family, said that drug use and illicit drug trafficking are very pressing problems. The solutions are not simple. They always involve a joint effort, which must be permanent and coordinated. “I’m convinced that all of those who are present here have the same intention – to prevent and reduce drug use because this is a big personal health and public health issue and a problem related to the integration of the person in all the social processes. At the same time, we all want illicit drug trafficking to be in as small quantities as possible,” said the parliamentarian. She noted that preventing drug use and providing medical services to people who use drugs to help them overcome addiction and integrate into society are achievable and effective policies.

“It’s clear that we have to make this difference between consumption because it is a problem that is related rather to health and here the efforts are probably focused more on the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection as things are highly interconnected. And we have the problem of illicit drug trafficking and drug-related crime and here the pressure is more on the Ministry of Internal Affairs. We must also have this understanding not to have unrealistic expectations of the district police officer when it comes to the education of a teenager so that this does not resort to drug use. But we must also understand that without working as a team, without specialists communicating, cooperating at the locality level, without forming a team in which this dialogue exists, we will not be able to achieve these objectives,” said Liliana Grosu.

Ruslan Poverga, director general of “Positive Initiative” Association, said that drugs were and will be. Today more people die from the poor quality of drugs than from overdoses. Incarcerating drug users is not the best way to discourage drug use. The state spends money on the maintenance of these people in prisons without achieving the expected impact. Much more important are the policies focused on the prevention and discouragement of drug use, on the treatment of people who need specialized help to quit addiction.