Prevnet participates at launch of European Action on Drugs

In Brussels, on Friday, June 26th, Jacques Barrot, Vice President of the European Commission, welcomed twenty organisations to the Berlaymont building kicking off the mutual Action on Drugs. Barrot let us know that twelve million Europeans have used cocaine, and that every hour an EU-citizen dies of an overdose. Reason enough, he said, to undertake an action together.

Prevnet delegation: (from left) Peer van der Kreeft, Roel Kerssemakers and Teuvo Peltoniemi at the launch of EAD campaign in Brussels on the International Drug Day, June 26, 2009.

Prevnet signature

Twenty organisations from just as many countries signed a commitment to collaborate. Peer van der Kreeft gave his signature on behalf of the international Prevnet Network. Prevnet, “improving prevention through the .net” inspired the shop floor of prevention workers all over Europe with tools and instruments for the Internet. Online self-help programs, instruments to learn about the influence of drugs on the brains, SMS-messaging, self-tests to estimate the risk score for your own use of alcohol or other drugs are such Prevnet-tools. Because of the very fast evolution in cyber world those instruments are in the mean time widely spread and used in Europe.

From insurance company to boy scouts
An other organisation committed to EAD was presented by Dr. Massimo Barra from the Red Cross of the Italian Villa Maraini. He called to break through the discrimination and ignorance of drug addicts in the community. A subscriber from the insurance sector was Ethias, represented by Angelo Antole, who explained how an ethical, humanitarian human resource policy contributes to prevention: internally for the own personnel and externally via support to, for example, the Responsible Young Drivers. Ms Pamela Schembri of the Maltese Qrendi scouts made clear (in her full uniform) how the organized youth organizations structurally promote a healthy lifestyle. Cooperation, solidarity and civic sense are important protective factors for drug problems; we retrieve them every week again in the Maltese and international scouts movement.

Prevnet commitment signing ceremony at EAD
Mr Jacques Barrot, Vice President of the European Commission, presenting Prevnet while Peer van der Kreef is posing with the EAD metal plate, where Prevnet commitment to European Action on Drugs has been carved to last over the decades.

Free traffic

Carel Edwards, head of the Drug Coordination Unit at the Commission referred to the free flow of information. For drug policy this implies a choice for an evidence based drug policy: based on proven effectiveness and not based on ideology. The European Union agency EMCDDA is a truly valuable institute collecting and distributing information to support drug policies in Europe. The last ten years the situation in Europe has more or less stabilized. That does not reduce the severity of the health impact: of one million injecting drug users most have hepatitis, two hundred thousand carry HIV. Europeans have free traffic within the 27 member states. That implies that also infections can cross borders easily, proving extra health care measures necessary. Free traffic also implies an opening for distribution of new recreational drugs. The Early warning system of the EMCDDA delivers up to date and indispensable information about new drugs or new combinations to the member states.

Time to activate non-experts

Danilo Ballotta of the EMCDDA emphased to the public that the War on drugs should not be a leading motive for a drug policy. As a monitoring centre the institute has assessed that the War on drugs only leads to a war against drug users. And that does not have a desired outcome neither from the preventive nor the curative perspectives. The numbers of people involved in drug use and having drug problems are even higher than reported in the opening of the conference: sixty million Europeans have used cannabis. This is a large number of people using an illicit product. In addition too many people know too little leading a considerable part of the population to risky or problematic use. All that implies a need for action on European scale. Action for such a widespread phenomenon requires in the first place non-experts, with direct contact to drug users. That is the assessment of the EMCDDA and that is the reason it also signed the Commitment of the European Action on Drugs. (By Peer van der Kreeft)

Posted: 12.21.2009

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