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A pressing question that arose out of the decriminalisation of cannabis for personal and private use, was whether or not those who had been arrested for possession would have their records expunged, or would be released from jail.

Then there is the question of young people and children found smoking or in the possession of cannabis, some of whom have spent months in juvenile detention centres.

In August, that problem was solved in the Johannesburg High Court, which ruled that children found guilty of trivial offences, including the possession or use of cannabis, may not be incarcerated.

Rulings like this opened up broader conversations about drugs, drug possession, and illegal narcotics.

At last week’s United Nations general assembly at the Global Commission on Drug Policy, Deputy Social Development Minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, reports The Mail & Guardian, said that the treatment protocols for drug-addicted people needed to be reviewed.

South Africa has told world governments that the global war on drugs has failed and that it is considering plans to decriminalise personal drug use, while focusing its police resources on dealers and illicit syndicates…

“We need to reduce the punitive, war-based language on the issue of drugs. This has not led to any of us being successful in the fight against drugs. We need to begin to focus on the social welfare services, so we can focus on putting the drug user at the centre and ensuring they have access to the critical medicines that they need,” Bogopane-Zule told social and welfare ministers from around the world.

South Africa has been working on a ‘drug master plan’ that prioritises treatment, and harm reduction for drug users, over punitive measures – especially for young people.

“Criminalising drug use (which can include possession of injecting equipment) causes tension between people who inject drugs, police, and needle-syringe-programme service providers. This raises the importance of a unified philosophy across the system, which will ensure that stakeholders are not working against each other,” the document reads in part.

The Mail & Guardian sums the problem and proposed solutions up nicely with this infographic:

Image: The Mail & Guardian

The criminal justice system, as Bogopane-Zulu points out, doesn’t have the capacity to deal with the high numbers of people arrested for drug possession, especially those found with small quantities of drugs on them. To add to this, drug-related convictions are far higher than those for other violations.

For a sense of perspective, between 2017 and 2018, the conviction rates for hijacking stood at 2%, home robberies at 5%, and sexual offences at 9%, while of the 323 369 drug-related offences recorded, 47% or 151 061 led to convictions.

Many of these were for possession of small quantities of drugs.

If, for example, you were caught with a few grams of cocaine, you could find yourself with a criminal record that could impact your ability to obtain future employment.

Bogopane-Zulu is making the case that law enforcement agencies should be separating those struggling with addiction from those engaging in criminal activity.

“We must recognise not only the human rights of the drug users, but we [must] begin to criminalise the perpetrator and smuggler, and not necessarily the user.”

This is undoubtedly a progressive approach to drug use, which could benefit programs seeking to treat those who have become dependent on illegal substances.

Freeing up the courts to deal with more pressing issues than small quantities of recreational substances also wouldn’t go amiss.

[source:m&g]