It’s not just the United States that is suffering from a drug epidemic; countries all over the world have rising overdose rates. According to the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Norway has one of the highest rates of death from drug-related overdoses in all of Europe. With a population of just over five million, there were 266 drug overdoses in 2014. 7,498 people were in treatment for opioid addiction in 2015, over 9,000 people were considered high-risk opioid users, and there were over 48,000 drug related criminal offenses. In an effort to deal with these problems, Norway recently announced a new harm reduction effort – a program that will prescribe free heroin to individuals who have serious drug dependency issues.
The Norwegian Directorate for Health and Social Affairs was asked by the government to come up with a program that would improve the quality of life for people struggling with substance abuse. This kind of program, called medical heroin therapy, has already been tried elsewhere, including the countries of Denmark, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, where supporters have said that it has helped reduce both the overdose and crime rates. It’s scheduled to begin in Norway in 2020, and up to 400 addicts will be prescribed heroin. Although selection for the participants has not begun, the plan is to focus on people who either have no access to drug treatment or for whom other treatments have not been effective.
In 2017, Norway became the first Scandinavian country to decriminalize drugs, in order to move the focus from punishment to treatment. The idea is that too many people are afraid to seek help because of possible legal consequences, so by making drug possession and use no longer illegal, users would be more willing to come forward. Responsibility for drug treatment is thus shifted from the criminal justice system to the health system. Portugal was the first to decriminalize personal possession of drugs in 2001, following a heroin epidemic and the highest drug-related AIDS deaths in the European Union. Today, Portugal has the second lowest drug-related deaths in the EU.
It might sound completely counterintuitive to give addicts more drugs, but the hope is that prescription heroin will lower overdose mortality because the government will be overseeing how much heroin is distributed. It can improve the quality of life for addicts in a variety of ways, such as lowering the costs related to drug use. For example, if you’re being prescribed heroin, you don’t have to worry about spending money you don’t have, or resorting to stealing, to pay whatever the prices are on the street. Also, it reduces crime associated with the buying and selling of drugs, which both saves lives and saves the government money.
If you or a loved one need help with quitting drugs or alcohol, consider Asana Recovery. We offer medical detox, along with both residential and outpatient programs, and you’ll be supervised by a highly trained staff of medical professionals, counselors, and therapists. Call us any time at (949) 438-4504 to get started.
