Will Ghana be in breach of the international drug conventions if they decriminalize drugs for personal use?

In my opinion, I do not see Ghana being at risk of violating the conventions by moving towards decriminalization of drugs for personal use. Many are those who fear that Ghana risk being painted by the International  Narcotics Control Board  as they  descended on Switzerland and Uruguay years back when the two nations legalized the narcotic product where it was alleged that, The International Narcotic Control Board (INCB) accused Uruguay of ‘’Pirate attitude.''

Ghana does not stand being painted with same brush – mainly because the INCB itself has significantly changed and updated its narrative on this topic in recent years (and since the “pirate” comments were made by the previous President). INCB is now supportive of harm reduction responses and the removal of criminal sanctions in favor of alternative measures.

The INCB’s role is to monitor and enforce implementation of the First of all, the objective of the three international drug conventions, and the main objective of these conventions is the health and welfare of mankind-centered. Their original intention was to make essential medications available for the relief of pain and the alleviation of suffering, while preventing their non-medical or recreational use protecting the people, particularly the most vulnerable, from the potentially dangerous effects of these controlled drugs. Crucially, and has been repeatedly acknowledged by INCB and the UNODC.

The preamble of the 1961 Convention indicates that the main reason to consider these drugs as dangerous is their capacity to induce “addiction.” The drafters of the 1961 Convention were aware of the risk of those controlled drugs to affected individuals, and, in turn, the social and economic dangers related to addictive behavior.  Regarding possession, purchase or cultivation of controlled drugs for personal consumption, i.e. not for medical or scientific purposes, the 1988 Convention determines that these actions shall be established as criminal offenses. However, this obligation is subject to States parties’ constitutional principles or basic concepts of their legal systems. 

The same Convention also indicates that States parties may provide measures for treatment, education, aftercare, rehabilitation or social reintegration as an alternative to conviction or punishment. Therefore, the Conventions do not require the punishment of possession, purchase or cultivation for personal use. That is why, under the Conventions, de-penalisation of possession, purchase or cultivation of controlled drugs for personal use is possible, under specific circumstances.

It should be noted that decriminalization (de facto): -drug possession for personal use remains illegal (a punishable offense), but the action taken in response to this offense does not necessarily lead to punishment. In fact, a more effective alternative to punishment can be social protection and detoxification services, health care, treatment of dependence and reintegration into society. 

Also, the 1988 Convention indicates that in cases focused on drug dealers, the legislation should identify and divert cases of a minor nature from the criminal justice system. For example, as has  already happened  in many countries, individuals selling a small amount of drugs with the intent to obtain the money to maintain their habit as drug addicts do not receive the same institutional response given to criminals managing drugs as an illicit and profitable business. For these reasons, Article 3, Paragraph 4 (c) of the 1988 Convention states that “in appropriate cases of a minor nature,”  the parties may provide “as alternatives to conviction or punishment” measures such as education, rehabilitation or social reintegration, as well as treatment and aftercare. 

Treatment, as an alternative to prison, is mentioned in many provisions of the Conventions, clearly indicating that individuals affected by drug use disorders do not need to be criminally punished. See Art. 36, para. 1 (b) of the 1961 Convention; Art. 22, para. 2 (b) of the 1971 Convention; Art. 3, para. 4 (b) of the 1988 Convention. So clearly, the conventions in their clear language allows for decriminalization and so Ghana will not be in breach of the said conventions if they do so.

CANNABIS MAY BE HARMFUL, BUT CRIMINALIZATION IS MORE HARMFUL

I have read the article by Dr. Kwasi Osei, Acting Chief Executive Officer for Mental Health Authority where he raised concerns about cannabis legalization in Ghana. I will like to assure him and others that, civil society in Ghana are NOT CALLING FOR LEGALIZATION. What we are calling for is DECRIMINALIZATION of drugs for personal use.

Let me assure our readers that; the two models are never the same thing as many writers have deliberately chosen to confuse the debate. In these debates, decriminalization is often confused with legalization.  Under legalization, the sale, acquisition, use and possession of drugs are legal and regulated by Government. Our current policies regulating alcohol and tobacco are core examples of this approach in practice. Under this regime, the drug trade is taken away from criminal gangs, whose lucrative illegal markets are undercut and reduced.

On the other hand, under the decriminalization model adopted by a number of countries around the world, the use and personal possession of drugs remain prohibited – but is no longer a crime: it is instead punishable by administrative sanctions much like traffic violation offenses.  Sanctions may include fines, community-based service orders, warnings, education classes, – or no penalty at all.

The said article also points to the fact that he is to some extent, in favor of decriminalization, however, our only point of disagreement is his view that decriminalization should only apply to problematic drug users. In our view, decriminalization should apply to anyone who uses drugs irrespective of whether you are a recreational or a problematic user.

It is an undeniable fact that cannabis may be harmful to the consumer, but we need to understand that we do not need to add to this harm by criminalizing people who use them. Criminalization has proven to be worse. Criminalization poses both social and health harms and risks to Ghanaians, so we must make sure we mitigate those risks and take an effective harm reduction approach to protecting our communities,  our kids, and the health of Ghanaians by decriminalizing use.

What we need to ask ourselves now is, If drugs are primarily a health issue, why is the primary response punitive or repressive in nature, involving the police and military, rather than doctors and health professionals? In which other areas of public health do we criminalize patients we are aiming to help?

Drug-related issues are cross-cutting, they are a range of policy areas, but for illegal drugs, the balance has shifted to the point where consideration of public health has been increasingly marginalized by an excessive focus on enforcement, as the UN Office on Drugs and Crime has itself noted.

The rationale behind decriminalization is to reduce the harms associated with criminalizing people who use drugs because there are several risks associated with drug use – not least HIV and other infections, and the thousands of drug-related deaths every year.

The negative impact of criminalizing people who use drugs continues to be an area of serious concerns. Individuals have a right to access life-saving health services without fear of punishment or discrimination.  However, the fear of criminal sanctions drives people who use drugs away from life-saving harm reduction services, leading to infections and premature death from HIV and Hepatic C. This notion has been recognized by many UN agencies such as, UNODC, WHO, and the UNDP.

Stringent laws, spectacular police drives, vigorous prosecution, and incarceration of people who use drugs and peddlers have proved not only ineffective and enormously expensive as means of correcting the problem, but they are also unjustifiably and unbelievably cruel in their application to the unfortunate drug victims.

Prohibitionism has failed to curb or diminish drug use and associated problems, failing even by its metrics and standards; the astronomical numbers of people who use drugs speak for themselves, where estimates point to strikingly high levels of global drug use.

Drug use is never a police problem; it has never been, and never can be solved by police officers. It is first and last a medical problem, and if there is a solution, it will be discovered not by police officers, but by scientific and competently trained medical experts whose sole objective will be the reduction and possible eradication of this devastating appetite.

Despite the fact that most drug offenders are non-violent, the stigma attached to a conviction can prevent employment and education opportunities. Stigma can be compounded and intersected, with drug use becoming a double, triple, or quadruple. Have we thought about the damage done to families by the millions of criminal records handed down to adults as if they do not have wider consequences for children?

Globally, the repressive approaches to drug use continue to be implemented, in spite of there being little evidence to suggest that these policies have yielded positive results, with it being argued by many that the global war on drugs has failed. (Global Commission on Drug Policy 2011:4)

Portugal has gone down the decriminalization route with some success. This has freed up the legal system and cut the cost to the government.

I will like to reiterate for the purpose of the records that, civil society in Ghana is not calling for the legalization of cannabis but rather to decriminalize drug use. This has been extensively discussed in my earlier articles trying to distinguish the two models that has created some confusion in the minds of many Ghanaians. THE CALL HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO DECRIMINALIZE to reduce the harm that the laws themselves are causing to the individuals. It is always good to remember what Kofi Annan said, that “ drugs  have harmed many but bad government policies have harmed many more.”  Support Don’t Punish!!          

BY

By Maria-Goretti Ane Loglo                                                                                                           

mariagorettiane.loglo@gmail.com