Amy Winehouse was found dead in her Camden home on July 23. A 27-year-old English singer-songwriter, she shot to fame with her particularly distinctive and powerful voice that was able to master jazz and fuse it with more popular genres such as R&B and soul.
Amy Winehouse fast became an international star and her popularity spread like wildfire. Hailed as a revitalising force for British music, her brilliant career (which spanned a mere eight years and just two albums) would be marred by increasingly catastrophic bouts of drug taking and uncontrollable behaviour. Described as “petulant, mischievous, fragile and easily hurt”, she would ultimately succumb to years of excess, the price for a life of consumption fuelled by drugs and drink. In death, Amy Winehouse has become the archetypal rock star, famous but tragically dead before her time!
Her death brought many mixed reactions. It seems, however, that her seemingly uncontrollable addictions made her demise somewhat predictable. Yet, what made me delve into this young woman’s tragic life was a stark comment a friend of mine passed at the news of her death. Much experienced in the trials and tribulations of drug addicts, he dryly expressed his concern as to whether her death would highlight the ruination brought by drug taking or simply glorify the objectionable lifestyle her celebrity status afforded: “What’s the fuss? After all drug addicts are dying all the time!”
Once again, the death of such a high-profile artist has highlighted the dangers of drink and drug addiction. It reminds us that drug addiction is not some neatly compartmentalised social issue. Addiction is a silent killer that really knows no race, colour, status or creed. Hundreds of drug addicts succumb to overdose and collateral damage every day around the world.
A 2010 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime confirms the facts. UNODC estimates that between 155 and 250 million people (3.5 to 5.7 per cent of the population aged 15-64) used illicit substances at least once in 2008. Globally, cannabis users comprise the major bulk of these individuals.
Yet, as overall production of hard drugs has stabilised, the number of users and deaths has steadily trended upwards. Some shifting of this use has been observed moving from the developed world onto poorer and less developed regions. Undoubtedly, drug trafficking remains a primary source of illegal income for criminals, organised or not, and it is estimated that about $400 billion dollars are generated annually by this deadly trade.
In the UNODC report, its executive director Antonio Maria Costa makes a number of telling observations regarding the progress achieved through national and cross-border policies on drug control throughout the last decade. Mr Costa accepts the fact that completely dismantling the drugs industry would be an unrealistic task. Reducing supply and demand through the disruption of illicit flows is simply not working. It is important to understand that in the regions where illicit crops are grown “it is vital to eradicate poverty, not just drugs”.
More importantly, he recognises the valuable recognition of placing health at the core of drug policy. He insists that drug addiction is a treatable health condition and there are ways to help those affected. Moreover, drug addicts and users should be sent for treatment and not to jail.
All this raises the thorny issue of decriminalisation. There has been for some time a shift in addressing the “war on drugs” from one of pure enforcement to a multi-disciplinary strategy.
Decriminalisation has for a long time been considered a dirty word, probably because it is least understood by popular perception.
Decriminalisation is not legalisation. Decriminalising drugs does not make them legal but is an attempt to classify drugs and reserve criminal sanctions for serious crimes associated with drugs such as cultivation, trafficking and trade. Simply put, putting addicts in jail does not resolve the problem but compounds it!
These thoughts have been expressed by many, such as former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The clinical director at the National Drug Agency (Sedqa) has recently spoken of the “urgent” need to clarify the distinction between drug traffickers and drug addicts. These feelings were once again expressed by President George Abela in a recent ceremony involving rehabilitated drug addicts.
Sadly, decriminalisation remains a political hot potato. Malta’s zero tolerance policy seems firmly entrenched both in the government’s and in the main political parties’ policies.
For all the lofty talk of liberalism and progressive piffle, we have yet to see a concerted political effort from all those concerned to truly understand the dimension of the challenges posed by drug addiction. While recognising the sterling work of law enforcement agencies, it is probably time to consider other options in combating the scourge of drug use.
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