Psychology and Policy

[jducoeur]

Heard a very interesting article on BBC World Service this morning, talking about the Swiss experiment with drug regulation. They've apparently taken a super-pragmatic approach to heroin addiction, focusing on crime reduction and harm mitigation, and it's reportedly working quite well.

Basically, they provide free heroin/methadone treatment and free needles to addicts, but manage it stringently. Addicts have to queue up at the pharmacy each morning to receive their fix, and they are closely monitored. The attitude is very professional, treating it as a health problem.

Results: new cases of heroin addiction have plummeted -- I believe they said that it's fallen five-fold since they started. The reason seems to be simple psychology: the sight of the addicts lining up to get their daily fix has made heroin totally uncool, with the result that the younger set are avoiding it like the plague. Early criticisms that a legalized approach would lead to more addiction have been pretty effectively refuted. And heroin-related crime has mostly gone away, since it's easier (if more humiliating) to get the legal fix.

Very nicely done, and instructive to the overall drug argument. It's a good illustration that legalization can work well, if you think the problem through carefully. Now if only the US could apply a similar degree of sense to its drug policies...

Comments

Coordination

[metageek.livejournal.com]

You might think a national health system would make it easier, by reducing the number of organizations that'd have to coordinate; but it'd probably be more likely to run afoul of "we don't do that"ism. A private health system would have a profit motive to get it interested.

(Personally, after seeing the poor treatment my Canadian relatives and friends have gotten, I have no interest in seeing us get a national health system.)

Re: Coordination

[lauradi7.livejournal.com]

I think that's definitely a ymmv thing. I know someone in England who is very happy with the care she's received from the NHS over the years. When her kids were small, she said that she was sure they were better off - they couldn't afford much in the way of private health care and would have often just skipped the doctor visit instead of paying out of pocket if they lived in the US. I'm happy with the private care with have here (a PPO, doctors at Harvard Vanguard) but it costs us many thousands of dollars a year for the three of us. Most people in the US (or anywhere) can't pay that kind of money.