Legal Commentary

Swiss to Vote on Prescription Heroin Policy Sunday

By Jeralyn

Tomorrow, the Swiss head to the polls. On the ballot: whether to make an experimental program allowing doctors to prescribe heroin permanent.

In 1998 Switzerland introduced an experimental 10-year heroin prescription programme. Today around 1,300 patients across the country are on the programme.

Dr Christoph Buerki says his clinic in Bern serves 210 such patients. "Their average age is 40 now, and they have an average of 13 years of heroin addiction before they enter this programme. Basically we are aiming at a group of people where everything else has failed," he says.

The Swiss were early participants in needle exchange and clean injection room programs. This is the next step, for those who haven't been able to kick the habit. Who is against it? A Swiss group called Parents Against Drugs. This comment says it all:

I would never, never, put my children into a heroin prescription programme. What kind of freedom is that? I'd rather they were dead.

A parent who would prefer death for a sick child (and drug addiction is a disease) is truly pathetic, and I hope, in the minority among Swiss voters. This program should be made permanent.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on November 29, 2008 (boomark / email).