• DPMC Moderators: thegreenhand | tryptakid
  • Drug Policy & Media Coverage Welcome Guest
    View threads about
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Drug Busts Megathread Video Megathread

Iran plans to decriminalise drug use allowing government to give diluted drugs to...

S.J.B.

S.J.B.

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Jan 22, 2011
Messages
6,886
Iran plans to decriminalise drug use allowing government to give diluted drugs to addicts
Samuel Osborne
Independent
July 27th, 2017

Iran could be on the verge of decriminalising some forms of drug use to allow the government to distribute drugs to addicts.

By allowing the government to give out diluted rugs to addicts, the proposal aims to cut the relationship between drug addicts and drug traffickers.

“The plan to distribute [low-grade] drugs is similar to what used to be implemented before the [1979 Iran’s Islamic] Revolution,” said Hassan Norouzi, the spokesperson for the Parliament’s Judicial and Legal Commission, according to IFPNews.

Mr Norouzi said diluted drugs such as Methadone would be distributed instead of opium, cannabis and other common drugs in Iran. He went on to say all relevant authorities had given the proposal the go-ahead.

He added: “Given the special emphasis that the Establishment’s macro-policies put on the necessity of cutting off the relationship between drug addicts and narco-traffickers, we decided that the government hand out diluted drugs to addicts, so that they will be able to give up their addiction gradually and, instead of being drawn to drug-traffickers, turn to the Establishment and meet their needs through official channels."
Click to expand...

Read the full story here.
 
This is incredibly interesting, although short on details. Methadone is a no-brainer, but I wonder what they mean by "diluted drugs." Simply lower-potency formulations of the street drugs being replaced, or different compounds entirely? Will they replace crystal meth, for example, with low-dose methamphetamine pills? Or with Ritalin? The goal of reducing the interaction between drug users and the black market is a laudable one. Iran seems to have a very ambivalent mix of policies when it comes to drug use - including some of the most draconian punishments along with treatment regimes that would be considered progressive by the standards of most of the world. I hope this works out and falls squarely in the latter category. The story also mentions that they are planning to reduce the use of the death penalty for drug trafficking.

I'm glad not all of the despotic regimes of the world are jumping on the Duterte bandwagon.
 
Iran actually has quite a rich history of treating drug users with compassion and understanding (at least much richer than most Westerners might imagine), and drug use more as a public health concern than public safety issue. I know they have been treating heroin use disorder with methadone and opium before, but there isn't necessarily that much publicity surrounding their public health system's approach to drug use. Safe to say though, for the most part Iran takes a much more enlightened view when it comes to drug policy and healthcare than places like the US, despite some of their less enlightened criminal justice policies.

I know we have at least one or two BLers currently living in Iran. It would be wicked cool to hear their take on any of this.
 
I've always thought it would be extremely easy to use opium as a maintenance drug. Just give people a daily supply, they can dose themselves orally (which apparently lasts quite a long time) to maintain and push themselves through the day when they need to function at work or wherever, then smoke it and get noddy when they have a chance to relax. It's not ideal, but it's a hell of a lot better than straight IV heroin, or trying to use heroin and other opioids/downers on top of methadone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top