Drug policy around the world has
evolved right along with the changing attitudes society has had on the
different drugs that exist today. Whether it be for political reasons, cultural
norms, or simply a greater grasp on the effects of certain drugs, these
policies also differ from country to country. This paper is going to focus on
the differences in drug policy and approach to drug related issues in the
countries of Italy and the United States.
Italy
became a nation-state in the year of 1861 and currently has a population of
61,680,122 people. Some reoccurring problems that the country has been facing
include organized crime, high unemployment rates for women and for youth, slow
economic progression, and economic disparities between the northern and
southern parts of the country. Italy’s economy is divided into two parts in
accordance to these northern and southern parts. The northern part of the
country attains an industrial economy that is largely run by private companies,
and the southern part has more of a focus on agriculture, and is where the unemployment
rate is higher (Office of Public Affairs, 2014).
In regards to healthcare, 9.5% of Italy’s GDP is allocated for healthcare, and
the country implemented the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, also known as SSN, in
which the government controls the distribution of tax revenue for this publicly
financed system. SSN covers all citizens of Italy as well as legal residents,
but is not the only option of healthcare as private health insurance is still
available (Thomson et al., 2013). The drug sector
of Italy is largely attributed to the existence of organized crime and its
heavily reliance on the drug trafficking trade. In the year of 2008, an article
written by Ann Wise in ABC news reported that drug trafficking brings in
organized crime about $75 billion a year, and this sector is actually starting
to affect the success of some of the legitimate businesses within the country (Wise, 2008).
The national drug policy in Italy is one more focused on
preventive and reduction methods, including an emphasis on the health
consequences of drug addictions. There is also a heavy concern to include
families in the prevention and rehabilitation efforts, as many of these
programs target families and work with an individual’s peers, parents,
teachers, or guardians. The Consolidated law in Italy, which was created in
1990, provides the framework for the distribution, prevention and treatment,
and punishment of illegal activities in regards to drugs and psychoactive
substances. Since 2006, possession of an illegal substance for personal use
could be punished by different sanctions, such as being suspended from having a
driver’s license. In this piece of legislation exist two tables, which make a
certain distinction between drugs.
Illicit drugs are categorized in Table 1 and medicinal drugs are located
in Table 2, and there is a certain maximum quantity of drugs to determine the
difference between someone using the drug for personal use and someone who is
trying to traffick drugs for a profit. The consequence for trying to transport,
sale, or produce drugs can be anywhere from six to twenty years of
imprisonment, which can vary depending on what table the drug is from. If the
quality or quantity of the drug in a certain situation proves not to be a
serious factor, the punishment for prison can range from one to six years. If a
person is caught for the first time possessing illegal drugs, they receive a
warning and formal request to stop using. This person can also request for treatment
or rehabilitation (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction,
2014).
The Italian National Action Plan on Drugs was created in 2010 which outlines the two goals of demand and supply reduction by five areas of intervention. For demand reduction, the areas of intervention include prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and reintegration while supply reduction focuses on evaluation and monitoring, legislation, fighting drugs, and justice for youth. The plan mainly focuses on illicit drug use, although there are some parts that address licit drug use and addictive behaviors (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 2014).
The Italian National Action Plan on Drugs was created in 2010 which outlines the two goals of demand and supply reduction by five areas of intervention. For demand reduction, the areas of intervention include prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and reintegration while supply reduction focuses on evaluation and monitoring, legislation, fighting drugs, and justice for youth. The plan mainly focuses on illicit drug use, although there are some parts that address licit drug use and addictive behaviors (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 2014).
Part of the drug culture in Italy mirrors this idea of
treatment, rehabilitation and helping those who do have these serious drug
addictions. In a country that has more lenient policies, there is not as strong
of a negative connotation when it comes to individual drug abusers. In the
United States a person addicted to drugs is viewed as a criminal, but in Italy
this person is viewed as someone who needs help. On the other side of this is
another part of the drug culture which is viewed a little bit differently. The existence
of the mafia and organized crime is also part of this culture which is regarded
as dangerous, powerful, and money hungry. Its affects on society are going to
be discussed later on in this paper, but the drug culture in itself has been
able to funnel money into these organizations who have developed relationships
with people all over the world. Some of the major groups of organized crime
members are actually active in the United States and include the Sicilian
Mafia, the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia, the ‘Ndrangheta or Calabrian Mafia, and
the Sacra Corona Unita or the United Sacred Crown. Along with drug trafficking,
this culture breeds the activities of kidnapping, fraud, extortion, illegal
gambling, political corruption, murder, counterfeiting, and weapons trafficking
(Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2014).
Obvious effects of drug use on any society include the health
risks associated with using. As already mentioned, this is a huge focus for the
people in government in this country. The people that seek help at a public
drug treatment center or hospital are able to take a voluntary test to check
for diseases associated with drug use. Some of these diseases that have
affected society include HIV and Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. Death is
something that can also be related to drug use whether it be directly or
indirectly. The Central Directorate for Antidrug Services in Italy has reported
that the trends in drug-induced deaths showed a peak in the year of 1999, but
has been on a decline since. The total number of deaths directly related to
drug use for the year of 2012 was 360. Of these deaths, 214 had toxicology
reports that were available, which showed the use of opiates as the most
prevalent cause in 163 of these deaths (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs
and Drug Addiction, 2014).
Other effects on society include the drug market and how
beneficial it has been to those involved with organized crime. Drug trafficking
serves as the organized crime’s main source of income, taking away about $317.5
million a day from legitimate businesses according to a study mentioned by Ann
Wise in her ABC News article (Wise, 2008).
Along with drug trafficking, the mafia involves themselves in practices
such as loan sharking and extortion, which affects and threatens the
businessmen involved in industries like tourism and food production. Legitimate
businesses are suffering financially from the existence of these organized
crime mobs, which therefore affects the economy of the country (Wise, 2008).
While Italy’s policies clearly focus more on preventative
and treatment measures, trying to ensure those who are addicted do receive help,
the United States could be described as more harsh in its policies. The US
frequently likes to think that there is a link between drug use and violence
and uses criminal law as the primary means of reducing drug abuse. The only
time ever in history when a majority of funding in the US went to treatment
rather than law enforcement was during the Nixon administration (2015). After
that, most presidents have taken the stance that the war on drugs should be
combated with arrests and imprisonments. Italy, on the other hand, recently
spent 51% of its drug related funding on health and social care and 49% on law
enforcement. This is just one area to
prove the difference in approach that these two countries have taken on the
issue of drug use within their borders. Another example of the leniency Italy
has taken to this issue compared to the United States can be seen with the use
of sanctions Italy has provided for offenses, which are obviously not as
serious as serving time in prison. A first time offender in Italy found in
possession of illegal drugs gets off with a warning, while these warnings do
not exist formally in our criminal justice system. The US, before the Obama
administration revised it, had a law concerning powder versus crack cocaine.
This law stated that 5.01 grams or more of crack cocaine called for a mandatory
minimum of sentence five years, no matter if it was your first or 50th
offense (2015). This shows the extreme difference these two countries take
towards first time offenders.
Some similarities that exist between these two countries
regarding drug policy, even though are few, include the idea of separating
drugs based on medical use. In the Consolidated Law are two tables in which
Italy’s government divides illicit drugs and drugs used medicinally. In the
United States, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 created five schedules of
drugs that are also categorized by medical use, along with abuse liability, and
safety.
It is interesting to see how in different parts of the
world there are different responses to the exact same problem. Whether it be
harsher or more lenient policies in dealing with drug use, society and the
people that are a part of it I believe definitely have some influence as to how
these laws are created and changed.
References
Kuhn, A. (Director) (2015, March 16). The War on Drugs. Lecture
conducted from , Gainesville.
Italian Organized Crime. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2015, from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/organizedcrime/italian_mafia
National
Drug Laws. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/country-overviews/it
Thomson, S.,
Osborn, R., Squires, D., & Jun, M. (2013, November 1). International
Profiles of Healthcare Systems. Retrieved March 29, 2015, from http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Fund
Report/2013/Nov/1717_Thomson_intl_profiles_hlt_care_sys_2013_v2.pdf
Wise, A.
(2008, November 12). The Mafia is Italy's Biggest Business. ABC News.
Retrieved March 29, 2015, from http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=6238022
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