Needle exchange programmes - did it work?
 

Switzerland example

In 1988 Zurich’s Platzpitz Park was opened for free needle distribution. Up to 300 syringes were given away each day. The original plan had been to create a ''safe'' place for Zurich's own addicts. But before long, the city was flooded with foreign addicts. The number of needles exchanged grew to 12 000 per day before the park was closed in 1992.¹

After the police had closed Platzpitz, thousands of addicts relocated to an abandoned railway station called ''Letten'' a mile and a half away.  Here the Swiss experiment evolved into a grotesque spectacle. Needle exchange grew up to 15 000 per day.²

Letten became a war zone between drug-dealing gangs. When police tried to investigate crimes, they faced gunfire and their cars were attacked and overturned by addicts. Local police arrested a drug dealer after the fourth murder within just one month. Fellow drug dealers stormed the police station, demanding the man's release or else they would blow up the station. He was released. In February 1995 Swiss authorities closed Letten and moved the addicts to government-sponsored centres and ''shooting galleries''.¹

Switzerland has the highest heroin addiction rate (30 000 addicts) and the second highest HIV infection rate in Europe ²

To address the growing problem without experiencing further ''Lettens'', the Swiss national government started giving drugs to some addicts. Nearly half of these addicts were HIV positive. They were given free drugs up to nine times a day. At night they were given heroin cigarettes to be used at home. The cost was covered by health insurance or the government.³

1. Franziska Haller, Stop Needle Exchange Programs, (Committees of Correspondence, Inc., 24 Adams St., Danvers, Mass. October 1994)

2. Lane, Stop Needle Exchange Programs, (Committees of Correspondence, Inc., 24 Adams St., Danvers, Mass. October 1994)

3. Rachel Ehrenfeld, Selling Syringes, The Swiss Experiment (The Wall Street Journal. 6 September 1995:A-18)

Netherlands - Government to reclassify high-potency marijuana

The Dutch government says it plans to reclassify high-potency marijuana alongside hard drugs such as cocaine and Ecstasy. The move announced Friday by Economic Affairs Minister Maxime Verhagen means that most of the cannabis currently sold in the Netherlands' famed weed cafes will have to be replaced by milder variants. Verhagen said the high-potency cannabis is so much stronger than the strains sold a generation ago, it should be considered a different drug entirely. The step is the latest in the country's decade-long retreat from permissive policies of the past.

http://www.news24.com/World/News/Dutch-make-move-against-marijuana-20111007

USA - Dagga doubles accident risk for drivers

Over 10 million people age 12 or older are estimated to have driven under the influence of illicit drugs in the past year, according to a National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Researchers at Columbia University did a meta-analysis of nine epidemiologic studies and found that drivers who test positive for marijuana, are more than twice as likely as other drivers to be involved in motor vehicle crashes. The researchers also found evidence that crash risk increases with the concentration of dagga produced compounds in the urine and the frequency of dagga use.

http://www.health24.com/news/General_health/1-915,66737.asp 

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                "Yeah Georgy, they are in-lawing it in the new Drug Master Plan.”  

• Cannabis affects brain function
  There is an established link between schizophrenia and cannabis. Several experts have stated that cannabis can trigger schizophrenia (1) while others suggests that cannabis severely worsens the symptoms and outcome of schizophrenia (2). Smoking cannabis causes hallucinations and delirium leading to disorientation and a distorted reality (3). These symptoms may last several days. A Swedish study found that a person under the influence of cannabis is roughly 18 times more likely to take their own life by jumping from a height than a non-user (4). Cannabis is addictive (5). Research reveals that 5-10% of all drug addicts in treatment are addicted to cannabis (6).  Prolonged cannabis smoking also interferes with normal brain function.  Short-term memory is damaged and this affects the ability to learn. Thus amongst 150 long-term users of cannabis who smoked cannabis at least six times a week for at least two years, 66% had noticed that their memory was faulty, almost 50% were less able to concentrate on a complex task, whilst 43% were less able to think clearly (7).
  
• Cannabis can affect the heart
  Smoking cannabis simultaneously decreases the oxygen supply to the heart whilst increasing its need for oxygen.(8) This action has produced heart attacks in young, fit cannabis smokers (9). It has been shown that the risk of a heart attack may be increased 3.2 times in the 60 minutes after marijuana use in the absence of other potential triggers of a heart attack (10).
  
• Cannabis causes lung disease and cancer
  Cannabis cigarettes can cause chronic bronchitis (11) because they do not have filters and cannabis smokers inhale more deeply and hold the smoke in their lungs several times longer than ordinary cigarette smokers (12). The resultant amount of tar that is deposited in the lung from a cannabis joint is approximately four times that from a cigarette of the same weight.(13) Therefore a person who smokes 3-4 joints per day is equivalent to a 20 per day cigarette smoker in terms of bouts of bronchitis, chronic cough and wheeze.(14) Cannabis smoking is also associated with an increased risk of cancer of the lung(15), throat (16), nose (20), tongue (17) and gut (18). It has been noted that Cannabis use is associated with the early onset of cancers in young people.   

• Cannabis contributes to road accidents
  In a recent survey, cannabis was present in 12% of fatal road accident casualties (drivers, riders, passengers and pedestrians).  In contrast to alcohol cannabis can have an unpredictable effect on users.  A cannabis smoker may not be aware of any deficit. For example in one survey of drug-drivers, 10 out of the 39 cannabis users believed that taking cannabis improved their driving.  The impairing effect of cannabis use on driving can continue much longer than that of alcohol. Cannabis users can experience flashbacks several weeks after taking cannabis.  Roughly a quarter of cannabis users experience some kind of flashback.  
• Other side effects: Brain damage, amnesia, sterility, emphysema / lung deceases, emotional and spiritual problems, lowered libido, weakened liver functions and overall deterioration in health.

• Signs of dagga users:  Bloodshot eyes, sleepy eyes, unnatural thirst or hunger, uncontrollable moods / mood swings, talkative or giggles, bad decision-making, stains on hands.

Sources:

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