Italian Referendum Deletes Criminal Sanctions for Drug Users

• Author: Giancarlo Arnao
• Date: 01 July 1994
• DOI: 10.1177/002204269402400308
• Published date: 01 July 1994
• Subject Matter: Article

The Journal of Drug Issues 24(3), 483-487 1994

ITALIAN REFERENDUM DELETES CRIMINAL

SANCTIONS FOR DRUG USERS

Giancarlo Arnao

A

referendum

about

drug

policy

was

held in

Italy

on 18 April 1993. In

order to

understand

the

terms

of the

drug

policy,

we will

summarize

the

history

of the

Italian

drug

law

(/62/90)

through

thelastfive

years.

Events in 1988-90

The

Socialist Party (PSI) played a crucial role in the promotion

of

the law

(162/90). In the previous years, this party had traditionally displayed a liberal

approach on the question of drug policy. At the end of October 1988, the

secretary

of

PSI, Mr. Bettino Craxi, went to the United States and visited Mr.

Rudolph Giuliani (then U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and

now Mayor of New York City). After his return to Italy, Mr. Craxi launched an

"anti-drug" campaign.

At that time, Italian public opinion was scared by the continuous increase of

heroin deaths. The PSI campaign was based on the argument that the increasing

overdose rate was a consequence of the fact that drug users were not criminalized:

If it is not possible, here and now, to deter the "need" of drugs, we must at

least avoid

drug

deaths,

and

therefore,

outlaw

drug

use [emphasis added]

(Avanti!,

2 June 1989).

Along with the typical approach of the "war on drugs," the sanitary issues were

mixed with a strongly ideological attitude. Mr. Craxi stated:

It is not possible to distinguish between soft and hard drugs . . . because

...

there is no hard drug user that didn't begin with soft drugs.

Making

drug

use

illegal

is a

principle

[emphasis added] that doesn't allow

compromise (Avantil 2 June 1989).

Moreover, the "anti-drug" outlook was deeply entangled in a more general

trend to condemn liberal values. Along with this scheme, the supposed permissive

attitude toward drug use stemmed from "the culture, . . . according to which

everybody could be free to do what he likes with himself' (G. Acquaviva,

Gazzetta

delMeziogiomo, 3 November 1988).

Given that the new drug policy of the PSI tool place in such a peculiar way, it

is reasonable to infer that this sharp reversal stemmed from motivations of

political strategy; launching an aggressive "anti-drug" campaign, Mr. Craxi

apparently thought that he could gain popularity, and at the same time, please the

Glancarlo

Arnao,

M.D.. has been actively involved in drug policy research since 1973. Dr. Arnao is president of

Coordinamento Radicale Antiproibizionista (CORA). co-founder of the International Prohibitionist League. and a

member of the European Movement for the Normalization of Drug Policy. Send reprint requests to Giancarlo

Arnao, M.D .. Via G. Sacchi, 16. 1·00153 Rome. Italy.

© Journal of Drug Issues, Inc. 002-0426/94/03/483-487 $1.00

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