[ad_1]
– It is strange that he did not stand up. This is not a health reform. This is what SP health policy spokesperson Kjersti Toppe says about drug reform and Monica Mæland’s absence from the debate.
Sp health policy spokeswoman Kjersti Toppe believes there is little about treatment and health measures in drug reform. Photograph: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB
When the government presented the drug reform, the Minister of Health and Care Services Bent Høie H) and the Minister of Education Guri Melby (V) gave the presentation. Melby was there in his capacity as a liberal leader. Reform is in many ways the “baby” of the Liberal Party.
Høie was there as head of the ministry that presented the reform: the Ministry of Health and Care Services. Justice Minister Monica Mæland (H) did not participate. The latter is the reaction of SP’s health policy spokesperson, Kjersti Toppe.
– She hasn’t commented on anything. But I do not agree that it is a health problem. If we look at the reform, it is almost exclusively measures that have to do with the field of justice. I have not found anything new in the reform of prevention or treatment. It refers only to what already exists of such investment. This is a decriminalization reform that deals with the field of justice, more than a drug reform, he says.
The Attorney General in favor – “all” against
The reform has received very severe support in the underlying agencies of the Ministry of Justice and other police forces. With the exception of the Attorney General, there is strong opposition to the decriminalization of the possession and use of a small amount of drugs.
Shows the round of consultations on the recommendation of the Drug Reform Committee. All of them are listed by the government as opponents of decriminalization:
- The Norwegian Prison and Probation Service
- Police Directorate
- The twelve police districts of the country.
- The National Prosecutor’s Office and the Oslo Prosecutor’s Office.
- Kripos
- The immigration police unit
- Emergency police
- Police Association
- Norwegian police leadership team in Parat
- Norwegian Anti-Narcotics Police Association
- Police crime prevention forum
The Police Academy has submitted two consultation responses; the one who is in favor and the one who is against.
Tops: Have you lost internally?
– The people of your own agency are completely against the reform. They have warned against the consequences of decriminalization, especially for the preventive work of the police, says Toppe.
Therefore, the politics of the SP wonders if Mæland has gone against his own agency or if he has fought for his views and has lost in the government and the conservatives.
– I want to challenge Mæland to go out on the field, she says.
Aftenposten sent an investigation to the Ministry of Justice and requested an interview with the Minister on drug reform and the opposition of the police service to the reform.
The communication unit’s response is as follows: “Refer you to the Ministry of Health regarding your questions …”
The Ministry of Health is responsible for the Ministry of Health and Care Services.
Monica Mæland has been silent on drug reform, which has been presented by the Bent Høie ministry. Photo: Martin Solhaug Standal
Attorney General: The time for reform has come
As mentioned, there is little support for decriminalization in the police force. But Attorney General Jørn Sigurd Maurud supports the reform. He gives his principled support to the proposal of the Drug Reform Committee.
Maurud says he supports the decriminalization of use and possession “after much deliberation.”
– Such behavior is still undesirable, but should no longer be fought with punishment, he writes in his reply to the query.
However, it demands that more binding instruments be developed than those suggested by the Drug Reform Committee. The government’s proposal is based on the committee’s proposal, but the government has, among other things, proposed the introduction of a fine for people who do not attend a meeting in the municipality after having been ingested with a small amount of drugs .
Maurud rejects claims that society is not “ripe” for decriminalization.
The Storting will hold a hearing on drug reform before ruling on the content. The hearing is held under the auspices of the Health and Care Committee and the Justice Committee.
