Institutional Responses to Drug Demand in Central Europe by Maas Flip;Kenis Patrick;

Author:Maas, Flip;Kenis, Patrick;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group

10 Barriers to the development of non-governmental institutions

7

5.5

11 Other

6

4.7

Total responses

128

100.0

5 Conclusions

The late 1990s seem to be a period of major transition for Polish drug policy. The national policy developed in the early 1980s as a demand reduction policy has been gradually shifting towards a supply control approach. However, most official government programmes still place their principal emphasis on the demand side, though the latest legislative changes suggest that a supply reduction approach is becoming more and more accepted among politicians as well as among the general public. One of the possible consequences of the increasing popularity of a repressive policy is the emergence of various forms of legitimization of a new definition of the problem.

The influence of the supply control perspective can be also observed within institutions covered by our research (strong disapproval of cannabis legalization, widespread belief that drug use cannot be beneficial). It is worth noting that national policy is still perceived by the majority of organizations as oriented on health promotion or demand reduction rather than having a focus on law enforcement or supply control.

The above beliefs seem to be supported by the type of organizational setting. Prevention and therapy are the dominant forms of activities especially in the case of NGOs. They are also the “oldest” activities, initiated in some cases even in the late 1970s. A focus on demand reduction is closely linked to the prevailing categories of professionals in the organizations surveyed, e.g. psychologists and specialists with an educational background. Their perceptions of the problems and methods applied seem to reinforce the policy perspective adopted at the beginning of the 1980s.

A very important characteristic is the key position of non-governmental organizations. Not only have they played a key role in the problem’s definition in the past, but have also become a main service provider at the local level. NGOs’ activities focus on prevention/information activities and providing treatment. The less important part of their activities is devoted to policy development. Policy development (and to some extent co-ordination) seems to remain the domain of government agencies.

The data gathered proves that the organizational system is rather well developed both in terms of past experiences and existing resources. Only a small proportion of all activities were initiated in the last five years. Almost half of the organizations employed more than 10 persons, which suggests that the current system is relatively well protected from current economic and political turbulence.

Besides their role in policy formulation, state administrations are also a major source of funding for drug demand programmes. In the last three years, a slight increase in the use of other funding sources has been observed. In 1998, 85% of organizations used financial resources from government agencies. Relying on state subsidies seems to be a barrier to NGOs’ development, especially bearing in mind the current shift towards supply control policy and a possible change in the thrust of state subsides.

A closer look at organizations’ budgets reveals that financial dependence on the government is only part of the general picture. On

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.