[Know your rights]

"new" users have increased every year, while in Switzerland they have decreased. Again, they're basing these numbers on junkies who seek substitution treatment [...] Their own evidence could just as easily be used to suggest that more people seek treatment in countries where heroin is criminalized than in countries where it is decriminalized.

No, differences in drug poplicy between different countries cannot explain changing substitution treatment enrollments within a single country.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

No, differences in drug poplicy between different countries cannot explain changing substitution treatment enrollments within a single country.

I think the authors of the study are saying the policy in Switzerland has, in fact, changed substitution treatment enrollments. They're saying it's reduced them. They're extrapolating that fewer enrollments equals fewer new users.

What I'm suggesting is the flip side of that logic. Fewer enrollments could just as easily mean that fewer people are motivated to get themselves off heroin since using it is no longer a crime. I'm not saying that is the case, I'm saying it could be. The authors never explored the possibility, or even considered it.

[mugs99]

No, differences in drug poplicy between different countries cannot explain changing substitution treatment enrollments within a single country.

True, but there is no need to become mired in any of that. One simple fact stands out like a glowing neon sign: Decriminalization does not increase drug addiction. That has been proven in both Swtzerland and The Netherlands.

Those who claim decriminalization leads to increased addiction are just plain wrong.
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