Menu
Menu
The failure of the “war on drugs” has proven that punitive measures do not work in addressing drug-related crimes. Harsh punishments can only make the problem worse as these do not consider the many possible reasons behind a person’s drug use.
Solving the drug problem with violence also prevents drug users from reintegrating to society. The stigma created by the “war on drugs” makes it hard for individuals to seek medical health for their drug addiction.
The war of drugs’ failure has proven that punitive measures do not work in solving the drug crime. Harsh punishments can only make the problem worse, as it does not consider the many possible reasons behind a person’s drug use.
Solving the drug problem with violence also prevents drug users from reintegrating to society. The stigma created by the war on drugs makes it hard for individuals to seek medical health for their drug addiction.
The drug problem is not a crime problem. It is a medical issue. It is a socioeconomic problem. And it must be treated as such — not with punishment or death.
The government, under its Drug Dependency Examination, has a different classification for drug users based on the level of their drug use — from a social recreational user to a drug dependent. Sadly, the government’s anti-crime campaign does not reflect this, treating all drug users as criminals when they shouldn’t be, when they aren’t.
There is a reason behind a person’s drug use. And the best way to solve the country’s drug problem is to understand what these reasons are.
The current “war on drugs” confronts the problem as a moral failure: a user is instantly a criminal after using the drug. But this is not the reality of drug use.
According to Dr. Lee Yarcia, a drug policy reform advocate, many Filipinos use illegal drugs to help them perform their grueling daily tasks — usually physical, mostly work-related. These users don’t see drug use as a moral issue but an economic one; using illegal drugs helps them do their jobs to earn money.
Medical anthropologist Gideon Lasco, in his research, said he had met young, functioning methamphetamine users who use the drug due to heavy workload, confidence issues, or economic problems. They know the risks of illegal drugs. For them, the benefits outweigh these risks. Some drug users, Lasco said, managed to stop using the illegal substance eventually.
Many, however, couldn’t — even if they wanted to — due to lack of education and support.
Imagining the Philippines as a country without the killings starts by acknowledging the undeniable truth: that drug-related killings do not solve the drug problem.
The killings have continued — and have intensified — even during the COVID-19 pandemic. And yet, the drug problem persists.
An anti-drug campaign that anchors its programs on violence and punishment does not eliminate the root of the problem.
Imagining the Philippines as a country without the killings starts by acknowledging the undeniable truth: that drug-related killings do not solve the drug problem.
The killings have continued—and have intensified—even during the COVID-19 pandemic. And yet, the drug problem persists.
An anti-drug campaign that anchors its programs on violence and punishment does not eliminate the root of the problem.
To start reimagining the Philippines as a country without drug-related killings, the country must first veer away from seeing all drug users as criminals. According to Regina Hechanova, head of the Task Force on Drug Recovery of the Psychology Association of the Philippines, this belief makes the country 20 to 30 years behind in terms of understanding the nuances of drug use.
This understanding is like how the United States and other countries understood drug use in the 1970s. Our outdated methods were bound to fail — just like how the “war on drugs” of the US failed three decades ago.
To reimagine the Philippines without the killings is to see the Philippines as a country that sees drug users not automatically as criminals that should be punished or killed, but as Filipinos in need of medical, societal, and economic help.
Given how entrenched the violence has been in our consciousness due to the incessant killings the past five years, it can be difficult to see any other solution for the country’s drug problem — or, specifically, for its citizens who are using illegal substances.
But many countries have used non-violent practices in dealing with drug crimes and drug users — including decriminalizing small-time offenses, drug-substitution therapy, and route-transition interventions.
These methods adhere to the principle of harm reduction, which aims to reduce the harm associated with the use of psychoactive drugs in people unable to stop. They focus on change, helping people without the usual judgment and discrimination usually connected with drug use.
These humane, non-violent methods — which have been used in countries such as Portugal, Malaysia, and Switzerland, among others — allow drug users to easily participate and contribute to society again once their issues have been successfully addressed.
These humane, non-violent methods—which have been used in countries such as Portugal, Malaysia, and Switzerland, among others—allow drug users to easily participate and contribute to society again once their issues have been successfully addressed.
Miguel was a drug user who has been in and out of rehabilitation centers before trying a center that operated on the philosophy of harm reduction.
He considers his time at the rehabilitation centers as “one of my most terrible experiences in life.”
Miguel was a drug user who has been in and out of rehabilitation centers before trying a center that operated on the philosophy of harm reduction.
He considers his time at the rehabilitation centers as “one of my most terrible experiences in life.”
The centers, Miguel said, used punishment as a learning tool. He was asked to clean the porch with a toothbrush, for instance, and wash dishes for 50 people. “It’s a lot of screaming. It’s a lot of, ‘there’s something inherently wrong with you, you’re broken.’ And it’s called tough love,” he said.
While acknowledging that this method may have helped other people, Miguel said it didn’t work for him. How can cleaning a garage with a toothbrush treat drug addiction? “It didn’t teach me anything. But it built up resentment… and made me hate the people who put me in there.”
In the harm reduction center, Miguel found a breakthrough because, in his words, he was “treated well as a person.”
There are no punishments or yellings. Only solutions.
There, the treatment methods are individualized based on the person’s specific goals and needs. The facilitators got to know Miguel first before they gave him strategies. More importantly, he wasn’t treated like a prisoner or a perpetrator with a crime he has to pay for.
“They helped draw things out of you instead of yelling it in your face. Whatever you wanted to fix, they helped you out. They encouraged making it realistic, but stretch yourself,” Miguel said. He added, “I got lucky! I’m now doing something about my life. Not because I’m forced to, but because I deserve it.”
Recovery is not a linear journey and harm reduction addresses this as it sees the drug problem realistically, contextualized on how it works in a real-world scenario. Miguel admitted he has relapsed twice since his time at the center. But harm reduction gave Miguel the tools to know what to do to keep himself from harm’s way. “And after relapse, which was a lot shorter, I went right back to work,” he said.
It saved his life, Miguel said, because he was treated as a person during his recovery. “By treating a person as a person, he becomes one,” he said.
True change can begin if we view the drug problem as an opportunity for healing instead of a continuation of the country’s cycle of violence and impunity.
The failure of the “war on drugs” — as well as the culture of violence and disregard for human rights it has been creating — only highlights the need for a great alternative in solving the Philippines’ drug crisis.
The Philippines needs to make a jump for the great alternative in solving the drug crisis — a better way that is humane and encourages change and hope, not abuse and death.
The failure of the war on drugs—as well as the culture of violence and disregard for human rights it has been creating—only highlights the need for a great alternative in solving the Philippines’ drug crisis.
The Philippines needs to make a jump for the great alternative in solving the drug crisis—a better way that is humane and encourages change and hope—not abuse and death.
In the Philippines, people usually see drug users as criminals because the country’s laws criminalize the use of drugs. This perspective has resulted in death, torture, incarceration, execution — human rights abuses that are allegedly committed in the name of public order.
But because drug use is rooted not in what’s right or wrong but in a person’s social, mental, and even financial status, what these violent methods achieve is take away the suspected drug criminals’ human rights — robbing them of their human rights, their right to due process, and even their lives. A disregard of human rights only creates risky, problematic communities for members of marginalized groups, one that may further encourage drug use.
A violent approach to the drug problem will only result in more drug use, making it a never-ending cycle of abuse. Harm reduction is the great alternative that can help end this cycle.
Harm reduction refers to programs, policies, and strategies that are aimed towards reducing the harm connected to certain behaviors. In this case, it is directed to minimize the legal, medical, and social impact usually associated with drug use and drug laws.
The goal of harm reduction is to create positive change by working with and helping people without the judgment that they usually encounter in a society that’s accustomed to treating drug users as criminals or “bad people.” It treats drug problems as a health and social issue. It is a method that’s facilitative; it asks the drug users what kind of help they need and what they want to achieve in the program, rather than assigning a prescriptive goal that may not suit everyone’s personal needs.
Harm reduction uses an array of health and social services. But whatever method is used, harm reduction adheres to these basics: respecting the rights of people who use drugs; using methods that are proven to be practical, effective, and safe regardless of the person’s social and economic background; and a commitment to accepting drug users as they are, without stigma.
A push for harm reduction means a push for methods that put the needs of people who use drugs at the forefront.
The Philippines’ current drug policies focus on “neutralizing” drug use and drug users because its focus is on crime and public order. It is a failed program that has only encouraged violence and abuse.
The goal of harm reduction is to keep people alive. This is done by protecting the health of drug users and aiming to encourage positive change in their lives. In effect, harm reduction also aims to improve national policies and laws relating to drugs and drug use. Current laws in the Philippines increase the risks and danger of drug use; the stigma connected with illegal drugs cut drug users off from the support they need. Harm reduction aims to challenge these laws, encouraging the country to come up with humane, more effective methods to end drug use.
The core of harm reduction is to treat drug users as people, not criminals. People who use drugs are given respect.
But more importantly, they are given what they need — such as healthcare and livelihood — without the barrier of discrimination.
In short: people who use drugs should not lose their rights.
The core of harm reduction is to treat drug users as people, not criminals. People who use drugs are given respect.
But more importantly, they are given what they need—such as healthcare and livelihood—without the barrier of discrimination. In short: people who use drugs should not lose their rights.
Another aim of harm reduction is to protect human rights. In the Philippines, drug users are illegally arrested, tortured, and even killed, as if they are subhuman. But being tagged as a “drug criminal” does not equate to the forfeiture of human rights. People who use drugs are entitled to all the rights everyone else has — the right to life, the right to healthcare, the right to due process, and the right to social services.
Because harm reduction is focused on creating positive change, it allows people who use drugs to participate and contribute again to society. They can return to their lives and function in society because they are treated humanely, with compassion. The cycle of abuse can be broken by respecting human rights.
In order to move forward, the Philippines has to see harm reduction as the better way towards beating the drug crisis.
It is a steep crime for the country, especially as the government continues to implement its “war on drugs” operations. Still, the country is making headway, bit by bit.
In order to move forward, the Philippines has to see harm reduction as the better way towards beating the drug crisis.
It is a steep crime for the country, especially as the government continues to implement its war on drugs operations. Still, the country is making headway, bit by bit.
For instance a House bill seeking to establish an inter-agency council for harm reduction in the Philippines was filed in the 18th Congress. The bill is pending at the committee level.
Institutions and groups such as the Harm Reduction Alliances of the Philippines continue to sponsor and organize meetings and conferences where leading experts discuss and exchange harm reduction policies and methods that have been successfully implemented nationally and around the world. Research on and success stories of harm reduction are easily available online thanks to these groups and initiatives.
Of course, there are several factors that challenge the implementation of harm reduction in the country. Locally, research on harm reduction could be improved. Studies on harm reduction are also usually male-focused, despite one-third of the 275 million who use drugs globally being women.
There is progress. But there is also a lot of work to do.
Harm reduction is the better way forward. There is no one way to define it. But at its core, harm reduction puts the needs of those who need help first by focusing on what they need in the most humane, compassionate way.
Advance the push of its implementation in the country.
Let us amplify the people’s call towards healing. If you want to collaborate in expanding this page, email us at support@stopthekillings.ph
We are a safe space for learning. We are home to different information and stories, gathered from credible sources, about harm reduction.
We are stronger and louder as a community. Contribute your voice and stories here. Help amplify the call to stop the killings.
We are listening. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Leave a message and we’ll get in touch with you.
We are a safe space for learning. We are home to different information and stories, gathered from credible sources, about harm reduction.
We are stronger and louder as a community. Contribute your voice and stories here. Help amplify the call to stop the killings.
We are listening. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Leave a message and we’ll get in touch with you.
#StopTheKillingsPH #EndImpunity #NotoEJK #StartTheHealing
#StopTheKillingsPH #EndImpunity #NotoEJK #StartTheHealing
Stop the Killings PH is a call to action advocating for harm reduction policies, amplifying demand for accountability, and humanize the stories of the victims affected by the “war on drugs.”
Stop the Killings PH is a call to action advocating for harm reduction policies, amplifying demand for accountability, and humanize the stories of the victims affected by the “war on drugs.”