Pubdate: Tue, 17 Oct 2000
Source: Dagens Nyheter (Sweden)
Copyright: 2000 Dagens Nyheter
Feedback: http://www.dn.se/
Website: http://www.dn.se/
Author: Ewa Stenberg, editorial writer
Note: Translated by John Yates

BODSTROM REVERSES ON DRUGS

There is a hard battle being fought  in the European narcotics debate 
between the liberal and restrictive positions. Sweden has represented the 
strongest support for a restrictive policy. Because of this, Justice 
Minister Thomas Bodstroms position on drug issues is important. Already on 
his first working day he was forced to back away from a two year old debate 
article.

Minister of Justice Thomas Bodstrom no longer stands by his earlier 
criticism of the governments narcotics policy. Two years ago he called the 
criminalisation of drugs meaningless and opportunistic. Now he fully 
supports it.

Thomas Bodstrom started his first day on the job by going into reverse. At 
the weekend the newspaper Expressen published excerpts from his two year 
old debate article in Liberal Debatt. There he describes the 
criminalisation of drug consumption introduced at the beginning of the 
1990's as "A demonstration of political opportunism". He writes critically 
of how his predecessor Laila Freivalds and the Moderats ex-Minister of 
Justice Gun Hellsvik conducted "A sort of duel over who stood for the most 
restrictive criminal policy".

On Monday morning it was time to inherit Freivalds chair along with her 
advisors and policy. And by then all criticism of an excessivly hard Social 
Democrat narcotics policy had vanished.

"What I was adressing in the Liberal Debatt article is the oversimplifying 
and caricaturising that primarily the Moderates stand for with their belief 
that punishment is all that is neccessary to fight crime. And that is 
abolutely not the case," says Thomas Bodstrom to Dagens Nyheter when we 
meet him on Monday morning.

He now stands fully behind the criminalisation of drug use.

"Yes, it is important. But we should not rest with that. It is rather 
meaningless to only have criminalisation. The authorities must also work 
preventativly and follow up punishment with care. Punishment alone means 
drug abusers are excluded from society," he says.

He distances himself from the criticism of Laila Freivalds when Dagens 
Nyheter meets him in his room together with those who are to be his nearest 
co-workers in the Ministry. Thomas Bodstrom looks grimly resolute when he 
describes his old debate article as "Provocativly written as an advocate".

"With a certain self criticism I can say that many of the things I was 
seeking are here at the ministry. An investigation at the National Council 
for Crime Prevention regarding the effects of the criminalization of 
illegal drug consumption is in progress. And it is with pleasure I can tell 
of how much we spend on preventative measures. It is really uplifting. This 
is where dividing line between social democrats and moderates goes. We see 
the whole picture while they speak only of punishment," says the new social 
Social Democrat Minister of Justice.

What does Prime Minister Goran Persson feel about his new minister of 
justice having earlier criticised the governments drug policy?

"I don't read Liberal Debatt," said Goran Persson when Dagens Nyheter asked 
for a comment on Monday morning.
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