Easy target and moral panic: the Law on Drug Addiction No. 162 of 1990

Abstract

In industrialized societies the war against drugs tends to develop into a war that concretely strengthens control by the state over potentially dangerous classes. This is also true for Italy. In 1988, Bettino Craxi, now under investigation for a series of serious crimes, but at the time the powerful leader of the Socialist Party, launched a crusade against drugs. After about 18 months of moral panic campaigns, Law No. 162 was passed. Its ideological keystone is the section forbidding the personal use of narcotic or psychotropic drugs. Its officially declared objectives are to reduce the drug trade, to increase access by drug addicts to the services and, of course, to reduce the number of deaths by overdose. The available evidence, however, does not prove that these objectives have been reached. Rather, the true motivations must be sought elsewhere: in the attempt by the political class to regain legitimacy and thus consensus.

Siðfár í íslensku samfélagi? Koma e-töflunnar til Íslands

“…Alþjóðlegar rannsóknir hafa sýnt að umfjöllun fjölmiðla um neyslu ólöglegra vímuefna fylgir oft siðfár (e. moral panic) (Baerveldt, Bunkers, de Winter og Kooistra, 1998;Ben-Yehuda, 1986;Collin, 1997;Cottino og Quirico, 1995;Goode, 1990;Goode og Ben-Yehuda, 1994/2009Hawdon, 1996Hawdon, , 2001Hier, 2002;Hill, 2002;Reinarmann, 1994). Siðfár felur í sér að viðbrögð og ótti samfélagsins er yfirleitt í litlu samhengi við raunverulega ógn eða tjón sem vandinn skapar samfélaginu.…”

La décriminalisation de la possession simple de l’ensemble des drogues : ses limites

“…Comme ces services de traitement étaient inégalement distribués selon les régions et globalement en nombre insuffisant, les juges concluaient plusieurs de ces cas en acquittant des personnes en besoin de soins. Des désordres publics occasionnés par la présence de ces usagers sans soin, mais désormais plus visibles sur la place publique, vont attiser la grogne populaire qui, exploitée politiquement (principalement par le leader du parti socialiste Bettino Craxi), amènera un retour temporaire à la pénalisation de la possession simple en 1990 avec la Loi 162 (loi Iervolino-Vasalli)(Arno, 1991 ;Cesoni, 1999 ;Cottino et Quirico, 1995Ces sanctions pouvaient être remplacées, pour les deux premières fois, par la soumission volontaire à un traitement thérapeutique et socioréhabilitatif.Après deux applications des sanctions administratives, ou en cas de refus ou d'interruption du traitement, l'usager devait être envoyé devant le juge pénal. Celui-ci infligeait alors de nouvelles sanctions, à la qualification juridique incertaine.…”