ERIT‐Italia, the Italian Federation for Professionals Working in the Field of Drug Abuse

Abstract

A brief historical exploration is required to give a clear view of ERIT-Italia's background.In 1975, a law was issued in Italy that de-criminalized the use of moderate amounts of narcotic and psychotrophic substances, and referred drug addicts (and users) to the public services.However, the psychiatric services, which at that time were comprised almost exclusively of asylums, were going through a deep crisis. This reached its peak in 1978, with the proclamation of the so-called Basaglia Law, which decreed their closure and led to the subsequent radical reorganization of alternative structures. In the meantime, there was a considerable rise in social, cultural and criminal influences that favoured a huge increase in the number of drug users (initially concerning cannabis, LSD and heroin), with a consequent rise in social and health problems.This situation meant that at the moment at which public attention was drawn to the 'drugs problem' and methods of how to reduce and treat it were examined, Italy was completely lacking in treatment services. The scientific-cultural debate that ensued, involving psychiatrists, led them to 'abdicate from the drug addiction field, a situation that today they still have difficulty in reversing, although, in theory, it is their duty' (Nizzoli 2000).This was the situation that gave rise to hundreds of micro and macro solutions involving volunteers and, above all, the Catholic Church. THE HAPHAZARD BIRTH OF NEW RESPONSESThe situation was exacerbated by the complete overhaul that the Italian National Health Service underwent in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This resulted in more confusion than resources when it came to the process of identifying and constructing prevention and treatment structures for the various stages of drug dependency: the 'drug problem' was more widespread in certain regions which were quicker than others to organize themselves. There were also regional differences regarding the names given to the structures: the embryos of today's SerT (drug dependency services) were called CTST in certain regions and NOT, CNOT, NAD, CAD or CAT elsewhere. At the beginning of the 1990s no effort had been made to render the situation more uniform or to co-ordinate the activities of the public and private services that had sprung up in a completely eclectic and random way

Closing remarks: Addiction societies as valuable assets

“…This kind of diversity is illustrated by our having published two different reports from Italy [4,6]. A more radical example of multiplicity is to be found in the report from Japan [8], which mentions that besides the Japanese Society of Alcohol Related Problems, there also exists the Japanese Medical Society on Alcohol and Drug Studies, a National Society of Biomedical Research on Alcohol, a Society of Psychiatric Research on Alcohol and one focused on Addiction Behaviour.…”

“…Their births, however, have context-for the British Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA) in 1884 [9] the context was the ambition of doctors to mobilize parliamentary support for the compulsory treatment of 'inebriates', whereas for the Italian Association on Addiction Psychiatry (SIPDip) [4] the context was the attempt to claw back a role for psychiatry in the face of political chaos; the spur to the RSA's foundation was the expansion in research funding which came with the initiation of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Addiction (NIAAA) [3]. Each society is shaped by national assumptions as to the proper role of voluntary action, the habits of the nation bureaucracies and the fluctuating national political scene.…”

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Between 2001 and 2007, Addiction published a series of 13 specially commissioned statements describing the life and times of a range of societies which deal with alcohol and drugs [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. The international coverage of this series was wide, and we have here reports from North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australasia.

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The Italian Association on Addiction Psychiatry (SIPDip), formerly The Italian Association on Abuse and Addictive Behaviours

“…Prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of addiction‐related conditions) set up, in regional catchment areas, specific addiction facilities. These were medically orientated but with a strong component of social work (Nizzoli & Foschini 2002). This act was strongly innovative overall for the decriminalization of personal substance use, and emphasized voluntary treatment with confidential safeguards.…”

Infrastructure and Career Opportunities in Addiction Science: The Emergence of an Interdisciplinary Field

“…The impetus to the foundation in 1977 of the Research Society on Alcoholism was the expansion in research funding following the initiation of NIAAA (Israel & Lieber, 2002). The Italian Association on Addiction Psychiatry (SIPDip) (Nizzoli & Foschini, 2002) was established in 1989 to create a role for psychiatry in the face of political chaos and the neglect of addiction-related problems. Each of these societies was shaped by national trends in substance use, assumptions about the proper role of voluntary action, and the role of professional disciplines in the national response to addiction problems.…”