ABSTRACT: In this intervention, the author illustrates the reasons behind the "no" to the punishability of the drug-addict, on the basis of the experience of the National Coordination of Therapeutical Communities, the problem of the moderate quantity, the role of the communities and of the families. He hopes that drugs will not be considered "the" problem, but "a" problem of the reality of young people.

(Papers of the Convention "No to the governmental law on drugs, repressive, illiberal, unfair", Rome 14 February 1989)

I will proceed by points, underlining the fact that never as today, on the basis of our experience, of the experience of the National Coordination of Therapeutical Communities, we intend to say "no", at all conditions, to the punishability of the drug addict, and especially as regards this matter, we believe that the governmental draft bill is extremely confused, because it tends to stress a principle without taking into due account the reality it must be applied to.

Let us say that the law is unfeasible for the reasons already expressed by others before us; that it is unfair, because in the best of cases the person it is applied to is but the weak ring of a chain; that it is dangerous, because apart from not blocking the expansion of the phenomenon, it causes an increase of the submerged part of that same phenomenon, which is already today considerably widespread.

On the basis of our interpretation from the inside of the problem - and I therefore say this with much respect, and well aware of the many limits - and the experience we have had in many cities, and having a clear picture of the situation, we can presently say that the vast majority of young people who, in one way or another, are in contact with drugs, resort neither to the public services nor to the private ones, and this because of the new ways in which drugs are consumed, and because of the way in which young people tend to relate to it. If punishability were enforced, with the access barrier which would ensue, this submerged reality would certainly expand, with all the consequences that you may well see, the most serious of which is AIDS.

As regards the moderate quantity, we are not here to defend it, as we are willing to look for other solutions. However we had the impression that the moderate quantity, if used correctly, in spite of the many doubts and hazards that have accompanied this concept throughout the years, could have remained one of the instruments, along with others, capable of locating the drug addicts and facilitating a contact with many of them.

There still remains the problem of the inaccuracy of this concept, an inaccuracy which has created margins of discretion which are not always positive. As I said, we are willing to seek other solutions. As regards the communities, in these last years the magistracy has forwarded an increasing number of requests to the communities, asking the latter to accept young people who come out of prison. As a national coordination, we believe that prison is quite useless for people who have drug problems, and apart from any other consideration, we really wonder whether prison has ever been useful.

However, we are equally concerned about the fact that the various alternative measures will cause an involvement of the therapeutical communities with the penal milieu. If this can represent an improvement for the single prisoner, as compared to remaining in prison, for the communities this means consolidating their function of social control. This creates a series of problems for the communities, such as the problem between treatment and penalty, and the role of the communities' staff. It seems to me, therefore, that the idea of the communities as an alternative proposal, even if in the context of the complete willingness of the drug addict, will need to be further analyzed and discussed.

On the subject of the therapeutical communities I would like to point out, as a National Coordination, that all the existing international literature underlines the fact that the latter are an instrument which can, also on the basis of the experiences carried out in other countries, handle 20% of all drug addicts at the most. I therefore believe it is necessary to say "enough" to the emphasis that has been put on the communities, presenting them as some kind of miracle, the solution and the key to all the drug problems and to all the youngters who are concerned by it.

I did not mean this to be a negative evaluation of the different realities, experiences and people, realities that are all but well known and that are giving a significant contribution from all parts of the country.

We are however aware of the fact that this instrument can be applied only to a limited number of people, while it is of no use to the remaining 80%. As compared to the drug problem of years ago, it was a more effective instrument, whereas in today's situation, with the deep changes that have occurred, we realize that it is necessary to activate other resources and other instruments of intervention.

The reality of youth, as we all know, has experienced five major changes in the course of these last twenty years; I therefore believe it is very important to analyse these changes which have seen significant and rapid adjustments as regards the problem of existential malaise and drugs, creating big problems to our services, both public and private, on the one hand, and on the other hand the resolve to thoroughly change the ways in which our interventions are carried out, if we want to remain in contact with the needs of the youth.

We believe that is not enough to treat the person, but that it is important, for those who live in a situation of malaise, to involve the person's family. The experience acquired in these years has made it clear that the groups who really intend to work on this problem cannot simply remain a local reality but must absolutely operate on their territory, must cooperate with others to achieve that prevention strategy which is both important and fundamental.

Prevention therefore, by which we mean not only a statement of principles; there is great confusion today as regards this term: it is interpreted as different actions, ranging from information to dissuasion to political action. According to our experience, we have the impression that there is still much chaos on the subject of prevention, and a proof of this is the fact that law n.685 already contained three articles underlining the importance of prevention as well as an invitation to schools to provide in this sense, but is is equally true that, with rare exceptions, this resolve to turn prevention into a strategy has never been successful, and has more often that not has translated itself into some course or conference here and there.

We must avoid voluntary service and the private social sector from carrying out tasks which are not inherent to them; they should be willing to collaborate, integrate one another, operate on the territory, be a piece of a network of interventions, but not become a handy solution in the name of a financial or economic crisis; it is a solution that can encourage voluntary service, and that voluntary service must be so humble as to believe that to work concretely on these problems today means education, means adding motivation to higher professional skill; I have seen many disasters on this problem, and I'm saying this with a sense of respect and humbleness.

Last year in Italy at least 50 new communities were opened, and at least 30 closed down, and it seems to me that it is necessary to better examine this generic good will, the motivations for which are not always clear.

Public, private, social, voluntary service must all cooperate, but the great moderator, whether we like it or not, must be the local public structure. But we have the possibility of stimulating it, of educating it, of making it work better.

Drugs are a signal and an indicator of a widespread malaise, it is not "the" problem, even if it perhaps the most evident one, it a serious problem. I would like to remind people that this year in Italy the suicide rate doubled; this is another concrete signal of an existential difficulty and malaise, and I would especially like to recall the fact that all the researches and surveys carried out indicate that the needs expressed by the young people who use drugs are the same ones, even if perhaps more colourful or vivid, of the so-called 'normal' young people.

It is therefore necessary for the interventions on the territories to be interventions that take the specific aspect of drugs into account, and be capable of relating to the young people's world, a world of people who, unfortunately, due to the current logic, do not fit into the present social context. They do not fit in because they are a productive surplus and a cultural surplus: the Gorrieri report, which announces that in our country there will be six million young people who will reach the age of 30-35 without ever having had a job, requires a deep reflection according to which it is not enough to formulate a legislation on drugs, but that, with the same degree of commitment and simultaneously, it is necessary to perform other interventions, on the problem of employment, housing, civil service, on all that concerns young people, including school and its perspectives. All this means to create the conditions to reduce the distances between the institutions and the youth, the adult world and the juvenile w

orld.

I would like to conclude by saying that if this sad statistic of deaths due to drugs were forgotten, many of those deaths - and I'm thinking of my own city - would be voluntary deaths; many over-doses are voluntary over-doses; the lack of hope, owing to which many youngsters cannot envisage other possibilities, other perspectives, other alternatives. We must operate in a global and comprehensive manner, because the situation has lead many people - and I'm thinking of Daniela, Giancarlo, but others as well - to quit this circle.

It is therefore necessary to give hope, and everyone must cooperate: as a National Coordination of Therapeutical Communities we are eager to cooperate with all the forces that are truly concerned about increasing the degree of awareness of the reality, to operate concretely for prevention, to seek strategies to destroy the drug traffic, but also to truly create a space for young people, so that they will no longer be misfits in our society.