Decriminalization of Drug Use

Changaa and Bangi… and the Big Fuss with the Users

That Changaa can be harmful to health is not debatable. But that in the whole world the calling to brewing alcohol, is a mainstream sector in the economy is also not in dispute. That Kenya police and administration spend a huge amount of time and resources tracking down users of drugs and drunks should not be acceptable in a country that has so much crime taking place. There certain common sense ways of dealing with drugs and illicit alcohol that create a leeway for freeing up the time that policemen have used to harass innocent people and addicts and also tackles the issues of illicit brews and drugs at with renewed vigor.

1. Decriminalization of use of drugs and alcohol: The use of drugs and alcohol should be considered a health dominion. The public health system should be given new impetus to deal with issues of drugs and alcohol addiction. The police should destroy small amount of illegal drugs or alcohol that people are caught with, should not arrest a drug or alcohol abuser, unless they are committing other crimes;

2. A new look at traditional alcohol is required. The dangers that changaa pose to people lies on the methanol it contains. During distillation, non-toxic alcohol producers, extract distillate from certain temperature ranges only to ensure production of ethanol, the main ingredient of all "safe" alcohol. If traditional changaa brewers would be able to extract ethanol and discard the section of the distillate that would produce methanol, changaa would as safe as Vodka. The challenge for the government and other research institutions is to develop methods, using the equipment used by traditional changaa brewers, of extracting "Vodka" and not "changaa". Any person with basic knowledge of chemistry knows that fractional distillation, the use of temperature to select the distillate, would solve the problem. If they can't, call Museveni in Uganda, they have methods that have shifted "Waragi"(the Ugandan equivalent of Changaa) from backstreets to main street. So we need to develop a new breed of changaa brewers who use the traditional brewing equipment, but also carry a thermometer. This way we offer a way for rural small-scale brewers to join legitimate industry, while people who sell methanol (changaa) would be the criminals… But they also really don’t need to be criminals as methanol has its uses in society e.g methalated spirit in hospitals and homes. Maybe its time for a vertical integration of the chemical industry. A marriage between changaa production and the chemical industry;

3. There needs to be a new focus on fight against drug/illegal chemical production, distribution and sale. The answer lies yet again in community participation, in rewarding users/individuals who tip the police of producers, distributors and/or importers. One of the reasons drugs are dangerous is the fact that people commit crimes to sustain the habit. If users were paid to expose the their sources, then users would find an easy way to sustain their high (only temporarily) but drug peddlers would need a new more sophisticated way of operating, if they are to succeed. The link between drug cartel, middlemen and users is symbiotic and therefore the answer to dealing illegal drugs in Kenya is breaking the trust between the links. The Kenya Crime Prevention Authority should take up this work. If the rewards are worth it, drug peddlers would start looking for less dangerous business;

4. New laws should be made to allow for the state to seize all wealth that a convicted drug felon has acquired. This would mean that drug-barons once in prison, would not be able to use his/her money to manage the cartels. The money trail should include moneys laundered in businesses and phony fronts like childrens' and spouses' investments.

Practically
1. An MP to introduce bill in parliament to decriminalize alcohol and drug use;
2. Changing the penal code to allow for seizing of all properties of people convicted of trafficking or producing certain drugs, in conjunction will the jail term;
3. The government should create a select body to manage the change of changaa production to mainstream chemical and brewing industry and produce new guidelines on traditional brewing industry