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NARKOPOLITYKA.PL – Website on harm reduction and human rights
International reform movement proves that war on drugs hasn’t fulfilled its assumed goals. Experience of many countries indicates, that criminalisation of drug problem doesn’t solve it, but only increases social costs related to drug use and drug addiction: marginalisation, crime, exclusion, and finally, mortality amongst addicts. We believe that drug policy based on harm reduction is needed to build an equal, fair and modern society. Cooperating to dozens of organizations and institutions in Poland and around the world, we strive to change the narration of public debate and fight together against common narcophobia, providing rational and evidence-based background for effective prevention, education and therapy. The aim of our campaign is not only changing the law, but building the coherent political strategy, embracing health system, educational system, cultural policy, municipal policy, judicature and its administrative agencies as well.
The long-awaited changes in Polish drug policy in 2011 have come after the eleven years during which very strict rules were in effect and the possession of even the smallest amount of drugs was prohibited and punished accordingly. Now prosecutors are able to drop the charges in certain circumstances, and it is easier to refer addicted people to treatment instead of putting them in prison. But, as last Report of the Ombudsmen of the Addicts presents, those changes are not good enough. We need to introduce a clear definition of the vague term “small amount”, we need better access to OST and grant permission for medical use of marijuana.
That’s what we advocate for. The movement for changesof drug policy in Poland is becoming stronger and more noticeable. We are glad to be a part of it.
Contact us: narkopolityka[at]krytykapolityczna.pl
Publisher:
Stowarzyszenie im. Stanisława Brzozowskiego / Stanislaw Brzozowski Association
16 Foksal Street, 2nd floor, 00-372 Warszawa
Phone: (+48) 22 505 66 90, Fax: (+48) 22 505 66 84
E-mail: redakcja[at]krytykapolityczna.pl
KRS 0000242083, REGON 140369159, NIP 701-000-25-99
Bank Account: Bank DnB NORD Polska S.A. IIIO/Warszawa (SWIFT: MHBF PL PW) 92 1370 1037 0000 1701 4446 9300
EDITORIAL TEAM OF NARKOPOLITYKA.PL
Marcin Chałupk
a – philosophy and journalism graduate at University of Gdansk. Graduate of “Evidence-based Drug Policy Seminars” at Polish Science Academy. From 2009 to 2012 coordinator of projects at Cultural House of Political Critique in Tricity, responsible for PR strategy, event planning and organization, editing local website of Political Critique. Actively supported the campaign for launching the first OST program in the region of Pomerania. Since 2013 in Warsaw’s headquarter of Political Critique co-coordinates activities in the project “East Drugs Story”.
Martyna Dominiak – graduate of Institute of Social Science at Łódź University. As a researcher cooperated to Stefan Batory Foundation, Collegium Civitas, Factory of Arts and Warsaw University. Graduate of “Evidence-based Drug Policy Seminars” at Polish Science Academy. From 2009 to 2010 worked for National Center for Culture, where she coordinated cultural projects. Since 2007 member of Club of Political Critique in Łódź, since 2011 chief of Cultural House of Political Critique in Łódź.
Justyna Drath – teacher, social activist, cyclist, feminist. Coordinator of Club of Political Critique in Cracow. Graduate of Polish Philology and Film Science at Jagiellonian University. Graduate of “Evidence-based Drug Policy Seminars” at Polish Science Academy. In July 2012 took part in “Human Rights and Drug Policy Seminars” at Central European University in Budapest. She works in the field of educational policy, cooperating to Polish Teacher’s Association. She is a teacher in high school in Cracow.
Przemek Hirniak – graduate of history at University of Białystok. At the moment he studies psychology at University of Social Psychology in Sopot. In 2013 he graduated “Human Rights and Drug Policy Seminars” at Central European University in Budapest. He was honored in the contest for the best journalistic articles on dug policy for the interview with Ruth Dreifuss, former president of Switzerland. He works in drug policy field since 2008, especially interested in OST.
Mikołaj Pancewicz – graduate of Oskar Lange Economic Academy, University of Technology in Poznań and postgraduate studies at University of Technology in Warsaw. Graduate of “Evidence-based Drug Policy Seminars” at Polish Science Academy”. Leftist municipal activist. In 90’s member of Green Party. Computer scientist. Coordinator of Club of Political Critique in Kalisz.
Sylwia Tabor – MD, graduate of Medical University in Białystok. Studied philosophy at University of Białystok. Scholar of Université de Bretagne Occidentale from 2010 to 2011. Traveler who very rarely is bored. Fascinated with South America history and contemporary feminism. She has joined to Club of Political Critique in Białystok in 2010, improving gender equality stats.
Joanna Tokarz-Haertig – chief of project department and coordinator of Clubs of Political Critique. Graduate of Social Science at Institute of Social Science at Warsaw University. Scholar of bilateral exchange program at Warsaw University, conducted research at Universite Catolique de Louvain-La-Neuve in Belgium and studied at Universite di Carlo Bo w Urbino in Italy. At Philantropy Academy Association conducted research projects on job market in the context of societies aging. Vegetarian, ecologist. Mother of Zosia.
Agnieszka Wiśniewska – coordinator of Clubs of Political Critique and cross-country social projects. Graduate of Polish Philology at Wyszyński University in Warsaw and postgraduate of social communication and media at Literary Research Institute of Polish Science Academy. Graduate of Social Science Institute at Warsaw University with the aspect of social representation in documentary movies. Author of Henryka Krzywonos biography and editor of cinema books series in Publishing House of Political Critique.
WHY DRUGS?
Since 2008 the society of Political Critique has taken up many different interdisciplinary activities in the campaign for reforming Polish and global drug policy, underlining its human rights aspect. With usage of different forms of institutional activities created for a ten years of institutional activity of our organization, we have taken up a role of public debate moderator and begun publishing books related to the topic (Drug Policy. The Reader of Political Critique, Disenchantment, Drug Wars. Reportages from the Battlefield, Lower Flights, Encyclopedia of Polish Psychodelia, Who lives with HIV in Poland?, Children of the Drug War), organizing over 100 open public debates, conferences, cultural events so far in the whole Poland, launching comprehensive website on psychoactive substance. Our activists have been often present in mainstream media, commenting on the social phenomenon of drugs use, trying to change social perception of the problem.
Journalistic activities and special informational campaigns, like Use Dose of Your Rights (manual for people detained by police for possessing illegal substance) or Advisor for Parliamentarians (and not only) (collection of truths and myths on psychoactive substance), we try to deliver people in the most accessible form the knowledge about law regulations and its influence on different spheres of society’s organization. Many activists of Political Critique joined local social initiatives, which were going to introduce in practice ideas of harm reduction. For example we cooperated in 10-years campaign for launching the first opiate substitution treatment program in Pomerania region. We provided articles and monitored the situation with smart drugs market in Łódź – the capital of new psychoactive substance. Through these activities we managed to establish wide network of cooperating representatives of organizations, public institutions or informal initiatives.
Lately, a part of activities of Narkopolityka team is dedicated to carry on comprehensive campaign for rationalization of drug policy at international level. Very important at the moment is building alliances, especially between states in the Central-Eastern Europe, and relying on good practices introduced in some countries in Western Europe and Americas.
We cooperate to most important websites on drug policy, like Talking Drugs, Drugreporter, Drug Policy Alliance. We are engaged into debate on drug policy in Ukraine, where in June 2013 in Kiev we coorganized international conference East Drugs Story. Drug Policy in the Context of Corruption.
POLITICAL CRITIQUE
Krytyka Polityczna (Political Critique) is the largest Eastern European liberal network of institutions and activists. It was established in 2002 with an Open Letter to the European Public, demanding more open European policy from the Polish elites, later registered as the Stanisław Brzozowski Association, now Krytyka Polityczna consists of the online daily “Dziennik Opinii”, a quarterly magazine, publishing house, cultural centres in Warsaw, Łódź, Gdańsk and Cieszyn, activist clubs in a dozen cities in Poland (and also in Kiev and Berlin), as well as a research centre: the Institute for Advanced Study in Warsaw. It employs over sixty people and works with a few hundred volunteers. Krytyka Polityczna organises around 1,500 events and actions yearly.
