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Vice Blog

Should We Legalize Drugs In Denmark?

We asked Mændenes Hjem if they thought it was a good idea.

Ivan Christensen, adminstrator of Mændenes Hjem.

This weekend, Anders Samuelsen, party leader of Liberal Alliance, proposed a complete legalization of drugs for personal use. While this debate pops up about once a year, it never amounts to much more than news fodder. To avoid falling victim to exactly that, we decided to have a chat with Ivan Christensen, administrator of Mændenes Hjem, for whom the proposition carries actual weight.

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Mændenes Hjem is an institution that has helped men down on their luck getting through the day for more than a century. Today, the house has between 400 and 600 users. Some live in the higher levels of the gloomy building, others drop in on a daily basis to see their friends and to use the fixing room, Skyen, which recently opened up next door. Ivan also runs Skyen and has about 200 hundred employees all in all.

VICE: Hey Ivan, how do you feel about Liberal Alliance's proposal to legalize all drugs for personal use?

Ivan Christensen: Well, when I look at the proposition in regards to our users, I think it makes perfect sense. Here at Mændenes Hjem, a lot of men and women are under pressure in several different ways, and they spend a lot of energy living with drug addiction. If we legalized drugs for personal use and created some better offers for the treatment of addiction, they'd be able to, if not live a drug free existence, then live healthier.

So you're in favor of the proposition?

Yes, fundamentally I think this proposition has a lot of potential. But you need to consider, that right now on Vesterbro, we have an open zone where people can possess drugs for personal use without being hassled by the police.

Wait, what?

Because of the fixing room here and at Halmtorvet, there is an open drug-taking zone, stretching from about Copenhagen Central Train Station all the way up to Skelbækgade.

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I've never heard about that. How does that work?

Well, people who have been addicted to drugs for a number of years and who are in the target demographic of the fixing rooms won't get fined by the police for possessing smaller amounts of drugs.

How do they enforce that? Is it just a judgement call?

I don't know, how they make the call. The important thing is, whether they look to be in the target group of the fixing rooms. There's a big difference between doing drugs in the white part of the Meatpacking District and doing drugs in the brown part. If you're a part of the party scene in the white Meatpacking district, then you're not covered by this open zone.

Ok. But that's another interesting point. What would a legalization mean for young people, who does drugs when going out partying?

As administrator of Mændenes Hjem, I don't have a strong opinion about what a broader legalization would mean. On a personal level, I think a legalization would help remove the taboo of drug usage. That would probably give us a better chance of helping the addicts. They should have the opportunity to get qualified help if they want it.

Do you think a legalization would help young people, who are in the process of becoming addicts?

That very much depends on what kind of help we could offer. But in some instances, yes, I think it could help. In my opinion it's the same as with alcohol. Some people can use drugs recreationally no problem and some become addicts. As far as I know, the usage of drugs and need for intoxicants is a strong anthropological trait. It's not unique for any one culture. Drugs offer something else, and that's okay. But if we could legalize drugs and remove the taboo, we could remove some of the riskier drug use and maybe also help people before addiction sets in.

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Critics would say that a legalization would mean, that young people who wouldn't normally try drugs would. What do you think?

I'm not sure - but to my knowledge, there isn't any evidence of that. What we could hope for is, that fewer would become addicts.

Any thoughts on the ideal solution?

In terms of the people we have here, a decriminalization would by far be the better solution. If they get their drugs confiscated, they'll just go get some new ones. That's a negative form of occupational therapy, which also causes troubles in some instances for the victims etc. Because then they'll need to get some more money to get some new drugs. Luckily we already have that solution here on Vesterbro with the open drug zone.

And in general?

Then I'm in favor of a general decriminalization. I support a stance, where we accept that there is a recreational usage of hash, cocaine, ecstasy and a lot of other drugs. That isn't something we need to focus on. We should focus our efforts on informing about the risks related to addiction and drugs and obviously, if people want help, we should be there to help them. But there's no reward in turning people into criminals, when they use a drug, simply because they're in possession of an illicit substance.

Thanks a lot Ivan.