Drugs - Policies and Practices

DRUGS POLICIES AND PRACTICES
Year II, Issue 2, June 2014, ISSN 1857-8926, Free issue
Issues topic:
Drugs and Law
Interview: Jaka Bitenc, Slovenia

Cannabis Social Club (SKSK)
The public opinion has changed a lot since 2010. The media have started
to write about the benefits of cannabis. It happened for the first time in
Slovenia, that a civil campaign managed to gather 28.000 signatures for
three draft laws we made it all together!
www.hops.org.mk
Contents
Impressum
DRUGS Policies and Practices
Year II
Number 2
June 2014
Legal regulations concerning drugs

Free issue
Published by:
Association HOPS Healthy options
project Skopje
Address: Hristo Smirnenski 48/1-6,
1000 Skopje
Phone: +389 2 324-6205
Fax: +389 2 324-6310
e-mail address: hops@hops.org.mk
www.hops.org.mk
Drugs Policies and Practices

is a publication of the Association
HOPS Healthy options project
Skopje. This magazine is free of
charge and for distribution.
The death of the actor
ISSN 1857- 8926
Slovenian Social Cannabis Club SSCC
Drug policies and legislation in Southeast Europe
4

10

13
Visiting the Portland society for health, organization carrying out policies and harm reduction
programs in Vancouver Canada
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Are you in control?????!
22
I love drugs, but I hate its consequences!
What makes you happy?

24
28
Editorial Office
Editor in Chief
Vanja Dimitrievski
Editorial Board
Vanja Dimitrievski
Vlatko Dekov
Irena Cvetkovikj
Zharir Simrin
Translated in English by
Suzana Shterjova Tosheva
Pedagogical support for children with drug using parents

32
Ganja can kill you, only if Alphas catch you
35
Conference: Availability of the Hepatitis C for

drug users in RM good practices and challenges
37
Recently banned substances in the category of

opioid drugs and psychotropic substances
40
We recommend
42
Latest publications about drugs
42
Brief news
43
Photography
Social Marketing - HOPS
Gpaphic design
Social Marketing - HOPS
DataPons
Drugs Policies and Practices is

open for cooperation with all those
interested in sharing attitudes to promote the humane treatment of people
using drugs. If you want to submit an
article or help the magazine in another
way, please contact us in the following
address:
hops@hops.org.mk
Attitudes presented in Drugs Policies and Practices does not necessarily reflect or conform to the attitudes of the publisher HOPS Healthy Options Project
Skopje.
The death of the actor

On February 2nd this year, the actor Philip Seymour Hofmann died from heroin overdose. Another fatality that could have
been prevented.
The media and social networks were brimming with moralizing and judgmental statements criticizing Philip for his drug use.
However, there were only rarely criticisms of the US government that called it forth for responsibility for its immoral drug policies and
its attitude towards drug using people. The possibility that Philip would still be alive today is commensurate to the countrys human
rights-based drugs policy. Namely, in countries where implemented drug policies emphasize prohibition, the role of the police and
penalties instead of prevention, treatment, re-socialization and harm reduction, mortalities such as this one are by far more numerous than in those countries where drug issues are considered with health and social issues as priorities. Thats why there is a large
probability that Philip would have still been alive today if he had the chance to use legal injection rooms such as those in Australia,
Canada, Norway or Switzerland, for example, where injection with fatal consequences is impossible, or if he had the possibility for
a treatment with medical heroin such in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark etc. Also, the likelihood of him receiving naloxone would
have been far greater, thus effectively managing any case of overdose. He didnt have any of these options, because his governments policies didnt make them available. That is why the policy of war against drugs is inhumane, ineffective and only increases
the suffering of people using drugs and their families.
One more thing concerning the media. Fatalities happen every day. Please inform and write about them, too. Please write not only
of the number of death cases but also of the life stories as you did in the case of Philip. Yes, not everyone is a movie star, not
everyone is a celebrity, but in Macedonia alone, there are around 10.000 drug-injecting people who share their destinies with Philip
before his death. They are our co-citizens, neighbors, brothers, sisters, friends, acquaintances. In Macedonia, none of the programs
I mentioned above are available, just as naloxone isnt. Should we wait for somebody we know to die, before we start talking and
writing about the problems?
Vlatko Dekov
Drugs - Policies and Practices
Vlatko Dekov
Legal regulations concerning drugs
Pursuing a Masters degree in social policy, has a thirtheen years of

experience on drug related issues;
currently working as a manager
of CEDR Center for Education,
Documentation and Research within
HOPS. He has developed most of
the harm reduction programs in
Macedonia. He is activist for human
rights of marginalized communities
and member of several national and
international committees and bodies for drugs, HIV/AIDS and human
rights.
Evidence shows that penal measures alone, regardless of their strictness, fail to achieve
their aim of reducing drug use. Moreover, in many cases, laws that criminalize drug use
lead to negative consequences, such as stigmatization of people who use drugs, violation of human rights, difficult access to treatment and re-socialization etc.
4
www.hops.org.mk
Are laws within the interest of citizens?
Having in mind that drug use can cause

serious damages both on individual and
on societal level, states across the world
implement diverse strategies to prevent
or decrease these consequences. In most
countries in the world, the production,
possession, sales or purchase and use of
drugs is banned. The international legal
framework is based on three conventions
for narcotic drugs and psychoactive substances (dated 1961, 1971, 1988) brought
by the UN, and signed and ratified by UN
member-states. As stated in the 1988
Convention, with its ratification, countries
undertake to carry out sanctions for the
production, sales, transport, distribution
or purchase of forbidden substances as
stipulated in the 1961 and 1971 conventions.
All three conventions enable the signatories to carry out measures for treatment, education, post-treatment care,
rehabilitation and social re-integration for
those who have committed drug-related crimes, and are dependent on drugs
themselves. Although varying interpretations exist, conventions dont contain any
specific articles or detailed provisions regarding the criminalization of drugs and
they leave open the possibility for flexible
national policies in terms of sanctioning
personal drug use.
Still, most signatory countries ban the
production, sales, transport, procurement
and use of drugs. Also, a large number of
states criminalize the use of drugs such
as Russia, Georgia, Singapore, China etc.
In 2008, the Executive Director of UNDOC the UN Office on Drugs and Crime
pointed out these negative consequences
of the international drug-related legal
framework, which has proven to be rather
restrictive.
Evidence shows that penal measures

alone, regardless of their strictness, fail
to achieve their aim of reducing drug
use. Moreover, in many cases, laws that
criminalize drug use lead to negative consequences, such as user stigmatization,
violation of human rights, difficult access
A huge revenue-generating black

market has been created around
drugs, exploited by powerful criminal
organizations.
Geographic replacement of the
production, i.e. any successful action
against drug production in one part of
the country or a region in the world creates the so-called balloon effect and
induces increase of drug production in
another part of the country or the region. Production doesnt decrease, only
moves around.
Substance replacement this is
when certain actions and strategies lead
to decrease of production and demand
of a certain type of drug, dealers and
people who use drugs transfer to a new
type of drug, often multiple times more
damaging than the previous one.
Criminalization of people who use
drugs increases their marginalization
and stigmatization which leads to a obstructed access to health and social services and decrease of their productivity
in society.
of drugs. In 2013, Uruguay went a step

further and legalized production for personal use, but only for marihuana. Namely, its citizens, once licensed, can choose
between these three options: to produce
up to 6 plants a year by themselves, to become members of a marihuana social club
where jointly with other 15 to 45 members, they can raise up to 99 plants a year,
or to buy 40 grams a month from licensed
pharmacies.
Some countries, such as several federal
units of the USA, legalize only the medical
use of marihuana, or allow the founding
of social clubs of marihuana users (Slovenia, Belgium etc.), who can jointly grow or
possess marihuana for personal use.
However, movements and initiatives for
law changes towards decriminalization
of the possession and use of drugs, as
well as legalization of marihuana are ever
more increasing, probably encouraged by
the results of these policies, which were
comprehensively discussed in the previous
issue of Drugs Policies and practices.
Macedonian experiences
In Macedonia, the possession for personal use is not a crime, and drug use is
considered a misdemeanor against the
public order and peace and is financially
penalized. More specifically, in Macedonia
possession for personal use is decriminalized. What is considered a crime is the
possession for sales. However, in practice,
possession is most often treated within
the frames of the Criminal Code.
to treatment and re-socialization etc.

On the other hand, in some other countries, such as Portugal, Czech Republic,
Holland, Spain etc., focus is placed on
public health, social policy and human
rights, and laws do not criminalize the use
The editorial board of the Drugs policies and practices magazine, carried out a
phone and internet survey for this issue,
in order to get an idea about the attitudes
of Macedonian citizens on these two questions:
In Macedonia, the possession for personal use is not a crime, and drug use is considered a misdemeanor against the public order and peace and is financially penalized. More specifically, in Macedonia possession for personal use is decriminalized. What is considered a crime is the possession for
sales. However, in practice, possession is most often treated within the frames of the Criminal Code.
drogi - politiki i praktiki
1. Do you consider drug possession exceptionally for personal use should be

punishable by law?
2. Do you think that marihuana use should
be legalized?
The phone survey included 1095 interviewees, on a representative sample selected according to gender, age, ethnicity
and place of living.
90,5% of the interviewees stated that
drug possession only for personal use
should be punishable by law, 6,9% considered that this should not be a punishable act, while 5,3% didnt know or didnt
want to answer the first question.
At the question about legalization of

marihuana, 83,7% of the interviewed
stated that they were against legalization,
9,3% stated that marihuana should be legalized, and 9,7% didnt know or didnt
want to answer.
In age group distribution, the largest
percentage of surveyed who were in favor of marihuana legalization were people
aged 18 to 29 (13,5%). According to their
place of living, marihuana legalization was
mostly supported by the interviewees
from the Skopje (16,2%) and the Southeastern region of the country (12,5%). It
is exactly in the South-eastern region of
the country that the support for banning
the legalization of marihuana use is the
least (70,8%). The remaining 29,2% are
people who either support legalization, or
dont know or dont want to answer.
There are other indicators that have not been assessed or measured at all, or have been so, but only
rarely. For example, the suffering and emotional pain of a child whose parent is imprisoned under
the Law because he possessed marihuana for personal use. How do you measure the influence of the
Law that criminalized the use of drugs on the suffering of this child, on its psychosocial development
and growth without a parent (because he is in jail)
www.hops.org.mk
The same two questions were posed

at an anonymous survey which was promoted via social networks on the internet
using a Google-based survey. The survey
was filled in by a total of 288 interviewees. The results from this survey differed
largely from those of the phone survey.
Namely, 79% of the interviewed in the
internet survey thought that possession
solely for personal use should not be punishable by law, and only 15% thought that
it should be.
At the question for legalization of
marihuana use, 249, i.e. 86% answered
that marihuana use should be legalized,
while only 21 interviewee, i.e. 7% were
against legalization. Other interviewees
didnt want to answer (1%), didnt know
(5%) or had no opinion (1%). It is clear
that internet surveys are not representative and their weakness is that they are
answered only by those who had the possibility to learn about the survey and were
motivated to participate. Also, age-wise,
interviewees here were younger, with an
average age of 30,5 years, which is characteristic of internet users and it is usual
that younger people favor marihuana legalization. This conclusion was confirmed
by the phone survey results. On the other
hand, one weakness of the phone survey
was that these sensitive questions were
asked via the phone which decreased the
probability for providing an honest answer. Still, I will refer to the relevance of
the phone survey, although I am deeply
convinced that it does not express the actual situation and the attitude of the Macedonian citizen.
For comparison, I will mention the
example with the dynamics of the public
opinion regarding the marihuana regulation in the USA. This year for the first time,
a research showed that most Americans,
58% according to Galup, 54% according
to CNN, were pro marihuana legalization.

The biggest increase, of 10%, appeared
last year, and analysts think that the reason for this was marihuana legalization in
the states of Colorado and Washington.
paigns happened promoting the legalization of marihuana, the most intensive

ones being in the last 10 years, and the
results being visible.
This is a huge difference in comparison

with the first research by Galup carried out
in 1969 when only 12% of all interviewees
supported legalization, and in 1987 when
only 16% supported it, according to CNN.
In the meantime, in the USA several cam-
GALLUP
, (
) .
Although varying interpretations exist, conventions dont contain any specific articles or detailed
provisions regarding the criminalization of drugs and they leave open the possibility for flexible
national policies in terms of sanctioning personal drug use.
Ethical and social dilemmas of criminalization

The success of a drugs policy from the
aspect of personal health is often times
measured according to prevalence, i.e.
the number of people who use drugs,
the number of dependent people in treatment, mortality, co-morbidity and other
indicators.
From a legal and criminal point of
view, success is measured according to
the number of prisoners, the number of
drug-related crimes and offences, the
number of newly registered users etc.
However, the assessment of one policy in
the specific case the criminalization of the
use of drugs will be complete if social and
psychological indicators are also assessed.
Namely, what number of people who use
drugs have found a job, how many of them
have founded a family (although I personally dont think that founding a family is
ant criterion for success in life), how many
are accepted by society, i.e. whether they
are stigmatized, decriminalized etc. There

are other indicators that have not been
assessed or measured at all, or have been
so, but only rarely. For example, the suffering and emotional pain of a child whose
parent is imprisoned under the Law because he possessed marihuana for personal use. How do you measure the influence of the Law that criminalized the use
of drugs on the suffering of this child, on
its psychosocial development and growth
without a parent (because he is in jail), on
learning and on its conduct at school, the
influence on the possible rejection from
its school mates because they dont want
to be friends with a prisoners child etc.?
This is just a segment of the questions
rarely asked when certain laws are being
enacted.
I believe that all of us who professionally

work on drug related issues must be much
louder, in order to point to the need for
change of laws and to be actively included
in their drafting. Now is the real moment
to remind ourselves about Charles De
Gaulles statement Politics is too serious a business to be left only to the
politicians.
Having in mind all the seriousness of

the laws regulating drugs, enacted by politicians, we must ask ourselves if our politicians take into account all these negative
consequences of the laws they vote for. I
am not convinced in that, and this is why
SLOVENIAN CANNABIS SOCIAL CLUB (SKSK)
I am an activist, a father, a human,

fighting for his health and also for
the health of others in Slovenia. At
the moment I am part of a team
that is touring around Slovenia and
informing as many people as possible about the benefits and usefulness of cannabis. We are tying to
change the laws, which are pretty
much the same all over the Bakans
and do not make any sense.
INTERVIEW WITH JAKA BITENC,

ACTIVIST IN SLOVENIA CANNABIS
SOCIAL CLUB (SKSK)
- (Slovenia Cannabis Social Club - SKSK), a K

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, .
,
23 . ,

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Interview with Jaka Bitenc (SKSK)
Who are you? What are you doing? What

is your personal experience with medical
cannabis, and what do you feel are the
differences when comparing regular medications (pharmaceuticals) with medical
cannabis for your condition.
I am an activist, a father, a human,
fighting for his health and also for the
health of others in Slovenia. At the moment I am part of a team that is touring
around Slovenia and informing as many
people as possible about the benefits
and usefulness of cannabis. We are tying to change the laws, which are pretty
much the same all over the Bakans and
do not make any sense. I use cannabis
because Ive had diabetes for the last 23
years and my body doesnt absorb insulin
sufficiently, so I have no other healthy alternative. At the moment I use only 30%
of insulin, because insulin kills off all the
healthy beta cells in our bodies. I assume
that this is being done on purpose by the
pharmaceutical industry to get as many
insulin addicts as possible.
insulin with those needles, which was killing me and making an addict out of me.
I did not have any legal problems,
apart from the fact, that I had to make
many adjustements to the club statute
before the office was satisfied with the
result. The opinon of the governemnt on
the other hand is clear, self supply is not
allowed, we should be happy to be able to
inform the public. Here in Slovenia, it is
like in most places around the world. We
have secret agents and all sorts of stuff
people see in the movies.
Can you notice a difference in the Governments and public opinions regarding
medical cannabis, between the time prior
to the start of SKSKs activities and now?
The main motive to found the SKSK
was most certainly my diabetes, for as
long as I have it, I had to suffer injecting
The aim of the club is to help medical

patients, whom the official medicine cannot help as well as to change the law in
such a way that it will allow self-supply of
Cannaibs here in Slovenia.
Can you say something more about the
activities of SKSK?
We have meetings with patients, we
The public opinion has changed a lot

since 2010. The media have started to
write about the benefits of cannabis. It
happened for the first time in Slovenia,
that a civil campaign managed to gather
28.000 signatures for three draft laws
we made it all together!
give lectures on cannabis history and

medical use as well as presentations of
the draft laws around Slovenia. Similarly,
we help patients from abroad. We help
establish small cannabis clubs around Slovenia and are trying to live in a parallel
system, because we are not satisfied with
our official position.
The hash (cannabis) oil, that we do,

is helping me in many ways. First of all,
it calms down my body by lowering the
adrenaline levels so I can think more
clearly. It also stimulates my pancreas to
produce the insulin on its own and by doing that it indirectly lowers my blood sugar
levels.
Of course, the most succesful therapy
is wholesome, taking care with a proper
diet, energy frequencies etc.
What is the main goal of SKSK?
Can you emphasize some positive examples of medical cannabis use?
What is your membership policy and how

many members SKSK have?
Cannabis is proven to heal 105 diseases, meaning all autoimmune diseases.

It is very important to start the therapy
Members of our club are only medical patients. We cannot afford any other
policy untill the law is changed. The number of memebers is increasing daily, so I
cannot give an exact number, but I can
say there are more than one thousand patients in the club.
The aim of the club is to help medical patients, whom the official
medicine cannot help as well as to change the law in such a way
that it will allow self-supply of Cannaibs here in Slovenia.
www.hops.org.mk
11
Members of our club are only medical

patients. We cannot afford any other
policy untill the law is changed.
as soon as the diagnosys has been made.

cannabis oil lowers the blood sugar levels,
holesterol levels, blood presure levels, it
dillutes the blood and improves our sleep,
our digestion which is essential fot the
treatment of HIV and different cancers.
This is only one part, for cannabis consumption has too many beneficial effects
to list them all in a short answer. We would
need to explain the endocannabinoid first,
the most complex metabolic mechanism
of our bodies...
What is your opinion regarding cannabis
and our future?
There is no turning back any more. We
are getting new evidence each and every
day. The future is bright and we are op-
12
timistic.

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Interview by
arir Simrin
Cannabis heals, trust nature! Jaka Bitenc
Thanasis Apostolou
Drug policy and drug legislation in South

Eastern Europe
Director of Diogenis Association

Thanasis Apostolou has studied
at the University of Athens and
the university of Amsterdam, has
worked as staff member of the
institute Kerk en Wereld, in Driebergen, Netherlands (1972-1976)
and the Orthodox Academy of
Crete (1976-1977). He was director of the Centre for migrant workers from the Mediterranean sea in
Utrecht, Netherlands (1977-1989),
has been member of the Dutch
Parliament for the labour party
(1989-2002) and has worked as
consultant on drug issues (20022010). He is director of Association
Diogenis (2010-today).
The motive for this project was the idea that in the development of drug policy in the
SEE countries, civil society involvement must play a positive and decisive role. Nongovernmental actors in the field of drugs have to have a say in shaping drug policy and
to exercise influence on drug Legislation.
13
In 2012 Diogenis Association took the

initiative to set up a project on Drug Law
reform in South East Europe. In cooperation with the organisations of the drug
policy network in South East Europe and
researchers affiliated with researches institutes and law faculties of universities
in South East European countries, a research has been carried out that resulted in the publication Drug policy and
Drug Legislation in South East Europe.
The motive for this project was the idea

that in the development of drug policy in
the SEE countries, civil society involvement must play a positive and decisive
role. Non-governmental actors in the field
of drugs have to have a say in shaping
drug policy and to exercise influence on
drug Legislation.
Some characteristics of the situation
of drug policy and drug legislation in the
countries of South Eastern Europe are
presented in this study followed by recommendations. They can be summarized
in the following points.
a. There is a discrepancy between
adopted drug strategies and their
implementation in every day practice
All SEE countries have adopted a National Strategy during the last decade. The
majority of them have also adopted Action
Plans for the implementation of the Strat-
egy. According to the national strategy of

all SEE countries, NGOs and civil society
should play an important and active role in
policy making, mainly in the field of treatment and rehabilitation, but also in harm
reduction. The actual involvement of civil
society and NGOs is, however, rather marginal, although efforts are made to improve it. In practice there is a gap between
strategies and practice. Harm reduction is
accepted in de drug strategies but is not
enshrined in national legislation; harm reduction services are appreciated, but they
are financially dependent on grants of external donors; rehabilitation programmes
are recognized as essential part of drug
policy, but they have still to be developed.
It is pointed out that strategies and action plans must be evaluated and practices
that are not effective have to be changed.
Most of the countries do not have yet formal evaluation mechanisms. Evaluation
will help the relevant authorities to make
changes where necessary and introduce
innovative practices that meet the needs
of those concerned.
b. The application of criminal law is
harsh for drug trafficking and in cases of drug possession for personal
use is diverse and often inconsistent.
Criminal Justice systems of South Eastern European (SEE) countries are based
on different traditions and the response to
the drug issue proves diversified. Deviations are wider in the area of smaller-scale
violations of drug laws, while penalties
envisaged for drug trafficking have more
common characteristics being extremely
harsh. In several countries however, regardless of the strict scope of legal provisions, the penalties actually imposed by
courts are less stringent.
In general, SEE countries could be described as indecisive on issues regarding
decriminalization of possession of drugs

for personal use. This is an extremely crucial issue in the further development of
drug policy, since this issue usually deeply
affects the lenient or harsh treatment of
the user-perpetrators within the criminal
justice system. Decriminalisation of drug
possession for personal use is heavily discussed, but several attempts to introduce
it in national legislation has failed. Further
research and study of the current practice
concerning possession for personal use,
must be a priority in the future agenda
of the countries of the region, in order to
relieve the criminal justice and the penitentiary, system.
c. The prison population over the last
years has increased; the living conditions are poor and there is increasing
drug use in prisons; medical care inside prisons is inadequate.
For the majority of the countries, the
living conditions in detention facilities
are very bad because prisons are overcrowded. This is a common problem and
a general endemic characteristic of the
correctional systems of the majority of the
countries.
The problem of drug-use in prisons
emerges clearly through the national reports. There is diversity in the provision of
treatment programmes for drug dependent prisoners. Medical care inside prison is
provided for all prisoners by medical staff
while help from other medical institutions
and NGO programs can be provided only
outside the prison. It is possible to divert
drug users from prison into communitybased treatment for drug addicted perpetrators of drug-related offences, though
diversion mechanisms combined with
treatment programmes (suspension of
penal prosecution, execution of the sentence/probation/ conditional release from
prison) are currently implemented on a
http://www.diogenis.info
DRUG POLICY AND DRUG LEGISLATION IN SOUTH EAST EUROPE
14
www.hops.org.mk
Assesment
very limited scale.

d. There is support for alternatives to
incarceration of drug offenders.
All relevant stakeholders support alternative measures to incarceration of drug
offenders. They are convinced that alternative measures will result in a reduction
of incarceration and minimization of the
negative consequences of criminal prosecution and short-term prison sentences
to drug addicted persons. However, social
re-integration programmes are almost absent. For the majority of the SEE countries, the strategy for social reintegration
can be characterized as either incoherent
or only nominal and there seems to be a
long way to go for the implementation of
such policy. Consistency requires that a
policy in favour of alternative measures
to incarceration needs to be followed by
implementation in practice.
e. Relevant authorities and state recognized agencies and service providers are reserved towards drug law
reform proposals, while NGOs are in
favour
The relevant national authorities and
the state recognized agencies and service
providers are cautious in their reactions
concerning proposals for policy change.
Reform proposals are very often considered to be contrary to the international
conventions. Governments and parliaments are making use of the room that
exists in the international conventions to
introduce new ways of facing the problem,
but they are hesitant to speak about reform of the current drug control system.
NGOs express clearly the wish for reform in several areas, especially the decriminalization of possession for personal
use and the wish to enshrine harm reduction services in the national legislation. For
the intravenous drug users, supervised
drug consumption rooms are considered
as necessary prevention measure to avoid
the spread of HIV. NGOs are, however,
concerned about the general attitude of
the public that is reserved towards decriminalization.
f. The economic crisis is a real
threat for treatment and harm reduction services
Although in most cases, especially in
recent years, governments assisted by
NGOs have made great progress in broadening their harm-reduction policies and
the services offered to drug users, obstacles mainly related to the lack of financial
resources and, to a degree, to a culture
of mistrust and phobic societies have
greatly suppressed programs and initiatives for needle and syringe exchange
and the establishment of supervised drug
consumption rooms. The shift of interest
towards this direction is, however, a particularly important development which will
greatly influence developments in drug
policy in SEE, especially under the effect
of the wider relevant European policy.
Under the burden of the economic crisis, treatment and harm reduction services along with the health issue in general,
medical & pharmaceutical care and other
social benefits is pushed in the margins
of central policy, while the severe reduc-
tion of funds seems to already have a

dramatic impact. Most of the SEE countries now face an unpredictable future on
financing treatment and harm reduction
programs, as many are (or were) sponsored by the Global Fund, while most are
no longer eligible to receive new funding.
If National governments are not going to
finance these services most of them may
cease to function due to lack of resources.
g. Cannabis production and use is
dominant in all countries of the region.
Cannabis cultivation and use is dominant in all the SEE counties. Large quantities of cannabis plants are detected,
uprooted and confiscated by the law-enforcement authorities. At the same time
there is little debate about cannabis reform. Initiatives in some countries in the
region have not resulted in serious political consideration of the issue.
h. Unbalanced Spending of Financial
resources
Broadly speaking, the available resources for drug supply reduction and
drug demand reduction is not balanced.
The national strategies present a comprehensive view in which the elements to
reduce drug demand and supply of drugs
are balanced. However, in practice there
are difficulties in implementing this balanced approach. Some say that this is
due to lack of budgetary resources. Others point out that it is a question of priorities and policy orientation. Lack of human
resources and financial support for treatment programs is a significant issue; it is
necessary to allocate increasing amounts
of money from the state budget for treatment services provided to drug users.
The problem of drug-use in prisons emerges clearly through the national reports. There is diversity
in the provision of treatment programmes for drug dependent prisoners. Medical care inside prison
is provided for all prisoners by medical staff while help from other medical institutions and NGO
programs can be provided only outside the prison.
15
... there is a gap between strategies and practice.
16
NGOs express clearly the wish for reform in several areas, especially the decriminalization of possession for personal use and the wish to enshrine harm reduction services in
the national legislation.
Darko Veleski
Visiting the Portland health society, an organization

carrying out harm reduction policies and programs in
Vancouver Canada
Darko Veleski holds a BA in social work. He currently works

on his MA thesis within the
postgraduate studies at the Institute of Sociological, Political
and Juridical research, in the
field of human resources. He
actively works as a coordinator of the outreach activities
of the HOPS Healthy Options
Project Skopje, where he previously worked as a social worker
at the drop-in centers.
... one of the main features of Vancouver which makes it globally prominent are the humane policies for help and support of homeless people and other socially marginalized
communities.
www.hops.org.mk
17
In August/September 2013, I had the

exceptional possibility to travel to a twomonth study visit to Vancouver, Canada
within the programs for help and support of homeless people and other socially marginalized communities there.
Vancouver is located on the west coast
of Canada, on the Pacific Ocean. In the
city itself there are 603.502 inhabitants,
and together with the suburbs it comes
to around 2,4 million inhabitants, which
makes it the third most densely inhabited
place in Canada. The town itself leaves
the impression of a cosmopolitan community because when visiting you get the impression that people from all the races and
nationalities live there. Because it is one
of the largest ports in the western part of
North America, trade is a developed economic branch which allows its inhabitants
to be proud with the access to the freshest and most delicious food which is then
distributed inland.
In addition to its beauty, when visiting Vancouver you cannot but notice the
presence of a large amount of homeless
people. But, one of the main features of
Vancouver which makes it globally prominent are the humane policies for help and
support of homeless people and other socially marginalized communities.
During the study visit, I was a guest
of the Portland Health Society, known for
one of its most developed harm reduction programs in the world, but also for
the projects to help and support homeless
people. In addition to the programs of my
hosting organization, I was able to meet
other organizations and programs which
provide help and support to different so-
18
cially marginalized communities.

In this text, I will focus on the some of
the most remarkable projects I was able
to visit and practically experience how it
looks like to work in them. All the harm reduction projects are located in down town
east side.
Insite
Insite is a legal drug injection place.
There, drug users can bring their own
drugs and inject it in a specially designated space. The center has a well trained
team comprised of medical staff, community representatives and activists whose
task is to overview the whole process, and
help during injection if the patient cannot inject himself or asks for such kind of
help, as well as to prevent the possibility
of a potential overdose. This center has
around 1000 visits a day, and around 500
overdoses are prevented annually. Since
its founding, no mortality has been registered.
Insite is well known and accepted by
people who inject drugs because it offers
them the comfort, safety discretion, i.e.
they can use drugs without being seen
by other people. If somebody tries to inject drugs in public, the police refer him
to Insite. The center also has a chill out
room, where clients can get coffee and
juice, and sometimes even food. Within
the centre theres a possibility for working
engagements to those interested from the
community, for a half working time, which
increases their confidence and responsibility towards themselves and towards the
community.
Onsite
Onsite is a drug detoxification center located in the same building with Insite. It is
a treatment facility for people who want to
reach full drug abstinence. It has a Transitions Ward where clients who have passed
detoxification are located, while waiting
for the social workers from Onsite to find
accommodation and/or job to them, which
would help in their re-socialization.
Its an interesting idea to accommodate a detoxification center immediately
above the Center for safe drug injection.
At Insites entrance you can regularly find
drug users, as well as drugs. Knowing
this, people in detoxification know that
they can get drugs at the very entrance of
the building, and this creates an additional
pressure in overcoming crises during detox. On the other side, people using drugs
at Insite know that if they want asking for
detoxification, they can immediately get
such a treatment in the same building.
In any case, Onsite marks great results in
the support for detoxification.
VANDU
The Vancouver Area Network of Drug
Users is a small organization comprised
of former and current drug users, whose
purpose is improvement of the quality of
life to drug users.
Employees at this organization have
weekly meetings on which many active
and former users are present, to discuss
current problems of the community.
I would like to point out that at VAN-
Its an interesting idea to accommodate a detoxification center immediately above the Center for safe drug injection. At Insites entrance you can regularly find drug users, as well as drugs. Knowing
this, people at detoxification know that they can get drugs at the very
entrance of the building, and this creates an additional pressure in
overcoming crises during detoxification.
DUs request, whose Center is located on

one of the busiest streets in Vancouver,
speed limit on the street is limited to 30
km/hour. The reason for this is that some
of the drug users tend to cross the street
away from the zebra crossing, which used
to cause many car accidents. This example is an indicator about the influence this
organization has on the citys authorities,
but also about their understanding for the
needs of drug users.
Stanley hotel
The Stanley hotel is a place most
frequently accomodating drug users. It
has 70 rooms and works 24 hours a day.
It accommodates homeless drug users.
Accommodation is free of charge and is
available to those who need it most. People accommodated at the hotel are taken
care of by a team that helps them with
activities are comprised of a walk through

the city and collection of used equipment
that has been thrown on public areas. The
team is well known in town and citizens
can call their number and report the need
for clean up. Afternoon and evening activities are most usually comprised of needle
exchange at specific locations. Locations,
depending on clients needs, are agreed by
phone.
Once weekly, the team visits Abbotsford, a town around 1 hour drive from
Vancouver, but administratively on the territory of Alberta, where drug use is regulated under stricter laws than the ones in
Vancouver. Drug users and homeless people are forbidden to stay in the streets in
Abbotsford and dont get any help from
the town, so they most often live in the
nearby forest and the visit of this field
team means a lot to them. When visiting
this community it was very interesting to
see the improvised homes in the forest
and their creativity to equipping them with
beds, TV sets on solar energy etc.
VSH Stop team
The VSH stop team is comprised of
outreach workers whose responsibility is
to provide social help to homeless people,
among which are accompaniment, accommodation in institutions, housing etc.
Washington Needle Depot
food, regular medical treatment etc.

The Portland health society needle
exchange outreach team
The basic task of the outreach team is
distribution of sterile injecting equipment,
as well as collecting used up equipment.
The team works 18 hours a day. Morning
The Washington Needle Depot is a

project intended for drug users who want
to remain anonymous.
The premises this program occupies
are on a less frequent space, a back alley,
where drug users can use the injecting
equipment without being noticed. Also,
if they have used equipment, they can
leave it there.
New Fountain Shelter

This shelter center serves homeless
drug users above the age of 25 works
from 19:00 to 09:00 the following day.
It has a special part for women if they
request separate accommodation. It is
interesting that within this shelter center
theres a special area in which marihuana
and crack smoking is allowed for the accommodated ones, who dont need to go
out of the centre to use these drugs, during their nights stay.
Drug Users Resource Centre
This center has at disposal several
rooms for different activities, services and
possibilities for drug users such as: movie
projections, music therapy, kitchen, a
meeting room, creative workshop, discussions and lectures space, showers, washing machines etc.
I hope that I have managed to paint
a picture to our readers about part of my
experiences from this study visit, although
it is only a segment of what I had the opportunity to see. My visit to Vancouver
convinced me even more about the success of harm reduction programs and the
ways in which they can improve the quality of life of drug users.
From what I could see, I can confirm
that most of these projects would help
drug users in Macedonia. For example,
Skopje has no shelter center in the center
of the city where homeless people and
drug users circulate most often. There is
no single object to house homeless people. And of course, if there was a legal
injecting spot, drug users would be better
protected, the waste used injecting equipment in public spaces would decrease,
and the wider population would thus be
better protected.
...at VANDUs request, whose Center is located on one of the busiest streets in Vancouver, speed
limit on the street is limited to 30 km/hour. The reason for this is that some of the drug users tend
to cross the street away from the zebra crossing, which used to cause many car accidents.
19
20
www.hops.org.mk
Tr a v e l o g u e
The center also has a chill out room, where clients can get coffee and juice, and
sometimes even food.
21
Jasperine Schupp & Jeannot

Schmidt
Everything Under Control???

How much control do you have over your drug use, health and life. Take the
test and pick the answer that you relate to best. Find out how much of a grip
you have on your use with this test. Good luck!
1 Youre going to the doctor to tell him you wont to be tested for
Hepatitis C. On the way, you see your dealer. What do you do?
A You score a hit right away. Forget about the doctor.
B You score a hit first, than make your way to the doctor.
C You go to the doctor first, than score a hit to reward yourself.
2 Recently, youve been hitting the coke pretty hard and have
forgotten to eat. Your pants are sliding off your behind. What do
you do?
A You find a new pair of pants you dont want to look like a fool.
B Before using, you get some fuel in you while youre still hungry. Once
youre smoking, you forget everything.
C While scoring a hit, you eat a chocolate bar to maintain your weight.
3 Youre going to score, but not before you:
A Get all your money together and put it in your pocket.
B Leave some of your money at home so that you cant spend it all.
C Give yourself a good talking to, eat something and buy a bus and tram
card.
, , ,
, !
4 Youve gotten your hands on a good-sized hit. What do you do?

A You put the whole thing in the pipe at once and smoke it as fast as you
can.
B You cut the ball in two, smoke your pipe in the users area and enjoy it
to the fullest. You save the other half to smoke at home, so you can enjoy
it later.
C You feel the hit burning a hole in your pocket but look for a safe and
peaceful place so you can enioy it thoroughly.
5 Freebasing is fun as long as you have the cash. You know all
about that. To cushion the crash, what do you do?
A You get some hash ahead of time and smoke it after your last hit. Then
you accept the fact that everythings gone.
B You swallow a handful of pills that your dealer palmed off on you.
C You go to the convenience store and buy four pints of beer.
6 Youre going to visit your mom on her birthday. Before leaving,
what do you do?
A Take all your drugs at once. At your moms place, theres always bullshit
to deal with, so you can use something to make you numb.
B You smoke a little dope at home. But you dont want to be stoned out of
your mind, that wouldnt be any fun for anyone. So you use in moderation.
C You dont go out of your way for your mother. Youre not all that stoned
and not all that drunk.
Everything Under Control???
7 Your moneys gone but you stlll have a real craving. What do
you do?
A You steal something. You just cant take it anymore.
B You try to make money by coming up with a sob story at the local supermarket.
C You know it sucks. But youre no wimp, so you hang in there and wait
until its over.
8 The time between one hit and the next:
A ls as brief as possible.
B ls determined by the quality of the coke.
C ls around half an hour. Then you can really enioy the next hit.
9 You just scored. What do you do?
A You go use in a place where you feel good and its nice and peaceful.
B You start freebasing, smoking or shooting right away.
C You go freebase where the police cameras cant see you.
10 Youre sick of using. lt costs too much in all senses, so:
A You get clean for the rest of your life.
B You move. Then everything will be all right.
C You decrease the number of days that you use in a row.
Less than 18 points Beginner

You still have to discover more about getting a hold on your drug use. You have good intention, but practice makes perfect,
so dont be discouraged by your score. Work as it and try taking the test again in a couple of weeks.
18 to 24 points Advanced
Youre on the right track. Sometimes you really succeed at being the boss on drugs, other times not so much. Spend some
time thinking about when you lose control so you can gain the upper hand on your use. You have it in you, so keep at it!
24 to 30 points Master
Youre very much in control of your drug use, and you know what youre doing. Keep it up and share what you know with
your friends. Others can learn from you, so be proud of yourself.
Test results:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
3 points
1 point
1 point
1 point
3 points
2 points
2 points
3 points
3 points
3 points
1 point
3 point
2 points
2 points
1 point
1 point
3 points
2 points
2 points
2 points
2 points
2 points
3 points
3 points
2 points
3 points
Taken from:
Mainline, Issue 3, 2008
http://www.mainline.nl
23
Frankie
I love drugs, I only hate its consequences!
The author is a long time member of

Narcotics Anonymous.
I came to the Narcotics Anonymous after a typical addicts drama of deceit, larceny and
violence, all related to drugs. In all that despair, not knowing what else to do or where
to go, I remembered that an old acquaintance mentioned NA to me and that it helps
dependent people. I decided to call and until today I consider it the most important
phone call I have made ever. For the first time I called somewhere where I could get
help instead of calling the dealer. For the first time I heard a voice that gave me hope,
that understood the language of a dependent person, and told me where to go to an
NA meeting.
24
Narcotics Anonymous
I am a big fan of drugs. I adored it

and was in love with it for a long time.
Although I lived with a wonderful girl and
we had a son together, I had a great job
and many friends, they could never satisfy the needs that drugs did. It wanted
me for itself only and it finally managed
to separate me from anything that meant
anything in my life.
Looking back now, my relation to addition started in my early childhood when
I started inhaling exhaust pipe and glue.
Around the age of 14, when I had my first
real drunkenness episode, I found out it
helped me feel free, as if all my inhibitions
let free and all my anxiety and fear I used
to feel since early child had stopped. At
that time (in ex Yugoslavia) you couldnt
get drugs easily so getting drunk (in
school or when I started going out) became a regular habit. So regular that my
friends already knew that when I would
start drinking, I didnt know when to stop
and they had to carry me home. But all
that was seen as a normal part of living,
that it would come to pass.
Reality turned out to be different. Drinking continued and this inability to establish
control over the alcohol was something
that became common for all other drugs
I used. When I went abroad and started
taking other substances, such as marihuana, my behavior was the same. Just as I
started with the alcohol, so was it with the
weed, at the beginning it was ok, social,
relaxed, and a good fun, until it turned out
an obsession. I used it compulsively, first
thing in the morning and before going to
bed, and during the day, I had paranoia
if somebody was following me, or that
somebody is talking about me, or whether
I will have enough or do I need more, and
so on.
Taking it together with alcohol in large
quantities, and the paranoid hallucinations
that followed, became the norm for me. I

didnt even know what was real, and what
was not anymore. Under the influence
of weed it was normal for me to smuggle it through the border when returning
from Amsterdam, or to carry big quantities in my car for selling. From something
I thought was helping me to relax and
enjoy, I misused marihuana just as I misused codeine, valium, diazepam, ecstasy,
cocaine and anything else that I would
come by.
When I started taking heroin, I thought
I had finally solved my problem. I felt
like I finally reached the place I had always searched for. After several months
I thought it was time to stop and I found
out what abstinence crisis meant. I also
found out that methadone can help me
get off heroin, first as a medicine, but later
to also get the same effect heroin gave.
I spent the following several years with
these two drugs, and life became harder
and harder every day.
Although I loved my son and my girlfriend, drugs came always first. The business I had stated declining. It became
normal for me to lie, or to always have
a justification that it was somebody elses
fault. At the end I lost everything. My
girlfriend left me, because she couldnt
take it anymore. All my friends who were
worth something and wanted to help me
also lost hope. I promised to stop so many
times, but despite my best efforts, I simply couldnt. I tried to decrease the dose,
to take drugs on specific days only, to
change my place of living, to find a new
girlfriend (who knows how to take drugs
smartly) and to go through an abstinence
crisis now and then, leaving everything for
a week or a month or two, but I always
returned to the same situation, the same
world, the same people I used to take
drugs with, the same isolation which became commonplace to me. I felt helpless.
More specifically, I was helpless. I was

helpless over the drugs obsession (constantly thinking about it), helpless over
my compulsiveness (my inability to stop
taking), helpless over my selfishness, because at the end, the truth was that most
important for me was to satisfy my need
for drugs. Today I understand that these
are exactly the characteristics that make
me a dependent person. The problem is
not in the drugs, but in my relation to it.
Theres simply something in me which,
when I use any kind of drug, makes me
lose control over it. I have the relationship to gambling, food, pornography, sex,
a person or any other addictive things.
I started losing hope that I would be
able to stop, and I started accepting that
I will die a junkie. I was desperate and at
times even thought of taking my life but
was not brave enough to do it. I was completely aware that I had lost the battle to
drugs and that I had no choice whether
to use it or not. I simply had to! It was
one too much, and thousands too little.
But it seemed that this surrender in my
struggle against the drugs was what I really needed. I started opening towards the
possibility that somebody else, outside of
myself and the ones I used to take drugs
with, could help me. I started going to
doctors, to institutions with psychotherapists, I started reading about Zen Buddhism again, but I could not find a way to
stop. I wanted to go back to regular life,
I yearned for it, but didnt know how. I
knew no other addict who had managed
to stop.
I came to the NA after a typical drug users drama of deceit, larceny and violence,
all related to drugs. In all that despair, not
knowing what else to do or where to go,
I remembered that an old acquaintance
mentioned NA to me and that it helps dependent people. I decided to call and to
this day I consider that to be the most im-
I am a big fan of drugs. I adored it and was in love with it for a long time.
www.hops.org.mk
25
portant phone call I had made in my life.

It was the first time I called somewhere
where I could get help instead of calling
the dealer. It was the first time I heard a
voice that gave me hope that understood
the language of a dependent person, and
told me where to go to an NA meeting.
This is where my road to new life started.
At my first meeting, I understood nothing
and I couldnt believe I was in a room with
around thirty people, most of them clean,
looking healthy and smiling. The atmosphere was pleasant and although I was
nervous, I felt safe. I started going to their
meetings regularly, I started listening and
saw that I was not alone, that many have
already gone through what I was going
though and managed to get themselves
clean from drugs. I was hopeful that I
could stop, too. Arrogant as I was, I wanted to prove to them that alcohol was not
a drug, but rather that in Macedonia it is
a part of our culture and that it is normal
to have a glass of wine during dinner, or
rakija on celebrations, that the occasional joint hasnt hurt anybody. Nobody told
me anything, except to keep coming to
the meetings. Although from time to time,
I would fall into a crisis, and would move
away from methadone and heroin, alcohol

and weed would bring me back. The world
of addictions still had a very strong influence on me, and sooner or later, in the
company of other people taking drugs, I
would start using again, and would end
at the same desperate place, each time
deeper and deeper.
But when I knew there was a way, I
would go to an NA meeting and would get
new hope. People who were clean supported me and convinced me that if they
could, I could too. I knew they didnt lie
about how they took drugs, and what their
life was, some of them with more difficult
stories than mine. They told me that the
NA promises one thing only, and that was
freedom from the active use of drugs. At
that time, I used anything and everything,
and I strongly wished to stop. Looking
back, that wish was the most important
thing I needed, to be able one day, at one
of those NA meetings, deep inside to admit to myself that I had lost my battle with
drugs, that I was helpless over it and that
it had destroyed my life and the lives of all
people around me. I was also aware that
NA was offering me drug free life, I was
with people who knew how I could clean
up and stay that way, who wanted to help

me and didnt ask anything for return.
That night, I resolutely threw away everything I had and the next day, July 13th,
2001, was my first day to be clean of all
mind altering substances I had been using. Now I know that leaving drugs was
not the hard part the hard part was
learning how to live without them. At the
NA, I learned how to do that, I learned
from addicts who had gone through my
experience and who knew what I was facing. I continued to go to regular meetings,
I found a sponsor (mentor) who helped
me go through the 12 steps, the foundation of the NA program. These steps
helped me learn how addiction affected
me. They helped me face my past, my
great sense of guilt and shame because of
the life I used to live. They helped me get
my self-confidence back, take responsibility over my life, and become part of the
solution instead of being part of the problem. Helped by the NA, I managed to stay
clean in the same environment in which
I used to take drugs for so long. My life
today is completely different compared to
back then. Not only am I free from drugs,
but in some kind of miracle, I got every-
NA today is present in 129 countries of the world with more

around 68000 meetings a week. The NA has existed since 1953
and has 60 years of experience from thousands of dependent
persons who have managed to turn their failures into success
stories.
26
thing I wanted from the drugs, only after

I quit. The calmness I always looked for,
I now have inside me most of the time,
I am capable of being a father to an exceptional son, to be a brother, or a son
as needed. I can have integrity and pride
in myself, and not be ashamed to look at
people in their eyes.
I still go to NA meetings. I am still an
addict (who doesnt use anything) and I
am not ashamed of that, I am free to live
my life the way I want. I got all that at NA.
I am in Skopje now for an extended
period, and I would like to put forward the
message to those who are sick of taking
drugs, that it is possible to stop and live
without it. I hope that somebody will find
similarities between their lives and my
story and will come visit us on a meeting.
You dont have to be clean, everyone is
welcome.
A short description of the association:
Narcotics Anonymous is a non-profit association, or a group of men and women with
a serious drugs problem. We are addicts
who try to recover from the use of drug
and regularly meet to help each other in
order to stay clean. Many of us manage to
stop using any kind of drugs. Theres only
one condition for membership, and that is
the wish to stop taking drugs.
NA does not come with any strings attached. Our association is not affiliated to
any institution or organization, no membership is paid nor are there any notes or
minutes kept. Everyone can join us and all
members are completely equal.
NA today is present in 129 countries of
the world with more around 68000 meetings a week. The NA has existed since
1953 and has 60 years of experience from
thousands of dependent persons who
have managed to turn their failures into
P.S. Narcotics Anonymous is not the only organization that enables better life to addicts. Although we are independent and not affiliated to anybody, our intention is to
cooperate with other organizations in the field.
success stories.
Today in Skopje we have regular NA
meetings on which addicts, without any
therapists or experts present, share their
experiences, strengths and hopes. The
anonymity is the most important principle
in order to maintain the safety of members.
Call 077/810-208 or come to our meetings every Tuesday and Thursday at 18:30
and Saturday at 16:30 in Pajko Maalo
(Lawyers Street) no. 4, Skopje.
That night, I resolutely threw away everything I had and the next day, on 13 July 2001, was my first day
clean of all substances that had been changing my state of mind. Now I know that leaving drugs was not
the hard part the hard part was learning to live without it. At the NA I learned how to do that, I learned it
from addicts who had gone through my experience and who knew what I was facing.
27
Despina Stojanovska
WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY?
Psychologist,
psychotherapist.
Works for HOPS Healthy Options
Project Skopje, with a specialty for
treatment of marginalized communities and at the First Family Center
in the City of Skopje, as a psychotherapist of domestic violence victims. Uses transactional analysis in
her practice, an integrative psychotherapeutic approach.
Through my practice as a psychotherapist at the Centre for re-socialization and rehabilitation in HOPS - Healthy Options Project Skopje, I managed through separate cases,
to confirm that the destructive life script of people using drugs can change. The only
precondition is awareness of the person that it exists, what its content and processes
are, and the areas it affects.
28
www.hops.org.mk
One of the questions I use on my

psychotherapeutic sessions with people
whove used drugs in the past, is exactly
that: what makes you happy?
It is a seemingly simple question and
the answer should appear spontaneously,
with an obvious pleasure in the facial expression and it should encourage awareness of moments of happiness. But, people are often confused and dont know
what to say. Happiness is a leading force
in a persons success, it gives us the necessary power and motive to set objectives
and move on in life.
Encouraged by this insight, that people are not aware about the little things
that make them happy, and seek happiness in unrealistic objectives, I decided
to write about the unconscious plan that
drives us through everyday life.
Since early childhood, people are continuously exposed to various influences,
and they develop models of identification and early experiences which are the
basics for building a persons emotional
life, cognitive scheme, value system, but
also the image for oneself and the world
in which one lives. The influence of these
experiences may cause pleasant and unpleasant experiences that are then the basis for forming this unconscious life plan,
i.e. life script that drives people through
all aspects of living.
The life script may be constructive, destructive and boring, or winning, losing or
banal.
What does it mean to be a winner?
A winner is a person who achieves
everything s/he wishes for, and is happy
at the same time. Mistakes can happen,
but theres always a second plan. S/he is
aware that the true road is not the shortest road, but the one with the least barriers. In a winning script, a man achieves
the objectives he has set for himself, but
not doing any damage to oneself or others. When s/he reaches his aim he feels
happy and satisfied. Objectives may vary.
Somebody may set up to be rich, another
person will want to be lonely and isolated,
a third one will decide to become a famous artist etc. People who have this unconscious plan know how to keep it.
A loser life script
A loser life script is characteristic of
people who fail to reach their objective.
They unconsciously choose the hardest
road, with the most burdens. Regardless
whether they sometimes reach their purpose, the road itself is hard and the enjoyment of the success at the end is lacking.
Many people are not aware of their loser
script. When life becomes exceptionally
hard, they start complaining and seeking
ways to get out of it. Undertaking new activities and involving other people will help
them go through the negative aspects,
but it wont help them achieve genuine
satisfaction because they simply dont
know how thats done.
A banal life script
As opposed to the previous two, there
are people who live their lives without
wins or lose, uninterestingly and boringly,
i.e. they live their banal life script. Fearing
loses and tragedies, these people take no
activity to achieve happiness or pleasure,
but simply wait for the conditions and the
occasions to win. Regardless whether they
will live to see such conditions come alive,
they dont have the courage to make the
first step towards achieving their aims.
They may sometimes win, or sometimes
lose, but they will never feel the full pleasure of it, because they dont want to take
the risk if things go the wrong way.

Life scripts among people using
drugs
Most people have a mix of loser, winner
and banal elements in their own life script.
Decisions in childhood may be brought in
regards to work, then you are a winner, in
regards to personal contacts you can be
a loser, and in regards to bodily activities
you can be banal. That is why this analysis
through this psychological theory, will be
taken relatively because each individual
will have its own criteria for happiness.
Through my practice as a psychotherapist at the Centre for re-socialization and rehabilitation at the Association
HOPS Healthy Options Project Skopje,
I managed through different cases, to
confirm that the destructive script of people who use drugs can be changed. The
only precondition is the awareness of the
person that s/he exists, what that beings
contents and processes are, but also the
areas which it influences. In addition to
awareness, the individual should first
want to make a change because nobody
can change lest they wish to do so. In order to get out, you need new decisions,
specific skills and activities. It is exactly
the role of the therapist who works with
people who have used drugs in the past,
to change their level of awareness and
provide an appropriate manner of building
the persons new script. Although it often
happens that movement will often happen
will be moving from one loser script to another, banal to loser, or winner to loser, in
the process of rehabilitation, experience
has shown that through the analysis of
this unaware activity with the consistent
and proper support by an expert working
with the user, and his/her family, finally
can expect success, pleasure and happiness in several of lifes aspects.
People who have used drugs in the past often have the impression they are not happy and that they
are waging a difficult fight with life. Through conversation they manage to see that there truly is
a possibility to make a change and that they can make a strong step towards victory and authentic
pleasure.
29
Although my experience with the application of transactional analysis in working with people who used to use drugs is
relatively brief, I can offer specific examples, and among those who come regularly at scheduled meetings and actively
work on themselves, positive changes as
to coping with lifes challenges are already
visible.
As a psychotherapist it was very important for me to evaluate the aspects
that reveal a life script well. If a person
becomes aware that it has a winning script
on a certain field, it will help him apply
this successful strategy on other fields as
well. People who have used drugs in the
past often have the impression they are
not happy and that they are waging a difficult fight with life.Through conversation
they manage to see that there truly is a
possibility to make a change and that they
can make a strong step towards victory
and authentic pleasure.
People coming to the Center for rehabilitation and re-socialization, who have
used to use drugs, think of the banal life
script as a true attack on themselves.
Used to living in extremes, they see this
calm type of life as a survival, rather
than living, i.e. like an impatient awaiting
for the next phase. Choices in that next
phase can very soon turn to be a loser
script again, but it is exactly the job of the
psychotherapist to provide full support in
choosing positive decisions that will make
any damages neither to the person nor to
the environment.
as unachievable. The rehabilitation and

re-socialization process is in itself a winning step, but facing all the accompanying
temptations, make it seem difficult, hard,
unbearable, loser-like. At our psychotherapeutic sessions they themselves say
that they do not see the way out, but they
soon realize that this phase is easier to
bear if they actively face their life scripts
and define their aim clearly. My role as a
psychotherapist is to lead them through
the process of personal development
through awareness about the moments
when they destructively behave towards
themselves and the environment, but to
also make an adequate change in regards
to their loser life script.
it surely leads to a positive development,

strengthening own needs, living with authentic experiences of genuine satisfaction and personal development and most
importantly, achieving true personal happiness.
Final words
Life led by an unconscious life script
is a life with unnecessary limitations. A
change can come about in two ways: if a
cardinal change in the form of a tragedy
or a big stroke of luck happens, or if one
works on oneself through a continuous
process of psychotherapy through which
one would become aware about ones life
scripts with the support of an experienced
and dedicated psychotherapist.
The second road may be longer, but
Treating addiction or abstinence are

the phases in which people most usually
get the impression that they are losers.
Although they had made the first step to
get out of a destructive script, and think
of the positive result and the happiness
In order to get out, you need new decisions, specific skills

and activities. It is exactly the role of the therapist who
works with people who have used drugs in the past, to
change their level of awareness and provide an appropriate
manner of building the persons new script.
30
www.hops.org.mk
Life scripts in people using drugs
Story about a boy

Led by my need to learn more about the world of people using drugs,
I decided to buy some books on the topic, both non-fiction and fiction.
For that aim, I went to the woman selling old books on Macedonia
Square who was happy when I told her what I wanted this time. She
said:
- Can you believe that only yesterday a boy came and brought a whole
bunch of books exactly about drugs? He said he owned all of them.
- thats great! I said.
I looked through them, some ten books, and decided to buy them. I
was trying to decide which one I should start reading that night, and
finally made up my mind to start with the oldest edition. They were
pretty worn out, but that didnt matter. The book had been published
`88 and offered an excellent professional description for the drugs of
the time. I soon noticed that the previous reader underlines parts and
wrote his notes on the side. The parts on different drugs were underlined, and the experienced they offered.
I looked through the other books impatiently. In the other several
books he had underlined those paragraphs that referred to the effect
drug use has on the overall family, professional, emotional life, and
so on.
Then, in what I guessed were the books he read last, he had dedicated
most attention on how addiction can be cured and how can you help
with the re-socialization of the user.
I made an image in my mind about this boy. I dont know if its true, it
doesnt matter. Two questions remained open in my mind:
- Did he sell the books because he came to the end of that story,
and he didnt want to have anything to remind him to that period of his
life?! Or, was he losing the war on addiction, he was giving up, and
didnt need those books?!
Making a psychological analysis to a virtual character is not easy, even
impossible. But, in order to explain the function of our unconscious
drives, I tried to do this through this boy which somewhere really
existed.
Wishing to make a change in his life, and get out of his banal script
which wasnt attractive at all to him, the boy, completely accidentally,
enters a whole new world, a new life adventure in which happiness
and pleasure are a daily business. Searching after even more excitement, he loses sight of his aim while enjoying the trip. He socializes,
hangs out, goes out, informs himself through books what to take
and what hell feel next time. After some time he starts failing in other
fields. He understands that a person who is fulfilled in only one field,
while everything else is falling apart, is not a winner. His peers are in
a whole other film. While they are reading expert literature in various
university areas, he is reading how his life is going in an undefined
direction. That wasnt his purpose when he wanted to run away from
banality. The next step is an active work on himself, change of own
criteria for happiness, return of the lost and search for freedom.
I dont know if this works, but I hope that it does.
Finally, the possibility remains open that he sold his dear books for
goods.
31
Eleonora Chichevska
Paedagogical support of children with drug

using parents
Holds a BA and an MA in Paedagogy.
My mission as a pedagogue at the Step Forward centre was to decrease the harmful
effects from the family relations onto this child and to fight for his right to regular schooling, in order for him to develop into a complete person, as it is appropriate for a child in
a developed environment.
32
Pa e d a g o g y a n d s o c i a l l y m a r g i n a l i z e d c o m m u n i t i e s
Everybody is responsible for their lives,

but when we have a child our responsibilities grow. Thus, in addition to the responsibility for ourselves, we are also responsible for the proper psycho-physical
development of our child in the family and
in the environment where it lives.
My beginnings as a pedagogue were
at HOPS Healthy Options Project Skopje, more specifically within the Step forward Developing alternative programs
for sex workers and their families project.
This was a pilot project with the aim to
enable programs for continuous education
and qualification of sex workers and their
families. All activities foreseen by this project were realized at the Step Forward
center, which was available to all clients
who needed to use its services. Although
it lasted for only one year, it still left behind great successes, as well as possibilities for extending on what our mission and
objective were.
Through my working experience as a
pedagogue, I was able to learn about different life stories expressed through the
eyes of the children. Each child bore its
own hardships, which they unfortunarely
had to bear on their back. One such story
which touched as a human and awoke my
whole professionality as a pedagogue was
the story of a child which could not leave
a single person indifferent upon their first
meeting. I thought of his life story as an
endless sea, often stormy by what life
brought about. He lived with his parents,
both drug users, of which one was also
a sex worker. This was the reason why
the child could actively participate in the
services we offered at the Step Forward
centre. The child often faced situations
which could be a tough blow to take even
for an adult. Working with him I was able
to identify two elements that lacked appropriate care by his parents and holes
in his education, although I knew he had
gone to regular school. The misteriousness that came across from this childs
eyes, was a further urge to my enthusiasm. The only thing I was sure about was
that through play, as the most adequate
way of expressing a childs personality, I
could touch deep in his soul, even to the
most hidden parts where his most secretive wishes were kept.
Thanks to the games we played, I
managed to fully uncover the childs personality. However, the biggest question remained open how come the child didnt
go school, while the school year was ongoing.
Of course, because a minor was in
question, I first called the parent who answered some of my questions. The story
the parent told us was not easy to listen.
Days filled with uncertainty, struggling to
make ends meet, fear of what tomorrow
might bring. The reason the parent provided for why the child didnt go to school
was the distance between their home and
the school and the inability to take him
there and bring him back daily.
Although I, as a professional on one
hand, and the parent on the other, had
different position about the care for the
child, still we agreed that we must take
the child back to school.
All of us working on the Step forward
project the social worker, the pedagogue
and the psychologist, went to the school in
the hope to influence the moral and professional sides of employees there to bring
the child back into school. Initially, they
told us they were familiar with the whole
case, with the life story of the child. At the
first meeting, the kindness of the school
officials was more than we expected, or
the fact that we didnt announce our visit
created this impression. Our enthusiasm
and the motive to bring this case to a hap-
py ending increased even more. However,

once we told them why we came, their
smiles disappeared. After a short conversation of not more than 10 minutes, the
school came out with a position that according to their competences, they cannot
bring an independent and final decision
about this case which was why they had
to notify in writing the State Educational
Inspectorate and wait about their decision
whether this child can return to school or
not. The school failed to provide a clear
reason why the child couldnt go back to
school, which was why I started suspecting that the child might be discriminated
against because his parents were drug users. Time went mercilessly by. The doubt
that he will join his friends in class grew
from day to day. Several months passed
since our meeting with the school officials,
but we received no information or an answer. Although I often tried to reach them,
it was not easy to cooperate with them because they always had execuses not talk
to us. But, despite the many obstacles, we
persisted. We realized that the doors of
cooperation between us as an association,
and the school were slowly closing, which
was why we actively involved the parent,
to take the whole responsibility regarding
the case, while being fully supported by
us. After several requests to the school by
the parent, we were successful in our requests, and the child was to start going to
school next year.
It seemed that the schools officials
really had no responsibility over the reenrollment of the child, but if we take a
deeper look through the problems prism,
we will see hidden stigmatizing and discriminating attitudes towards the child,
because of his parents behavior. The
Law on primary education clearly states
that every child must be provided regular
schooling, and any discrimination on the
basis of gender, race, skin color, national,
social, political, religion, economic or so-
My beginnings as a pedagogue were at HOPS Healthy Options Project Skopje, more specifically
within the Step forward Developing alternative programs for sex workers and their families
project. This was a pilot project with the aim to enable programs for continuous education and
qualification of sex workers and their families.
33
cial reasons in realizing this right is strictly

forbidden. The employees at the school
seeked different excuses only to release
themselves from the responsibility they
had before themselves, and that was to
allow this child a proper childhood, to give
him equal access and treatment, although
his parents were drug users. Yes, drug
users, they have made such a choice in
their lives, but should their children be victims of the social system? Should children
of people using drugs be guilty of bearing the stigma from social institutions to
which their parents are exposed?
My mission as a pedagogue at the
Step Forward centre was to decrease
the harmful effects from the family relations onto this child and to fight for his
right to regular schooling, in order for him
to develop into a complete person, as it
is appropriate for a child in a developed
environment.
I helped the child daily to catch up
with the material his peers studied at
school. We played all those games which
he would usually play with them. It wasnt
difficult to be successful with this child,
because he really wanted to learn and
felt a great need to be with his friends
again. It was a great success for us that
we managed to influence our colleagues
at the school to take the child back to the
school the following school year. But, the
success would have been even grater had
there remained cooperation between us
and the school. Although the Step Forward project allowed not only this child,
but many other children enjoy their rights
and their childhood, still donor financing
was planned for only one year. However,
after the closing of the Step Forward
Centre I had several accidental meetings
with the child and his parent. During every
meeting, the parent told me smiling that
he was grateful for all we did for the child,
and that we managed to jointly help him
Although I, as a professional on one

hand, and the parent on the other,
had different position about the
care for the child, still we agreed
that we must take the child back to
school.
become a great pupil, not to lose his wish

to learn, despite the circumstances. All I
could say was: - I didnt do anything special. I did what I think every pedagogist
should do for his/her student!
I honestly hope that this story, of
which final epilogue I am not certain, will
make you think a bit more about whether
children should become victims of institutional weaknesses, and whether we, above
all as humans, and then as professionals,
should bear the guilty conscience for prematurely terminating the most beautiful
period of a childs life his childhood.
This is just one of the many cases in
which people asked for help at our centre,
but there are many others who didnt have
and will not get any help. This is exactly
why there is a need of opening more similar centres that will support parent from
socially marginalized communities, especially those at the edges of poverty. Let
us open our hands widely for those on the
margins, and touch the most vulnerable
groups in order to create better and easier
life for all.
The Law on primary education clearly states that every child must be provided
regular schooling, and any discrimination on the basis of gender, race, skin color,
national, social, political, religion, economic or social reasons in realizing this
right is strictly forbidden.
34
www.hops.org.mk
Irena Cvetkovikj and Anastas

Vangeli
GANJA CAN KILL YOU ONLY IF ALPHAS CATCH YOU
Old blogger dudes
In the past couple of days, at the beginning of the election campaign for presidential and
parliamentary elections, we witnessed a pompous police action called NETWORK which
was spectacularly announced and shown in the media, and the result from this action
was 5 grams marihuana, two joints and 300 seeds confiscated.
35
Some ten years ago, the then popular

blogger Vuna, in an exceptionally creative way, opened a burning question for
our society: how are people using drugs
treated by the Police. Namely, on his blog,
Vuna published a banner with the following content: Ganja kills you only if Alphas catch you. This visualized message
became a true hit not only in the virtual
world, but also in the physical by disseminating a sticker with the same content on
public spaces by young people who recognized the importance of this short, but
strong message.
After a long time, we asked Vuna
about his motivation, and he told us that
in that period (ca. 2006) there was a
trend of a police crackdown of people
who use marihuana recreationally, and
stories about police brutality during arrest or during extorting confessions at the
police stations, were often times heard.
That of course was not exceptional for
2006, there have been and will be such
periods. However, that period, at least for
me, it became a very visible and burning
problem. On top of all that, police raids
were accompanied with a public campaign
about the damaging effects of using marihuana (in the you could die from smoking weed line). On the other hand, the
consuming marihuana culture is endlessly
peaceful, and marihuana in comparison
to other drugs is by itself harmless. From
there the logic of the sticker, that smoking
weed will never do any damage by itself,
but if the police catches you, and if they

show their full face, then you are doomed
to have consequences Vuna told us.
The appearance of the banner corresponds in time to the appearance of the
Alphas who, according to Vuna, compared
to their predecessors (NTSU (abbr.: Unauthorized Trade and Smuggling Unit)) were
far more rigorous, but also more prone to
violence. I dont exactly remember, but
it was at that time that the case of Trajan Bekjirov happened (I think I made the
sticker just before that); however, that
was the period in which the Alphas were
sowing fear and panic on the streets of
Skopje says Vuna.
We witnessed a pompous police action
called NETWORK which was spectacularly
announced and shown in the media, and
the result from this action was 5 grams
marihuana, two joints and 300 seeds confiscated. The news awoke the social networks, and many young people asked the
legitimate question for misuse of people
who use drugs for defaming and criminalization during election campaigns. Remembering similar rhetoric from the past,
Vuna told us that even before making the
banner he wrote a text entitled Alphas
collect which was a critical overview towards the former government lead by the
Prime Minister Buchkovski and the Minister of Interior Dzango. The Police then
(and now) was boasting their efficacy (like
they are very tough for arresting children
with 0,1 gram on them), and Alphas were

praised to have particular merit in this. In
the background of all this was a system of
fear, repression and violence. remembers Vuna.
I think that in this period, my columns
opening these issues were positively received by activists and other concerned
parties, but there were also a lot of negative comments (for example, junkies are
asking for it). However, the sticker went
viral, especially in the blogosphere at the
time, and on several online forums; since
then, I have noticed it appear in social
media from time to time and Ive seen the
sticker on several places across the city.
It gave me real joy when a friend much
younger than me was showing me the
sticker the other day (look, man), and
wouldnt believe me when I told him I
was the author :-) ended Vuna, leaving
it on us to open the theme of police and
systemic brutality on people using drugs
again.
The appearance of the banner corresponds in

time to the appearance of the Alphas who, according to Vuna, compared to their predecessors
(NTSU (abbr.: Unauthorized Trade and Smuggling
Unit)) were far more rigorous, but also more prone
to violence.
36
Voskre Naumoska Ilieva
Conference: Availability of Hepatitis C treatment to

drug users in RM good practices and challenges
Program assistant for advocacy in

HOPS with seven-year experience
in providing and organizing services
for marginalized communities (sex
workers, drug users, LGBT).
www.hops.org.mk
37
addiction. As a main reason for this condition, health professionals state the risk
of possible re-infection which would mean
spending treatment money in vain.
From March 14th to March 16th, 2014

in Ohrid, with the support from FOOM,
HOPS organized a Conference on the topic
of Availability of Hepatitis C treatment to
drug users in the Republic of Macedonia
good practices and challenges. The conference was attended by representatives
of the PHI University clinic for gastro-entero-hepathology, PHI University Clinic for
Infective Diseases and Febrile Conditions,
units for infective diseases in general hospitals Kumanovo and Ohrid, the Foundation Open Society Macedonia, the associations: Zaedno posilni, Trust and
Hops Healthy Options Project Skopje
and the pharmaceutical companies Rosche Macedonia and MSD Schering
Plough Macedonia. For the development of the discussions, special contribution came from the guest-participants
from Georgia, Archil Talakvadze, deputy
Minister for Justice and Sanctioning of
Georgia and Paata Sabelashvili, Manager
of the Georgian Harm Reduction Network.
They presented their experiences of the
introduction of a Hepatitis C in prisons and
38
the reduction of price for Hepatitis C medicines for more than 50%.
In the focus of the Conferences discussions were issues for the improvement
of access and conditions for treatment of
Hepatitis C among people who use or who
have used drugs, and need such treatment. It was talked about the problems
of monitoring data related to the Hepatitis
C prevalence, related to the screening for
gaining better insight into the prevalence,
data about the number of people using
a Hepatitis C treatment, as well as nonreporting Hepatitis C cases.
According to behavioral research carried so far among drug users, around 75%
of the tested active drug users who inject
drugs are HCV positive.
On the other hand, theres a barrier
for treating Hepatitis C for active injecting
drug users, a precondition which requires
users to have abstained from drugs for at
least 12 months or to be in treatment for
Despite the general consensus about

the lack of data, existing information indicate that active injecting drug users are
an important community when it comes to
prevention of Hepatitis C which is why
we should look for the ways in which they
should be included in the treatment. This
question caused heated discussion and opposed positions among participants. Part
of the health professionals were against
the inclusion of active drug injecting users
because of the risk of re-infection. Part of
the participants thought that they should
be included in treatment because that way
you not only treat people with Hepatitis
C, but this is also prevention from spread.
In such situation one can conclude that
the treatment of active drug substances
who inject is not only a question of choice
and a decision from the health institution,
but a public health issue that needs to be
discussed by all concerned parties and to
reach a common solution.
One of the major challenges discussed
was regarding the high treating expenses,
on the one hand, and the limited budget
of clinics, on the other side. What is important at the beginning, is the recognition of the problem with Hepatitis C as a
public health and human rights problem.
This approach would focus on assessment
of the health of communities most at risk,
in order to identify health problems and
priorities, in order to create public policies
for the improvement of health problems
and priorities and to enable equal treatment of all by providing a cost effective
medical care. In that direction, it is necessary to improve the cooperation of all
stakeholders (health institutions, the Ministry of Health, Health Insurance Fund, patients, drug users and civil organizations),
Events
in order to improve the coordination from

whence the creation of a national prevention strategy, treatment strategy and
strategy for Hepatitis C care could start.
Additionally, efforts should be made to decrease the cost of Hepatitis C treatment,
which may be achieved through negotiations with all stakeholders (Ministry of
health, Health Insurance Fund, Clinic for
infective disease and febrile conditions,
Clinic for gastro-entero-hepatology, patients, associations of citizens, as well as
pharmaceutical companies). The decrease
of the prices of Hepatitis C treatment will
increase the treatment inclusion of people
with Hepatitis C, which is the final aim of
each health policy.
At the end, it was pointed out the need
for psycho-social support of people on
treatment for Hepatitis C, above all, due
to the length of the treatment and motivation for persistence on treatment, but also
due to the increased risk of depression as
a counter-indication from the same treatment for Hepatitis C. In that direction,
we also discussed the need for support

of health professionals and treatment of
Hepatitis C by associations of citizens that
enable psychosocial support of HCV positive people.
HOPS Healthy Options Project Skopje has been working in the field of drugs
harm reduction for 17 years now, and includes activities for prevention of Hepatitis C, but also support to Hepatitis C positive people in treatment access. Having
in mind the challenges which drug users
face when approaching health institutions
in the treatment of Hepatitis C, two years
ago HOPS started activities for raising the
question of Hepatitis C treatment especially to drug users. Part of these activities
was the Conference.
39
Recently banned substances in the category

of opioid drugs and psychotropic substances
As the Ministry of Interior reports, the Inter-Departmental Committee on Drugs of the Republic of Macedonia, in
March 2014 brought a decision to ban 15 new substances and to classify them on the list of opioid drugs and psychotropic substances. This bans their production, possession, purchase and use.
Below is the list of banned substances published in Official Gazette no. 56, from 27.03.2014.
International name
of psychotropic substance
25I-NBOMe
AH-7921
MDPV
Methoxetamine
5-
4-
Chemical name
(IUPAC)
2-(4-iodo-2,5dimethoxyphenyl)-N-[(2-ethoxyphenyl)methyl]ethanainine
C18H22INO3
Other unprotected name
2C-I-NBOMe, Cimbi-5,
Wizard, Medication
Psychedelic drug
AH-7921, dohylan.
Narcoleptic analgesic with high addiction potential,

around 80% of the power of morphine
3, 4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone
C16 H21 NO3
Explosion, Blow, Recharge

plant food, bath salts,
research chemicals
Stimulates the central nervous system similarly to

cocaine, amphetamines, MDMA, from the class of
katinomes
2-(3-methoxyphenyl)-2(ethylamino)cyclohexanone
C15 H21 NO2
MXM Mexxy, M-ket

MEX, Kmax, Special
M, MA, legal ketamine,
Minx, Jipper, Roflcoptr
3,4-dichloro-N[[1-dimethylamino) cyclohexyi] methylbenzamide

C16 H22 CI2 N2O
5-(2-aminopropyl) indole
1-(1H-indol-5-y1) propan2-amine
C11H12N
1-(4-methylpheny1)propan2-amine
1-(4-methylpheny1)2-aminopropane
4-methylamphetamine
Alternative to ketamine
analgesic, anesthesiac, halucination,
Benzo Fury
Stimulates the central nervous system
PTAP, PAL-313, 4-MeA PmeA

4-MA; Aptrol;
Ephedra stimulating type (described by users,

with physical and psychological effects) paranoia,
hallucinations, anxiety, depression, Anorexic drugs
(appetite suppressant)
Stimulates the central nervous system from class of
katinones and amphetamines
Mephedrone
4-methylmethcathinone
C11 H21 NO
4-MMC, MCAT, Meow Meow
BZP
1-benzylpiperazine
C11 H16 N2
herbal high,
mCPP
1-)3-chlorophenyl)piperazine
C10H13CIN2
X4, duhovka, rainbow,

Rolls Royce, smarties
40
Effects
www.hops.org.mk
,

()
Stimulance
Recently banned substances in the category of opioid drugs and psychotropic substances
International name
of psychotropic substance
Chemical name
(IUPAC)
Other unprotected name
Effects
2C-I
2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine
Hallucinogenic, psychedelic and stimulating

action
2C-T-2
2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethylthiophenethylamine
Hallucinogenic and stimulating action Derivative

of amphetamine
2C-T-7
2,5-dimethoxy-4-(n)propylthiophenethylamine

of amphetamine
TMA-2
2,4,5-trimethoxyamphetamine

amphetamine
4-MTA
P-Methylthioamphetamine
4-Methylthioamphetamine
Stimulating. Derivative of amphetamine
Paramethoxymethylamphetamine
N-methyl-l-(4-methoxyphenyl)2-aminopropane
Stimulating. Amphetamine analogue, similar in

structure, but differing in elementary composition
PMMA
More information on:

http://moi.gov.mk
41
WE RECOMMEND:
High Price: A Neuroscientists
Journey of Self-Discovery That
Challenges Everything You
Know About Drugs and Society
High Priceis the harrowing and inspiring memoir of neuroscientist Carl Hart, a man
who grew up in one of Miamis toughest neighborhoods and, determined to make a
difference as an adult, tirelessly applies his scientific training to help save real lives.
Young Carl didnt see the value of school, studying just enough to keep him on
the basketball team. Today, he is a cutting-edge neuroscientistColumbia Universitys
first tenured African American professor in the scienceswhose landmark, controversial research is redefining our understanding of addiction.
In this provocative and eye-opening memoir, Dr. Carl Hart recalls his journey of
self-discovery, how he escaped a life of crime and drugs and avoided becoming one of
the crack addicts he now studies. Interweaving past and present, Hart goes beyond
the hype as he examines the relationship between drugs and pleasure, choice, and
motivation, both in the brain and in society. His findings shed new light on common
ideas about race, poverty, and drugs, and explain why current policies are failing.
Latest poblications about drugs:
42
www.hops.org.mk
On 03.04.2014, the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Macedonia informed that the presence of a new
type of drug has been found in Macedonia, known as Methylenedioxypyrovalerone, abbreviated with MDPV.
Some of the street names of this drug
are bath salts, blow, research
chemicals, explosion. The department for controlled substances within
the MOI classified MDPV as a synthetic version of cocaine, after which an
immediate procedure for prevention
of this substance was started and on
27.03.2014, with a notice in the Official Gazette of RM, it was registered
as an opioid drug of the first category.
The separation of Crimea from Ukraine

and its joining to Russia threatens
to negatively affect the treatment
of opioid dependent people there,
i.e. to terminate the distribution of
methadone and buprenorphine. Due
to blocked land roads to the Crimea
and Ukraine, but also due to Russias
conservative drugs policies, addiction
treatment centers may remain without access to the pharmacotherapy
necessary for the treatment for treating opioid addictions.
From March 14 to 16 2014, in Ohrid

a Conference was held on the topic
of Availability of Hepatitis C treatment to drug users in the Republic
of Macedonia good practices and
challenges. In the focus of the Conferences discussions were issues
related to the improvement of the
access and conditions for treatment
of Hepatitis C in people using drugs,
and who have the need for such
treatment. Representatives from
the public health sector, the private
health sector and the civil society
participated. The discussions were
supported by guest participants
Archil Talakvadze, deputy Justice
Minister of Georgia, and Paata Sabelashvili from the Georgian Harm
Reduction Network. The conference
was organized by HOPS Healthy
Options Project Skopje.
BRIEF NEWS
New Zealand is the first country in

the world that has legally regulated
the production, sales and use of new
psychoactive substances (designer
drugs). From July 2013, all producers of new psychoactive substances
who will prove that their products are
harmless for the health and lives of
their users, with a permit from the
Government, may sell them freely in
specialized stores. According to experiences so far, this policy enables
easier market control and protection
of the health of the users of these
new psychoactive substances.
On 26.03.2014, the District Court of

Lovech, Bulgaria, brought a liberating verdict for a person who has
been charged for the possession and
growth of medical marihuana. Key to
the liberating verdict was the Report
from the triple expertise committee
which confirmed that the marihuana
helped the now free person cope with
his multiple sclerosis symptoms. This
is the first liberating verdict in such a
case in Bulgaria, but there is a larger
probability that in the future it will apply to other cases.
The Uruguay president Jose Mujika

has been nominated for this years
Nobel Peace Prize for the legalization
of cannabis. The nomination was supported by his political party Frente
Amplio, from the Drugs Peace Institute, PlantaTuPlanta association and
the Latin American Coalition of Cannabis Activists. Uruguay legalized cannabis in December 2013.
Friends:
Year II, Issue 2, June 2014
Student organization
43
www.hops.org.mk
http://supportdontpunish.org
Supported by:
HOPS
Healthy Options Project Skopje
CSHRMC
The Coalition Sexual and

Health Rights of Marginalized
Communities
(Open Society Foundations)

Drugs - Policies and Practices

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DRUGS POLICIES AND PRACTICES

Year II, Issue 2, June 2014, ISSN 1857-8926, Free issue

Drugs and Law

Interview: Jaka Bitenc, Slovenia

Legal regulations concerning drugs

Drugs Policies and Practices

The death of the actor

ISSN 1857- 8926

Slovenian Social Cannabis Club SSCC

Drug policies and legislation in Southeast Europe

Are you in control?????!

I love drugs, but I hate its consequences!

What makes you happy?

Pedagogical support for children with drug using parents

Ganja can kill you, only if Alphas catch you

Conference: Availability of the Hepatitis C for

Recently banned substances in the category of

Latest publications about drugs

Drugs Policies and Practices is

The death of the actor

Legal regulations concerning drugs

Pursuing a Masters degree in social policy, has a thirtheen years of

Are laws within the interest of citizens?

Having in mind that drug use can cause

Evidence shows that penal measures

A huge revenue-generating black

of drugs. In 2013, Uruguay went a step

to treatment and re-socialization etc.

drogi - politiki i praktiki

1. Do you consider drug possession exceptionally for personal use should be

Are laws within the interest of citizens?

At the question about legalization of

The same two questions were posed

to CNN, were pro marihuana legalization.

paigns happened promoting the legalization of marihuana, the most intensive

This is a huge difference in comparison

drogi - politiki i praktiki

Are laws within the interest of citizens?

Ethical and social dilemmas of criminalization

are stigmatized, decriminalized etc. There

I believe that all of us who professionally

Having in mind all the seriousness of

SLOVENIAN CANNABIS SOCIAL CLUB (SKSK)

I am an activist, a father, a human,

INTERVIEW WITH JAKA BITENC,

- (Slovenia Cannabis Social Club - SKSK), a K

Interview with Jaka Bitenc (SKSK)

Who are you? What are you doing? What

The aim of the club is to help medical

The public opinion has changed a lot

give lectures on cannabis history and

The hash (cannabis) oil, that we do,

What is the main goal of SKSK?

Can you emphasize some positive examples of medical cannabis use?

What is your membership policy and how

Cannabis is proven to heal 105 diseases, meaning all autoimmune diseases.

Members of our club are only medical

as soon as the diagnosys has been made.

Cannabis heals, trust nature! Jaka Bitenc

Drug policy and drug legislation in South

Director of Diogenis Association

drogi - politiki i praktiki

In 2012 Diogenis Association took the