Why Are We Having This Special Day?

International Remembrance Day:

July 21st is internationally recognised and commemorated as a day to remember those who have died as a direct or indirect result of drug use and/or misguided drug policies.

For the first time in the UK, an event will be held in order to mark this special day giving drug users, their families, their friends and those who work with them in the drugs field, an opportunity to come together and remember those who have died and stand in solidarity and unity with thousands of others across the globe. In countries all over the world, drug users are coming together to claim their right to speak about the ways in which drug policies impact on their lives and sadly on their deaths. Countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Australia, Canada and the UK will be holding various memorial, political and grassroot events, all focussing on remembering the thousands of drug related deaths and the desperate need to find solutions to turn the tide away from criminalisation and degradation towards more humane global and national drug policies.

In the UK we aim to pay tribute to the memory of our peers, many of whose deaths remain statistics often with no recognition or celebration of their lives and no opportunity for their friends or loved ones in the drug using community to take part in their funerals.

To give an opportunity for others to grieve where they may not have had that chance, or were actively excluded or discouraged from the mourning process. To allow other drug and alcohol users a moment to remember those who have died alongside them. Those deaths that sometimes occur right in front of our very eyes, they may have happened from the very same syringe, the same bag of gear, the same bottle of pills, that we stood there holding. We may have tried desperately, frantically to bring them back to life, or we may have run away in fear, traumatised or afraid of what lay ahead. We recognise that these deaths are often unnecessary, that through better policy and education, options not criminalisation, lives could be saved.

While drug users are amongst the most stigmatised, marginalised and isolated people in society today, their deaths can touch everyone. Too often parents and families are unable to talk freely about the loss of their child from drugs due to the intense stigma, shame and guilt. July 21st will be a day where family and friends can celebrate the lives of the loved ones they've lost, console each other, understand and pay tribute together.

Every life lost is a reminder of lost opportunities, and of the despair and anguish suffered by those that have been pushed to the margins of our society. On july 21st we will create a peaceful environment for everyone to remember – in public or in private, those we have lost.

 

Nothing About Us Without Us

Recent years have seen huge efforts from within the drug using community to raise awareness around the issues of overdose, providing training, literature, peer support and education and further efforts will continue to be made across the country in years to come. There is clearly much to do if we are to stem the tide of lives lost in the war on drugs. The drug using community has been fighting hard on international, national and local levels to ensure we are directly involved in the decisions and policies that will affect our lives. We are work ing alongside policymakers, health professionals, community groups and international bodies such as International Harm Reduction Association, WHO and United Nations in order to spread the message of direct user involvement. There should be no strategies planned that will affect the lives of drug users and their families, without us being directly involved - from the concept to the implemention of policies, projects or strategies. There will be no solution to the drugs issue unless drug users themselves are seen s part of the solution – and not just the problem.

 

The statistics:

According to the most recent figures we have from the Office of National Statistics, in 2006, 1782 male and 788 female drug related deaths were recorded in England and Wales. Most of them will have been unnecessary. Most of them a direct or indirect result of drug laws that criminalise and the war on drugs. Drug Law reform is essential to save more lives .Provision of supervised drug consumption rooms for the homeless populations, more outlets for clean syringes sterile drugs paraphernalia and better training for needle exchange staff, better access to psychosocial support mechanisms and drug treatment options, more beds in rehabs and detoxes for men, women and their children, more opportunities for exits out of drug dependence are all necessary.

The day will also draw attention to and remember those who are languishing in prisons, dying from infections and violence, or waiting for state sanctioned executions in one of the 33 countries globally that still carry out the death penalty for drug offenses, each of whom share no consensus as to what type of drug offense constitutes ‘a serious crime' (and thus the death penalty) as defined by the United Nations.

Almost every single drug user will know at least one person who has died a drug related death, many will know a dozen or more. Overdose (mostly accidental), suicide, infection, violence and manslaughter are many of the reasons why people die.

Rates of infection from HIV and HCV are claiming ever more lives with the figures for both viruses, increasing every year. Yet provision of needle exchange programmes remains patchy, training inadequate, often not reflecting the rapidly changing needs of the drug using community. The homeless population, many of whom suffer mental health and drug problems continue to bear the brunt of inflexible drug treatment provision, misguided drug policies, and mental health services that shy away from those with complex needs.

The day is being organised by Black Poppy and Lambeth Service User Council. It will held on the 21 st July 2008 in Kennington Park at 2-4pm .

We aim to raise awareness around :

The intense stigma that surrounds drug use drives people deeper into their addiction and isolates them further from society. We believe we will never fully begin to address the problems that drugs cause drug users and the community until we tackle the ignorance, stereotyping and stigma that faces those who use drugs.

Drug Consumption Rooms : Over 70 currently exist in Europe and Australia , saving the lives of hundreds of people, often the most vulnerable, those who are homeless who may otherwise be injecting outdoors and in doorways, providing access to clean and safe drug consumption environments, with medical professionals on hand, and support, signposting and referrals to drug treatment immediately on hand. We believe Britain needs to accept the overwhelming evidence that supports the existence of the rooms.

Overdose Awareness: The need for peer led training, training on overdose prevention for families and friends of drug users, better understanding/awareness from the medical/ambulance profession around treating drug related overdoses.