Lebanese Group Using New Policy Platform to Advocate for More Humane Drug Law

In 1998, Lebanon revised its drug law, decriminalizing drug addiction and treating it as a public health issue, a first step toward viewing addiction as a social and health problem. But in the years since, judges and civil society representatives have found shortcomings in the statute, which they say include a lack of access to healthcare and a tendency to ignore drug users’ civil rights.

As they advocate for change, they complain that the government is too focused on geopolitical and regional issues and doesn’t pay enough attention to drug use and other domestic policy concerns such as equal access for the disabled, urban planning and animal welfare.

Tired of waiting for government action, civil society organizations across Lebanon have begun advocacy campaigns of their own. On the drug issue, Skoun, a coalition of community and medical organizations receiving support from NDI, has begun pushing for better implementation of the 1998 law and for medical facilities and social services to be in place to address the needs of substance users.

To support Skoun and many of the other Lebanese nongovernmental organizations seeking solutions to domestic policy problems, NDI created the Public Policy Initiative (PPI), which helps groups share information, tactics and successes, and works with them to research and create solutions to Lebanon’s most pressing issues.

As part of that effort, PPI launched PolicyLebanon.org, a “one stop shop” for civil society groups looking for data and like-minded partners. Resources on the site range from academic papers to reports and studies from international and local organizations. Users include Lebanese researchers, civic groups, the media and citizens hoping to find out more information about domestic issues they have an interest in.

PolicyLebanon.org also hosts the Public Policy Forum, a series of debates and discussions that looks at domestic policy issues from a range of viewpoints. In front of a live audience, guests from the public and private sectors debate issues pertinent to the daily lives of citizens. The debates are in a town hall format, with citizens asking questions and interacting with guests. The next Public Policy Forum will debate ways to improve drug policy, with Skoun members presenting their ideas and getting feedback and support from the audience.

With the support of the PPI, Skoun is pressing its advocacy work for a more humane drug law, meeting with key lawmakers to get their feedback and support. The group is also distributing its information in communities across the country and hopes to introduce a bill in parliament in the near future.

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Published Oct. 19, 2011.