‘We realised we needed a new approach’: Government and law enforcement perspectives on the implementation and future of the drug decriminalisation policy in vietnam

Hai Thanh Luong,Luc Trong Hoang,Toan Quang Le,Tuan Anh Hoang,Mai Thanh Vu,Huyen Quang Tran,Nicholas Thomson

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102990

Abstract

In 2009, Vietnam officially decriminalised drug use through amendments to the criminal law. The amendments outlined explicitly that illicit drug use would be seen as an administrative violation, but not a criminal offence. This legal transition has not been without implementation challenges, and police particularly have struggled to find a balance between drug law enforcement and decriminalisation. Despite being a health-orientated drug policy amendment, in practice it allows police to send suspected drug users to compulsory treatment centres without judicial oversight and people who use drugs continue to face challenges in their interface with law enforcement which can negatively impact access to harm reduction and community-based treatment programs. Using policy desk research combined with indepth interviews with 14 key informants from people representing a range of relevant Vietnamese government (n = 10) and non-government agencies (n = 4), this paper explores some insights and considerations into how decriminalisation of drug use in the amended law was implemented. We explore key informant perspectives into how the decriminalisation amendment could be implemented more effectively in order to improve health outcomes for people who use drugs in Vietnam through re-envisioned police protocols and practices. Findings show that while decriminalising drug use in Vietnam was designed as a progressive and health-orientated drug policy, the ongoing disconnect between the health intent of the policy and the police-led oversight of its implementation in the community persists. Part of this disconnect is explained by the lack of training and clear protocols that would enhance the police in their ability to contribute to the health intent of the policy rather than continue to view drug use through a drug law enforcement only lens. The paper calls for further collaboration across policing and the health and community-based organisations delivering services for people who use drugs. We suggest that through developing a deeper understanding of the interplay between policing and the implementation of harm reduction policy and programs, decriminalisation can co-exist within a broader and deeply entrenched drug control strategy in Vietnam.

Highlights

The implementation of the Renovation Period (Doi Moi in Vietnamese) designed to drive economic reform and improve social and economic prospects for the country in 1980s was accompanied by significant increase the use of heroin in Vietnam
While most interviewees recognised that decriminalizing drug use in Vietnam was designed as a a progressive and health-oriented drug policy, many participants acknowledged the ongoing disconnect between the health intent of the policy and the police-led oversight of its implementation in the community
Since the inception of the amended law there has been very little review and analyses of its implementation progress and its challenges. This is the first study to review and assess the progress of decriminalizing drug use since the policy intervention in 2009 with a specific focus on the perceptions of the policy for Vietnam’s drug control in policing. It discusses insights and considerations from government, law enforcement officials and civil society organisations to develop a deeper understanding of how harm reduction interventions – including decriminalisation – can co-exist within a broader and entrenched drug control strategy in Vietnam

Summary

Introduction

The implementation of the Renovation Period (Doi Moi in Vietnamese) designed to drive economic reform and improve social and economic prospects for the country in 1980s was accompanied by significant increase the use of heroin in Vietnam. The high prevalence of HIV among people who injected drugs led to the formalisation of the harm reduction law introduced in 2008 to prevent and control HIV/AIDS through propaganda, mobilization and encouragement of the use of condoms, clean syringes and needles, treatment of opiate dependence through access to methadone and other harm reduction intervention measures [3]. The amendments outlined that drug use would be seen as an administrative sanction, but not a criminal offence This legal transition has not been without its implementation challenges and police are have struggled to balance their role between drug law enforcement and decriminalisation. Despite being a health-orientated drug policy amendment, in practice it has meant that police can send suspected drug users to compulsory treatment centres without judicial oversight and people who use drugs continue to face challenges in their interface with law enforcement which can negatively impact access to harm reduction and community-based treatment programs.

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Results

Conclusion