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A 1995 Update on the Swedish Experience
From:
http://www.pantless.com/~pdxnorml/Update_Swedish_Experience_1995.html
A serendipitous postscript to "The Swedish Experience",
Chapter 39 of _The Consumers Union Report on Licit & Illicit Drugs_.
A 1995 Update on the Swedish Experience
To: philsmth@teleport.com
From: john.yates@bobo.pp.fi (John Yates)
Subject: Re: Swedish narcofascism
I was surprised to hear that you didn't know about Sweden. I've
included an article I wrote about Sweden and posted in various
newsgroups ( not always in the same form ). If there's anyone who
can make any use of it, please pass it along. Feel free to use it
in any way you want.
John
_Swedish Narconazis Threaten European Liberalisation_
Sweden is often thought of as a permissive and tolerant country
and the average Swede as sophisticated and broad minded. This was
true once, but Sweden has gone through a radical and unpleasant
transformation over the last 20 years and is now the most intolerant
and repressive country in Europe. The once famous open minded
sophistication has given way to ignorant narrow minded prejudice
and the average Swede is as likely to be permissive as any right
wing arch conservative from the American deep south.
I lived in Sweden in the late 60's and there was a pretty good
scene there then. Stockholm was like one big love-in, beautiful
people and good vibes everywhere. Swedes were fun loving and
non-judgmental, the mood of the times being 'if you like it,
do it as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else'. The main park in
Stockholm, Kungstradgarden, was full of Hippies and pot was
available everywhere. Although cannabis was illegal, the official
attitude was one of tolerant acceptance. The atmosphere was cool
and the police were friendly. It was very similar to Holland and
it was sometimes hard to tell if you were in the Vondelpark in
Amsterdam or in the Kungstradgarden in Stockholm.
Unfortunately things changed for the worst during the seventies.
An extreme prohibitionist movement, the RNS 'Riksforbundet
Narkotikafritt Samhalle' (National Union for a Narcotics Free
Society) had a few members well connected in the government and
police who managed to engineer a narcotics scare. There was
crackdown on the open scene masterminded by RNS sympathisers within
the police, who saw the chance of increasing their own power and
importance, together with a scare campaign in the media led by the
few RNS sympathisers in the government. They were very successful.
Within a very short time Sweden had changed completely. The
hysteria whipped up in the media had created an atmosphere where
no politician who wanted his career to continue dared oppose the
RNS fanatics and the police hard-liners were duly rewarded with
more power and influence as the politicians competed with each
other to show who was  the most 'hard on drugs'.  
The anti drug laws have got progressively more severe over the
years and are now the hardest in Europe. Sweden is the only
country in Europe where drug use is criminalised and punishable
by a prison sentence. Passing a joint counts as trafficking and
carries a mandatory prison sentence and drug violations are
regularly given harsher sentences than other crimes, including
crimes of violence. 
Today Sweden is entirely dominated by the RNS. The media regularly
run the most incredible horror stories about narcotics, especially
cannabis, which they have singled out as one of the most
dangerous of drugs. The authorities have a monopoly on information
and there is no dissent. The situation is similar to that in the
USA during the Macarthyite anti-Communist hysteria of the 1950's.
It would be professional suicide for anyone in an official
position to question the RNS publicly. And of course, no one ever
does.
Someone who once tried to is Lief Lenke, lecturer in Criminology
at Stockholm University. What happened as a result is described in
his own words in the Swedish newspaper 'Dagens Nyheter' 26.4.95:
"At a conference organised by the 'Folkhalsoinstitutet' ( National
Health Authority ) I dared to raise a few questions - if it is
credible to assert that cannabis is as dangerous as heroin, and if
it is reasonable for Sweden to refuse to distribute clean syringes
to drug addicts when even the WHO recommends it - there was
immediately a tremendous uproar. People whistled, shouted and
interrupted, I was called a 'legaliser'. I had previously been
invited to speak on European narcotics policy at a meeting of
Swedens Social Workers. They telephoned to say they had received
certain information about me and had chosen another speaker. The
Social Services Department informed me that I could no longer be
Sweden's representative on the Council of Europe comittee for
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