ÿþ1 00:00:43,576 --> 00:00:47,514 Gadejuristen - The Danish Street Lawyers 2 00:00:47,881 --> 00:00:52,185 My name is Nanna Gotfredsen and I am a street lawyer in Copenhagen. 3 00:00:52,352 --> 00:00:55,288 We are at the open drug scene right now. 4 00:00:58,825 --> 00:01:02,162 It s just behind the main station in Copenhagen 5 00:01:02,195 --> 00:01:07,200 and we have had an open drug scene here for 30 years 25 or 30 years. 6 00:01:09,869 --> 00:01:12,972 What we are doing here with our bike is that we are 7 00:01:13,039 --> 00:01:18,078 sending out a legal team providing users, homeless people, 8 00:01:18,078 --> 00:01:23,349 and outdoor sex workers with legal advice and legal assistance. 9 00:01:25,218 --> 00:01:40,266 It s the package: Pump, filter, water, injection needle. 10 00:01:40,633 --> 00:01:44,871 We have several kinds of needles that we can offer. 11 00:01:44,904 --> 00:01:48,842 If you don t use these, then we have some bigger ones 12 00:01:49,109 --> 00:01:52,212 and we also have a pump that is bigger. 13 00:01:52,645 --> 00:01:56,316 But this is what you have in the ordinary set here 14 00:01:56,382 --> 00:02:00,920 and also alcohol cleaner. 15 00:02:01,287 --> 00:02:09,696 And this is a J-Key card. Information for safer injection. 16 00:02:09,696 --> 00:02:16,369 This is a question and then you have the answer on the other side. 17 00:02:21,141 --> 00:02:23,376 There is not doubt that law enforcement 18 00:02:23,376 --> 00:02:28,148 cannot prevent people from using drugs. 19 00:02:28,181 --> 00:02:33,086 Using drugs has other reasons than 20 00:02:33,186 --> 00:02:36,389 whether it is criminalised or not. 21 00:02:40,293 --> 00:02:46,533 When the police is targeting the open drug scenes 22 00:02:46,599 --> 00:02:49,869 you can only make it worse for drug users. 23 00:02:50,403 --> 00:02:52,739 They are fighting so hard to stay alive 24 00:02:52,772 --> 00:02:55,842 and we can see that from the constantly high 25 00:02:55,875 --> 00:02:59,913 death rate in Denmark 26 00:03:03,116 --> 00:03:05,084 This is our office  The street lawyer. 27 00:03:05,618 --> 00:03:10,256 Drug users, homeless people and all of them are here with us. 28 00:03:10,323 --> 00:03:13,526 We can be like 30 or 40 people up here, 29 00:03:13,593 --> 00:03:16,162 and so we would like some more space. 30 00:03:16,229 --> 00:03:20,233 Homeless people are having their clothes and things 31 00:03:20,266 --> 00:03:22,969 and papers and things like that in the office. 32 00:03:23,102 --> 00:03:26,539 We have just a very small internet café. 33 00:03:27,073 --> 00:03:30,577 This is the map that the police is using. 34 00:03:30,677 --> 00:03:36,216 We have 14 no-go zones and when you are banned 35 00:03:36,216 --> 00:03:39,085 - it is only drug users and homeless people 36 00:03:39,152 --> 00:03:41,120 who are banned from being in these zones - 37 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:46,759 it will cost about 100 euros every time you are in these areas. 38 00:03:46,993 --> 00:03:53,032 We have the main station here and the church is here, and here 39 00:03:53,032 --> 00:03:58,938 in an overlap of 3 no-go zones we have the needle exchange program. 40 00:03:58,972 --> 00:04:01,274 So what is the message you are sending? 41 00:04:01,307 --> 00:04:08,248 It is  do you want a fine or HIV? Pick yourself. 42 00:04:08,514 --> 00:04:12,051  Fixerum means  user room or injection room 43 00:04:12,986 --> 00:04:18,591 and that is from Vancouver in 2004 and it is still like that. 44 00:04:18,658 --> 00:04:24,998 And this is 2 huge garbage disposers in Copenhagen 45 00:04:24,998 --> 00:04:29,168 where users are injecting and using their drugs 46 00:04:29,202 --> 00:04:31,304 because we don t have injections rooms. 47 00:04:31,337 --> 00:04:34,274 Actually it is explaining the choice& 48 00:04:34,307 --> 00:04:35,575 what choice do we have? 49 00:04:35,675 --> 00:04:39,479 We cannot choose that people are not using. 50 00:04:39,512 --> 00:04:42,682 We cannot choose a drug-free society  that s an illusion. 51 00:04:42,815 --> 00:04:47,153 But we can chose  do we want them to inject like this? 52 00:04:47,186 --> 00:04:49,589 With nurses and safety? 53 00:04:49,789 --> 00:04:56,629 Or do we want them to inject like this? That s our choice. 54 00:05:06,873 --> 00:05:10,476 We ve had the discussion about injection rooms as well 55 00:05:10,543 --> 00:05:13,246 for about 15 years in this country. 56 00:05:13,413 --> 00:05:16,449 The majority of our politicians still find that 57 00:05:16,449 --> 00:05:22,689 establishing safer injecting facilities is too controversial. 58 00:05:22,789 --> 00:05:27,060 It is characterised by legalising drugs. 59 00:05:26,993 --> 00:05:32,565 So people still have to use around here on the open drug scene, 60 00:05:32,598 --> 00:05:38,604 in our back yards and they are put at great risk for overdose, 61 00:05:38,604 --> 00:05:44,344 infections and amputation because of that. 62 00:05:44,844 --> 00:05:50,750 I also speak in favour of what you can call injection rooms 63 00:05:50,850 --> 00:05:57,056 where you can go inside and take your illegal drugs, 64 00:05:57,090 --> 00:06:02,929 get clean needles, and also get access to healthcare 65 00:06:02,929 --> 00:06:08,901 if you have any diseases or have been infected or have anything& 66 00:06:09,001 --> 00:06:11,771 that you can get help in these places 67 00:06:11,771 --> 00:06:13,940 and also take your drugs in a safe place, 68 00:06:14,006 --> 00:06:16,609 so that we don t have people lying around 69 00:06:16,743 --> 00:06:19,912 for instance taking an overdose outside 70 00:06:20,012 --> 00:06:22,715 in the cold weather or during the winter 71 00:06:23,116 --> 00:06:27,086 If you have a safe injection facility, 72 00:06:27,186 --> 00:06:31,257 we hope from the police and I think the citizens hope the same, 73 00:06:31,391 --> 00:06:34,761 that there will be a very clear reduction in 74 00:06:34,794 --> 00:06:39,999 injection pumps and needles around this area. 75 00:06:40,233 --> 00:06:47,006 It is my opinion that Denmark, like many other states 76 00:06:47,106 --> 00:06:52,545 is under social pressure from the UN system or from, 77 00:06:52,612 --> 00:06:55,915 for example, the Americans and others, 78 00:06:56,015 --> 00:07:01,287 not to engage too much in for instance injection rooms 79 00:07:01,421 --> 00:07:04,323 or prescription of heroine and such 80 00:07:04,390 --> 00:07:06,526 because they feel that it is undermining 81 00:07:06,559 --> 00:07:08,628 the international treaties in the area. 82 00:07:08,728 --> 00:07:11,431 The treaties were made in 1961 when the world 83 00:07:11,431 --> 00:07:15,835 looked a little different. So, I think sometimes that 84 00:07:15,868 --> 00:07:19,138 the UN system should actually be in favour of 85 00:07:19,172 --> 00:07:24,377 making sure that human rights, for instance 86 00:07:24,477 --> 00:07:26,913 securing that people get access to healthcare, 87 00:07:27,046 --> 00:07:31,951 also on a street level even if they are drug users or homeless or the like. 88 00:07:32,018 --> 00:07:36,756 And actually, the UN in this question has been doing the opposite 89 00:07:36,756 --> 00:07:38,524 and it has been very unfortunate. 90 00:07:38,658 --> 00:07:44,096 We see a room with nurses and doctors, a clean room, 91 00:07:44,230 --> 00:07:49,569 I think it can be there in a few years. 92 00:07:49,769 --> 00:07:52,905 Punishment as a tool to prevent people from 93 00:07:52,905 --> 00:07:55,675 potentially harming themselves is absurd. 94 00:07:55,708 --> 00:08:01,180 So we need to start with decriminalising drug users; 95 00:08:01,247 --> 00:08:05,751 at least stop the war on drug users and invite them  96 00:08:05,751 --> 00:08:10,556 they need to be socially included, they need acceptance, 97 00:08:10,556 --> 00:08:14,627 they need healthcare - that is the first think to do. 98 00:08:30,743 --> 00:08:30,776 Subtitle script by: Arielle Reid