From The Mapinc www.mapinc.org
Survey of German Language Press, February 11, 1999
Courtesy of Harald Lerch HaL@main-rheiner.de
Translation By Pat DolanThe Neue Westfälische (http://www.owl-online.de)
carries a report of a no-nonsense talk on drugs given by Dr. Hermann Hunzinger, Specialist
in general practice, on the topic, "No News on the Drug Front".
Dr. Hunzinger, who has practiced in France, Mexico and
California, gave a brief review of the present drug situation. "When all is said and
done," he said. "alcohol and tobacco are the most dangerous and the most widely
used drugs. In comparison with cigarettes, for instance, marihuana is really harmless. It
is not without reason that marihuana can be bought in coffee houses in Holland. The Dutch
people are not really altogether stupid, you know."
Speaking in favor of a process of dedramatization, decriminalization and substitution,
he said, "Drug tolerance in society must radically change. The drug counsellor with a
full ashtray and the educator with a butt in his hand have no credibility."
"An addict is a sick person," he said, "regardless of what he is
addicted to, be it alcohol, heroin, water, or cream pies." He recommended a return to
basic principles. "Without waxing moralistic, let us learn again to distinguish
between good and ill, and modify our own drug relationships on that basis."
Supported