The Center Party: – Caught in a factual error

“The rise in drug use in youth settings is worrying. We know what happens.”

How to open one declaration that the Center Party National Council sent out last week. The party warns that drug use is on the rise among young people and that the Attorney General has opposed doing anything about it.

But the Dagbladet researchers intervened to point out that these claims are not true.

He sees no change

The Institute of Public Health (FHI) points out that it cannot be said that drug use among young people has increased, as Sp.

– We don’t see big changes in our numbers and usage has been higher for 10th grade students around the turn of the millennium than today. I would rather say that the past decade has been characterized by stability, says senior researcher Anne Line Bretteville-Jensen, who researches drug use at FHI.

The FHI does not see an increase among young people between the ages of 16 and 24. In this age group, around 14% say they have used cannabis in the past year. 25% have used cannabis in their life.

Among 10th grade students, 7% have used drugs in the past year, while 8.7% have tried in their lifetime, according to FHI.

The researcher points out that there may still be an increase in use in some places. For example, increased cocaine use has been reported in some locations in southern Norway. But the rise is not a national trend.

Relentless police criticism after illegal stripping

Other errors

The Center Party does not respond concretely to the allegations of factual errors. The party says it has received feedback from young people on overt drug use, among other things during rush hour. (See the answer in its entirety below.)

The premise for what further emerges in the SP statement is also wrong. So says law professor Jon Petter Rui at the University of Bergen.

Sp indicates in the statement a letter from the Attorney General last year, which according to the party made it difficult for the police to crack down on the drug problem among young people.

“Among other things, the circular makes it more difficult for the police to investigate where young people get their hands on banned substances and find out who is selling drugs to our young people,” reads the statement from the Center Party.

– It is wrong to criticize the Attorney General, who only clarified the following from the criminal procedure law, says law professor Rui.

Praised for “piss” responses.

– Broad consensus

Letter from the Attorney General it was an order to the judiciary and the police on how to investigate drug cases. The letter made it clear what the police are and are not allowed to do in less serious drug cases.

– There is broad consensus that the letter does not express anything other than what appears in the law of criminal procedure. It’s a clarification of the law, says Rui.

The law professor stresses that it is the law of criminal procedure that must be changed, if anything it must be changed.

“We believe that the police towards young people must regain the authority they had before the drug reform was rejected by the Storting”, writes Sp in the note.

Sp was among the parties that rejected the Solberg government’s drug reform proposal. The Conservative Party no longer wanted to prosecute those who use or possess small amounts of drugs for personal use. The attorney general supported drug reform.

Overwhelming Police Criticism: “System Failure”

D: – An impression

The Center Party does not respond concretely to the allegations that the premises for the opinion of the national council are wrong.

– Sp are concerned that the police are withdrawing from drug prevention work. This happened largely after the Attorney General’s letter, but of course it is now we elected officials who must ensure that the police have the necessary powers, Center Party parliamentary representative Ivar Prestbakmo writes in an email.

He is a member of the justice commission in Storting.

– Do researchers report errors and undocumented claims in the decision?

– When we get feedback from young people about overt drug use during peak hours, for example, and from police officers who have too few tools to work preventively, we deal with it. The contribution of both police officers who have worked extensively in the field and young people gives the impression of widespread drug use in many youth circles today, replies the politician of Sp.

He also says the party is concerned that heavy drug users should not be prosecuted and to strengthen rehabilitation services and that it is planning a new reform.