Commentary
Drug policy reform builds alliances that counter right-wing propaganda
Young people are rightly rejecting the unbearable paternalism of those who infantilize them and want to “protect” them, demanding instead that their well-being should be the result of their own agency.
The Meloni government hates cities. This is evident from the latest budget law, but also from the national Conference on Addiction that ended on Saturday, where the perspective of local authorities was completely ignored. This happened despite the Elide Network (a network of Italian cities focused on harm reduction) having officially asked Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano to be allowed to contribute.
But this is how it is: urban areas only interest the right as backdrops for scenes of fear (of foreigners, of deviants, of Roma people) to be stoked via television, or as showcases for luxury and extractive tourism. The potential of cities to anchor a socially focused and integrated mode of managing the issue of substance use is not just ignored; it is openly opposed. One need only recall the media lynching the Bologna administration received for distributing crack pipes.
This practice – providing sterile paraphernalia to people addicted to substances – is included in all scientific and health protocols on harm reduction and is hardly revolutionary. The only ones not understanding this are those who refuse to deal with reality due to their prejudice, preferring instead the repressive ideology of the “war on drugs,” which has already been proven to be completely ineffective.
Fortunately, this backward view is rejected by many citizens' committees that spoke at the “Counter-Conference” and which are engaging in fruitful dialogue with street-level outreach workers and local institutions aligned with the Elide Network's approach. In neighborhoods where drug use happens out in the open, this strategic alliance is able to reverse the securitarian narrative and build bonds of solidarity, leveraging the many civic and professional resources that, thankfully, do exist. Quarticciolo in Rome, Aurora in Turin and Arcella in Padua are just a few possible examples.
Faced with the denial of autonomy and rights for people who use drugs, it is crucial to create contexts for participation, co-planning and co-design, where users themselves can contribute their knowledge and experience, as they did at the alternative conference.
The municipal administrations which are part of Elide have taken on the task of creating such spaces to implement truly universal welfare interventions, overcoming the criteria of selectivity and “merit” that risk excluding the most vulnerable people. To do this effectively, a genuine integration of social and health services is needed, which requires an active role from the regional governments. The Elide Network is calling on these regions to show more courage in stepping up, perhaps through a political coordination structure similar to that of the cities.
Alliances are needed to counter the authoritarian and identity-obsessed framework of the right-wing government: alliances between territories, between administrations, the third sector and social movements; between different levels of political responsibility; and between generations.
Young people are rightly rejecting the unbearable paternalism of those who infantilize them and want to “protect” them, demanding instead that their well-being should be the result of their own agency.
There are few issues like drug policy that make it possible to hold together the dimension of individual liberties with that of social justice, a liberal spirit with an egalitarian and solidarity-based one. This makes it a common path one can take starting from different realities, united by the recognition of the value of every person’s dignity. Those who want to build an alternative to Meloni should take note.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/contro-lideologia-repressiva-servono-alleanze on 2025-11-08