Guardians of the Status Quo: A content analysis of the magazine of the Swedish Narcotic Police Association
DrugsHenrik Tham, professor emeritus Published 4 Sep 2024
The police are a key player in drug policy. How the police view the drug problem and its solution is therefore of particular interest both in terms of politics and research. A central expression of the police's view should be the Swedish Narcotics Police Association, which organize the absolute majority of police officers who work with the fight against drugs and has had 2 000 to 3 000 members. The magazine of the association reasonably both expresses and influences the police's view. The magazine has been published since 1988. In a content analysis of 145 issues, particularly of editorials and other articles with a focus on principle issues and on drug policy, Henrik Tham has sought to map central themes. The conclusion is that the police see themselves as the owners of the drug problem and strongly criticize alternative drug policy proposals.
According to the police association’s magazine, the drug problem is large, serious and growing. Cannabis is a threat to humanity, and cocaine is a global threat. Drug intoxication is used to carry out crimes, something that is illustrated by ISIS fighters who are high on cocaine and with Foreign Minister Anna Lindh’s murderer. Historical examples are also included through information that Hitler’s soldiers were under the influence of drugs, and the question is asked whether Hitler’s drug abuse affected his decision-making ability.
Who is the drug offender?
Organized crime as the cause of the harmful effects of drugs is downplayed in the magazine. Organized crime is more an effect of demand than a cause of addiction. This perspective places the user at the center of the fight against drugs, justifying the police focus on targeting users and street-level trade.
Who has knowledge of the problem?
The fact that a police association sees the police as the owner of the drug problem is hardly surprising. The knowledge comes noticeably often from the United States, and US police officers and the ambassador participate in the conferences of the association. One of several visits to the sister association in California is reported in an article titled “California, here we come!”
“Welcome to our reality!”,
says the magazine’s editor. This reality is contrasted with that of many politicians and authorities, which shows that they lack knowledge about the drug problem. Criticism is directed at the Director-General of the National Council for Crime Prevention, at the Prosecutor General, at the Government and at government investigations.
After criticism from the UN that Sweden’s restrictive drug policy violates human rights, two professors claimed that Sweden’s Queen Silvias support for zero tolerance was based on ignorance. The two professors, the editor ironizes, claim to “know better” than the Queen who stands on the same side as the police.
Who are the opponents of an effective drug policy?
One group that, according to the magazine, really does not possess knowledge of the drug issue is the legalization advocates. The proponents of legalization are the main opponents of a good drug policy. The comments concern the idea as such, the people who advocate legalization and the interests behind and the effects of legalization.
Legalization is presented as a preposterous idea, as an expression of a confused debate and as false information. The legalization movement is said to be acting with hoaxes and presenting emotional smear. About a political youth association that wants to legalize cannabis, it is said that “the arguments are so stupid and naïve that you wonder if the smoke has already clouded the brain.” From an EU summit, there are reports “the ravages of the legalists” and of “legalization flukes (“flummare” in Swedish) in their cocoon”.
The police and the change in the drug issue
According to the magazine, the police’s prerogative of interpretation is increasingly being questioned. The magazine’s recurring argument in support of its position is that the police are only trying to live up to the official goal of the drug policy: “Sweden, drug-free society”. The frustration on the part of the police that is expressed in the magazine when the police perspective is increasingly questioned, has now possibly led to an expansion of the goal to: “Sweden, drug-policy-critique-free society”.
This article is written by Henrik Tham, professor emeritus at Stockholm University on the request of PopNAD.