Minister Padilha: say NO to compulsory hospitalization for crack users.
Mass compulsory inpatient treatment has been presented as a solution for the problems resulting from crack cocaine abuse. This policy is not supported by research in the health literature and is an affront to constitutional rights. The Minister of Health has not taken a clear position on this.
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If you are part of an institution that is interested in supporting this
petition, or if you would like to contact us, please send an email to internacao.compulsoria.nao@gmail.com
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In his inaugural speech in January 2011, Minister Alexandre Padilha stated that the fight against crack cocaine could not lead to the loss of personal autonomy or to withdrawal from the social environment. Until now, despite statements issued by officials from the Ministry of Health against compulsory admission policies, Minister Padilha has not expressed with sufficient clarity his position regarding this matter.
When asked about compulsory admission, the Minister has been answering that the law provides for involuntary commitment. It may be that involuntary commitment of substance abusers – as determined by Brazilian law – is sometimes necessary, but it is exceptional and decided by health teams on a case-by-case basis. Compulsory admission, on the other hand, can only be determined by a court, and therefore requires individualized evaluation and attention to judiciary procedures. Therefore, compulsory treatment cannot be applied as a generic policy or, worse, as a widespread solution under the aegis of executive power.
The Ministry of Health itself – through its Mental Health Secretariat – has provided alternatives for financing the implementation of comprehensive actions that take into account the rights and the complex health needs of citizens who have problems with crack cocaine use. By not taking a clear position against mass, compulsory in-treatment, the minister leads us to suspect that he is under influences that are alien to the technical and legal framework that must support decisions in healthcare.
On behalf of his commitment to Health and Justice, we request that the Brazilian Minister of Health clearly maintain his historic position against compulsory admission as a public policy; otherwise he will signal a dangerous support to practices whose nature is repressive, unclear, ineffective, discriminatory and clearly illegal.
If you agree that this stance is important, help us to make this clear to the Minister, by signing and disseminating this petition. Thank you!
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Supporting institutions
• Frente Nacional Drogas e Direitos Humanos (FNDDH)
• Conselho Federal de Psicologia (CFP)
• Associação Brasileira de Saúde Mental (ABRASME)
• Associação Brasileira de Estudos Sociais do Uso de Psicoativos (ABESUP)
• Associação Brasileira de Psicologia Social (ABRAPSO)
• Centro Brasileiro de Estudos de Saúde (CEBES)
• International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Service (ICEERS)
• Conselho Regional de Psicologia - 6ª Região (SP)
• Frente Estadual Drogas e Direitos Humanos - RJ (FEDDH-RJ)
• Associação dos Terapeutas Ocupacionais do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (ATOERJ)
• Frente Estadual Antimanicomial de São Paulo
• Núcleos Sorocaba, Assis, Cuesta e Sobral da Associação Brasileira de Psicologia Social (ABRAPSO)
• Associação Amazonense do Campo de Atenção Psicossocial Chico Inácio (AM)
• Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre Psicoativos (NEIP)
• Coletivo Desentorpecendo a Razão (DAR) - SP
• Coletivo Princípio Ativo - RS
• Instituto Plantando Consciência
• Grupo Tortura Nunca Mais - RJ
• Movimento “Respeito é BOM e eu gosto!” - RJ
• Centro de Convivência ‘É de Lei’
• Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas Aníbal Silveira (CEPAS-SP)
• Centro Internacional de Estudos e Pesquisas sobre a Infância (CIESPI-RJ)
• Centro Regional de Referência em Educação na Atenção ao Usuário de Drogas de Sorocaba - SP
• CONCIES - Grupo Coletivo de Discussão e Trabalho em Saúde Mental - MS
• Coletivo (En)Cena (ULBRA/TO)
• Grupo Babel – Saúde Mental na Atenção Primária - RJ/SP/RS/CE
• Grupo de Pesquisa Ciência, Cuidado e Saúde (UFF-Volta Redonda-RJ)
• Grupo de Pesquisa de Saúde Coletiva e Saúde Mental: Interfaces (UNICAMP)
• Grupo de Pesquisa Política de Drogas e Direitos Humanos (FND/UFRJ)
• Grupo de Pesquisa Saúde Mental e Sociedade (UFSCar)
• Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Estudos sobre Cultura e Diversidade (UNICENTRO - PR)
• Laboratório de Pesquisas sobre Práticas de Integralidade em Saúde (LAPPIS - IMS/UERJ)
• NEPS - Núcleo de Estudos, Pesquisas e Extensão em Saúde Mental e Atenção Psicossocial (UERJ)
• Paralaxe: Grupo Interdisciplinar de Estudos, Pesquisas e Intervenções em Psicologia Social Crítica (UFC)
• Projeto Transversões – Projeto Integrado de Pesquisa e Extensão “Saúde mental, desinstitucionalização e abordagens psicossociais” (UFRJ)
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If you are part of an institution that is interested in supporting this
petition, or if you would like to contact us, please send an email to internacao.compulsoria.nao@gmail.com
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