The government’s new initiatives against opioid abuse are facing harsh criticism from the opposition, which describes it as “politics at its ugliest”. The Conservatives (De Konservative), led by legal spokesperson Mai Mercado, are highly dissatisfied with both the content and timing of the government’s proposal. According to Mai Mercado, the government has been far too slow to act on the growing crisis of abuse and illegal trafficking of opioids, which includes substances such as heroin, morphine, and oxycodone. “This issue is too important for political launches, fanfare, and fancy presentations. This is so important that it calls for comprehensive holistic action now, and it should have happened a long time ago,” she stated.
The government’s proposal includes a ban on eight synthetic opioids, increased control over the substances, harsher penalties for sales, and more treatment options. However, criticism suggests that these measures are too vague and lack specificity, especially regarding the tougher penalties and the precise implementation of the bans. Mai Mercado also points out that the government waited nine months to release a report from three forensic institutes concluding that the danger of these opioids is “very high”. She accuses the government of timing the release of the report on a day when Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen visited a substance abuse center to maximize political attention.
This is not the first time the opioid crisis has been raised in Denmark. Both the Conservatives and the Socialist People’s Party (SF) have previously put forward proposals to combat the issue. Statistics from Berlingske show that the number of deaths related to opioid poisoning in recent years has remained stable between 124 and 134 annually, representing half of all drug-related deaths in the country. The government’s proposal is therefore part of an ongoing debate on how Denmark best handles the deadly opioid crisis, but the criticism from the opposition suggests that there is still a long way to go before agreement on the best course of action is reached.