By Herath Dhammika –

Dr. Dhammika Herath

The British destroyed local drinking culture by criminalising and unfairly taxing local residents who engaged in brewing alcohol with low concentrations of alcohol, “toddy”, which was in existence for centuries (Five precepts highlight the negative effects of too much drinking and Mahawamsa describes Warriors ingesting alcohol prior to going to battle field, most likely to reduce anxiety)

Instead, they introduced spirits, brews with high alcohol concentrations, or government sanctioned alcohol, allowing governments of that time, and later big alcohol corporations to flourish. This created an illicit market, which was hijacked by thugs and criminals who later became lawmakers following independence and open market economy respectively. They were sleeping with big alcohol and continued status quo since both profited. One legally while the other illicitly. They hijacked price controls, a tool that should carefully utilised to reduce harms of drinking in wider public (emphasis, wider public, not individual per se).

Why are we continuing this madness?

I believe the people have right to brew and drink whatever the alcohol they want! There is no good reason anyone could provide that legal alcohol is better than Kassippu, legally, morally or public health wise. Demonisation of Kassippu is a means to isolate a group of people, akin to west did for Muslims and Palestinians, creating an environment, where state was given a free pass to abuse the rural powerless poor!. This also paved the way for thugs to take control of illicit market and share the bounty with unholy trinity (Police, Politicians/Priests and Big banks).

It’s a war on indigenous Lankans historically, followed by rural and urban poor in modern day, and their rights.  It is not war on Kassipu. It is a war supported by Big Alcohol companies, who enrolled some law enforcement authorities, priests, media and some politicians in their payroll. Some academics, willingly or unknowingly, supported this course. There is a saying, “always follow the dollar”. (Read Kassippu Drinking Culture among Urban Poor by R Abyesinghe, significantly old research but still valid)

For argument sake, physical consumables like sugar, tobacco, salt and fats are bad! They will certainly kill you prematurely with or without excessive use. Non-substances related consumption of Sex and gambling too are deleterious for your health( STIs and Financial ruin respectively). Despite this, there are casinos, gambling dens, and Horse Racing thats prevalent in lanka and else where. Sex work is the oldest profession in the world, and has been a cottage industry in Lanka for centuries, despite being illegal. (I believe you have watched, Colombo Sanniya/Colombo mania).

Poor behaviour following alcohol consumption should be severely dealt with. However, it is not the substance that needs to be dealt with but the respective individuals behaviour. I do not have to give up my right to drink as long as I behave according to the law of the land( eg. no drink driving, no domestic violence or public nuisance or drinking in public). Since the colonial laws are for enslaving people, not for the rights of the citizens, we should revisit and abandon them. State should not dictate what an individual brew and drink, and should allow him to exercise his freedoms and rights fully.

Sri Lanka continues to propagate suppressive, colonial laws, far removed from realities of modern age and thinking. Lanka has given police and politicians undue power, with complete disregard for the peoples fundamental right of choice and sovereignty over their will and bodies. We have been treated like bunch of slaves since time immemorial, (since the inception of Sri Lanka and kingdom of Lanka to be precise) and our present leaders believe we need to be protected from ourselves.

Who gave them that power or right?

Brewing and selling alcohol must be decriminalised as a priority, and thats a fundamental right of a person, whatever, he chooses to ingest or not, whether they are harmful or not. State should not dictate terms on what we are doing to our bodies, instead focus on organising, forecasting, and mitigating behaviours that could contribute to harm to greater community, not vice versa. Ironically, state has no hesitation in continuing to sell and profit from tobacco, sugar, fats, and “legal alcohol” despite well known harms. There are legal casinos, Horse racing and “massage parlours” a front for commercial sex work!.

The harm reduction movement has implemented many strategies over five decades, with great beneficial  effect of the individuals and community. The best example is management of HIV epidemic. Massive advances were made over last decade, focussing on treatment as prevention rather than prohibiting sex as a prevention strategy!

This has extended to PreP in recent years, making them easily accessible to people who require them or who would like to take them. Similar strategies are in place for Opioid dependence however, effective treatments are not available for Sri Lankans. The lack of OST (Non availability of opioid substitution therapy in Sri Lanka is solely a result of near total disregard for urban poor, whose addictions were seen as moral weakness rather than medical or human perspectives, position taken by not only policy makers but also health professionals). Despite being aware, there are 50000 opioid dependent individuals in the country, who could be productive youth, we continue to demonise, incarcerate and engage in war on drug strategies which have been proven ineffective (Lowenstein, 2019)

The states efforts to control substances and drug use behaviours caused greater harm to the individual, whose rights were stripped altogether in the form of capital punishment for possession. It is high time to abandon those policies and practices, and utilise rational, human rights based approaches to human behaviours. It is timely that policy makers consider decriminalising illicit alcohol brewing, possession , consumption and selling in Sri Lanka.

*Herath Dhammika, MBBS, PGDPsy, MSc(Add.Stu), MDpsy, FRANZCP – Consultant Psychiatrist, Queensland, Australia

[The views expressed are personal and does not reflect the organisations that I am professionally affiliated such as Queensland Health, Professional bodies in Australia, Sri Lanka, Canada and Elsewhere]