Drug laws becoming more lenient in EU

Date: 13/06/02

DRUG laws in Europe are slowly finding a 'middle ground' between the liberal and repressive, according to a new report.

The study, by the Lisbon-based European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, finds that in recent years there has been a trend towards more lenient measures for personal drug use.

But it reports wide differences in the way member states deal with the issue.

In Spain, Italy and Portugal, for instance, there are no criminal sanctions for personal use. Similarly, first-time offenders in Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Austria are not punished. Instead, they are 'invited' to refrain from taking drugs in future, often with warnings of probation.

In France, people convicted of drugs offences usually receive a warning.

But other European countries are less tolerant, says the report.

'At the other end of the scale, Greece, Finland, Sweden and Norway are said to apply their drug laws 'to the letter'.'

The report, called Drugs in Focus, looks at how governments are juggling their obligations to punish drug offenders while, at the same time, providing treatment to addicts.

It says: 'In framing their national drug laws, EU member states have taken their own characteristics and culture into account, resulting in a variety of approaches to illicit personal use of drugs.

'Developments over the last five years, however, have revealed similar laws and guidelines emerging in response to drug users in a shift towards more lenient measures.'

Report of a study by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.

http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/ http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/

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