ISSUES
: Drugs
Chapter 2: UK drug laws
27
Drug laws around the world – does
anyone get it right?
As a split emerges in theGovernment over Britain’s future drug policywe look at the different
approaches to drug control taken around the world.
By Georgia Graham
T
he Coalition Government is at
war over a new report which
suggests that decriminalising
drugs could have benefits to the UK.
The Home Office report examining
a range of approaches, from zero-
tolerance
to
decriminalisation,
concluded drug usewas influenced by
factors “more complex and nuanced
than legislation and enforcement
alone”.
The Conservatives say despite the
Home Office-backed study indicating
that decriminalising drugs, even class
A substances such as heroin and
cocaine, could have some benefits by
reducing the burden on the criminal
justice system the Government has
“absolutely no plans” to decriminalise
drugs.
The Liberal Democrats argue that
punishing drug users is “pointless”
with Lib Dem Home Office minister
Norman Baker accusing No.10 of
sitting on the reports since July and
blamed theConservatives for blocking
their release for “political reasons”.
It is not just British parties that are split
over how to tackle drug use - countries
across the world take very different
approaches from decriminalisation
to lengthy prison sentences and even
death. Does anyone get it right?
Portugal
A large part of the report focused on
Portugal where drugs were effectively
decriminalised over ten years ago.
According to the Home Office analysis
there has been a “considerable”
improvement in the health of drug
users in Portugal since the country
made drug possession a health issue
rather than a criminal one in 2001.
In 2000, Portugal decriminalised the
use of all illicit drugs, and developed
new policies on prevention, treatment,
harm reduction and reinsertion. Drug
use is no longer a crime, but it is still
prohibited. The country’s policy was a
key comparison in the report written
by Home Office civil servants.
Possession of what a person would
use in ten days or less is no longer
a matter for the courts. Users are
referred to ‘Commissions for Drug
Addiction Dissuasion’ where they are
given treatment.
Over the last decade the approach
appears to have worked in the
country, with João Castel-Branco
Goulão Portugal’s national drug
coordinator saying the country has
seen reductions in HIV infections and
in overdoses.
So what about the rest
of the world?
Czech Republic
Similarly to Portugal, possession
of drugs is illegal, but possession
of small quantities treated as an
‘administrative offence’, punishable
with a fine.
Unlike Portugal, levels of cannabis
use in the Czech Republic are among
the highest in Europe.
Whilecriminal penalties forpossession
were only introduced as recently as
2010 the report concluded that worse
health outcomes were observed after
drug possession was criminalised,
and there was no evidence of reduced
use.
Uruguay
In 2013 Uruguay became the first
country in the world to full legalise
marijuana. It is now the first nation in
the world to break the International
Convention on Drug Control, and
legislate for the production, sale and
consumption of cannabis.
Ten per cent of the country’s prison
population was for small drug
offences – and 44 per cent of all drugs
cases were for people detained for
holding less than 10g of drugs.
Uruguayans will now be allowed to by
up to 40g a month from pharmacies,
join a cannabis club which grows the
plant for its members grow up to six
plants themselves.
The Government here says the
change in the law is an effort to
separate the marijuana market from
more problematic drug use. This
includes the smoking of ‘pasta base’
– a cheap derivative of cocaine that
is highly addictive when smoked and
has become endemic in some poor
communities.
However the Uruguayan President
Jose Mujica has said the start of legal
cannabis sales will be delayed until
next year due to “practical difficulties”.
The Netherlands
Famously a tourist hot-spot for people
seeking cannabis from countries with
stricter controls, substances defined
as ‘soft’ drugs, including cannabis,
have been effectively decriminalised.
Possession remains illegal here but
police and courts operate a policy of
tolerance.
The reported number of deaths
linked to the use of drugs in The
Netherlands, as a proportion of the
entire population, is one of the lowest
of the EU. Attempts to crack down on
the use of cannabis by tourists have
been widely ignored in the country.
However, importing and exporting
of any classified drug is a serious
offence. The penalty can run up to 12
to 16 years if it is for hard drugs with a
maximum of four years for importing
or exporting large quantities of
cannabis.
Japan
Japanhas thetoughestdrug laws inthe
developed world. Its Pharmaceutical
Affairs Law bans the production and
