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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: International law 'no bar' to reform of drugs laws
ePolitix
Tuesday 28 Aug 2001 A leading charity has said international law would not prevent Britain relaxing its approach to the use of drugs. The report from DrugScope rejects arguments that UN conventions would stop Britain radically changing laws governing the use and supply of illegal drugs. The report, "European Drugs Laws: the Room for Manoeuvre", examines the law in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Holland and Sweden. It finds that Britain could abolish imprisonment for possession of drugs and introduce a system of civil penalties, such as fines, and similarly deal with small-scale "social supply" through civil measures. The investigation finds that the countries studied have adopted fundamentally different approaches to dealing with the possession of drugs, yet all still conform to the 1961, 1971 and 1988 UN Conventions on Drugs. The 1961 convention covers heroin, cocaine, cannabis and other narcotic drugs, whilst the 1971 convention relates to psychotropic substances. The 1988 agreement covers all narcotic and psychotropic drugs. The authors say the laws on large-scale drug trafficking are generally comparable in the countries examined but there are wide variations in laws on possession, self-supply, social supply and the sharing of drugs amongst users. For example, in Italy possession is prohibited but not criminalised as there are civil punishments in existence such as suspension of driving licenses. A user sharing drugs with other established users in a group would also be subject to civil penalties. In Spain possession is unlawful but not punished unless it occurs in public, when it can attract a fine. In Holland the supply of drugs is a criminal offence but in practice small scale supply of cannabis in "coffee shops" and cultivation for personal use do not result in prosecution. In contrast, Sweden criminalises all aspects of drug possession and supply. The report finds that the variations are a result of the conventions being interpreted in accordance with the political climate and constitutional considerations of each of the countries examined. The report's co-ordinator, Dr Nicholas Dorn, said the wide variations that were found were particularly evident in the way countries deal with possessing and obtaining drugs. "Some countries consider this to be trafficking, others believe it is so closely associated with drug use that - to ensure legal coherence - they treat it in the same way as use," he said. The report concludes that the UK could modernise the 30-year-old Misuse of Drugs Act in line with the approaches adopted by other countries. DrugScope boss Roger Howard, said: "For many years a major impediment to drug reform has been the belief that UN conventions restrict any change. This study dispels the view that we are tied rigidly by the UN conventions and shows we have considerable flexibility within them to radically modernise our drugs laws." "The government needs to decide if allowing otherwise law-abiding citizens to get caught up in the criminal justice system for possessing drugs such as cannabis is a proportionate response in the twenty-first century," he said. DrugScope says it will present its report to the Commons home affairs committee this autumn as it begins an inquiry into drugs policy. In their first inquiry since the general election, MPs will consider whether current drugs policy works, the possible effects of decriminalisation on the availability of and demand for drugs, the impact on crime, and other practical alternatives to decriminalisation. The inquiry will also examine the effectiveness of the government's 10-year National Strategy on drug misuse launched in 1998. Having called for an "intelligent debate" on the laws governing drug use, the home secretary, David Blunkett, will give evidence to the committee on October 23, having been preceded by the lord chancellor, Lord Irvine, on October 16.
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