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EU seeks to crack down on cannabis

EurActiv.com

Wednesday 28 Jul 2004

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In short:
Foreign affairs ministers have agreed to tackle the spread of cannabis in
EU countries. Ironically, this resolution was adopted under the
chairmanship of the Dutch, who allow coffee-shops to sell cannabis.


Brief news:
Cannabis is by far the most commonly used drug in the EU. Indeed, the
number of people using cannabis has risen sharply over the last decade. To
arrest this trend, EU foreign affairs adopted a resolution on cannabis
during their Council meeting on 26 July.

While recognising the need to conduct further research on the health impact
of cannabis, Member States' representatives call for a raft of actions to
be implemented:
*setting up Joint Investigative Teams between Europol and Member States to
dismantle criminal networks involved in large scale trafficking and
distribution of cannabis
*making the fight against cannabis an element of national politics and EU
external relations
*introducing information and training for parents, teachers, media
professionals, prison staff and police officers about the health and social
risks linked to the use of cannabis
*introducing sanctions against Internet sites providing information on the
cultivation of cannabis and promoting the use of cannabis

The EU's drugs agency EMCDDA recently released a study investigating
whether or not cannabis was getting stronger. The report shows that the
effective potency of cannabis in nearly all EU countries has remained at
about 6%-8% THC in the last 30 years, with the only exception being the
Netherlands, where two years ago the strength of the average cannabis
consumed had reached 16%. This is mainly due to the increasing availability
of intensively produced home-grown cannabis in Holland.

In November 2003, Justice and Home Affairs ministers agreed on a Framework
Decision aimed at harmonising the sanctions foreseen in national laws
against drug trafficking. France and Sweden, concerned about their
nationals travelling to the Netherlands to buy and consume drugs, have also
pushed for action against 'drug tourism'. Responding to international
pressure, the Netherlands is now considering a proposal that would prohibit
foreigners from patronising the country's cannabis coffee-shops.

 

 

 

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