Date: Thu, 12 May 1994 22:34:57 -0700 From: International Antiprohibitionist League <[i--l] at [igc.apc.org]> Subject: IAL-Fax #11-12 INTERNATIONAL ANTI-PROHIBITIONIST LEAGUE ------------------------------------------------------ P.E. - REM 508 - 89 Rue BELLIARD - 1040 BRUXELLES - BELGIUM Tel: (32)-2-230.4121 - Fax: (32)-2-230.3670 - Email: <[i--l] at [igc.apc.org]> ------------------------------------------------------- ============================ IAL-Fax Year III N. 12, May 10, 1994 - Contents: European Drugs Watchdog takes office Agence Europe, 29.4.94 Drug policy confusion in Europe Le Monde, 2.5.94 Drugs decriminalized: How Mayor Schmoke would do it Playboy, May 94 Latin america: Governments urged to fight drug trafficking IPS, 2.5.94. Teresa Herrera Depenalization of cannabis stirs up debate in Germany Le Soir, 3.5.94. Allain Lallemand. France: Mehaignerie prepares bill to halt drug dealers Le Monde, 16.4.94 --------------------- European Drugs Watchdog takes office Agence Europe, 29.4.94 Lisbon: The first meeting of the European Watchdog on Drugs and Drug Addiction took place on Wednesday at the Belem Cultural Centre, attended by the Portuguese Minister of State, Luis Marquez Mendes, and the sixteen members of the board (12 representatives of the member states, 2 of the European Commission and 2 of the European Parliament). During the meeting, discussion must have concentated particularly on the procedure that the Commission must follow for the appointment of the director of the new body, for a public appeal on the matter was launched. Another subject under discussion was the choice of location for the headquarters in Lisbon. The Watchdog was created in 1993 to provide the European Union and the member states with "objective, reliable and comparable information on the subject of drugs and drug addiction, and their consequences, in Europe". It is, however, confined to the role of information, without the power to carry out inquiries into individual cases. --------------------------- Drug policy confusion in Europe Le Monde, 2.5.94 The harmonization of European drug policies is not likely to take place in the near future. On Thursday April 28th, the German Constitutional Court ordered to cease prosecution of persons found in possession of "small quantities" of cannabis. Given the importance of the Court in German political life, the decision, which aims to unify the very different practices of the sixteen regions, is similar to a de facto depenalization of the use of hashish and marijuana. Two days after the first meeting of the European Watchdog on Drugs in Lisbon, this need for harmonization within a single country reflects the paradoxes, not to say the inconsistency, of drug policies in Europe. Nevertheless, the member states of the Council of Europe recently agreed to recommend greater co-ordination and co-operation between the penal systems and the health and social services of each country. A task which will be difficult to accomplish: some of them distinguish between soft and hard drugs (Ireland, Spain, Italy and Holland), or according to the level of dangerousness of each substance (Great Britain), while the majority make no distinction (France, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Portugal and Luxembourg). Drug offences and penalties vary considerably from one country to another, as does information on the risks of the various substances. In Spain, where, contrary to popular belief, drugs have not been depenalized - they had never constituted a crime - smoking cannabis in public has been an offence punishable by administrative sanctions since 1991. In Italy, the use of drugs has been depenalized since the referendum in April 1993, but administrative sanctions are still possible. In the Netherlands, the use of drugs is not an offence, but the possession of drugs for personal use can be punished by prison sentences ranging from three months (for soft drugs) to one year (for hard drugs). In Great Britain and Ireland, the use of drugs alone is not an offence, except for opium: opium users, in fact, risk up to fourteen years in prison. In Luxembourg, solitary users risk between three months and three years in prison, while group users risk between one and five years. In Belgium, only group use is punishable, with prison sentences ranging from three months to five years. In France, where a commission has been set up by the government to look into the possibility of depenalization, drug users risk between two months and one year in prison. In the face of these disparities, if a system of common rules had to be drawn up there is no doubt that it would first of all concern the repression of traffic rather than the status of the user. ---------------------------- Drugs decriminalized: How Mayor Schmoke would do it Playboy, May 1994 Reversing America's stance on drugs is a formidable challenge - and hardly a popular one for a big-city mayor. To explore the practicalities of the vision, Roger Simon sat down with Baltimore's Kurt Schmoke and asked some basic questions. Q: How would national drug decriminalization operate? A: Working through the public health system, communities would identify addicts, register them and allow professionals to treat them as patients. (...) I believe that the current harm to society would be reduced by pulling a substantial part of the addict population into the public health system and away from the clutches of organized criminals. (...) Q: Just so we are clear: the goal of decriminalization is to get people off of drugs eventually? A: Correct. Q: Not to maintain them on drugs? A: It is to allow a health professional to make the judgement about the best way to get people off drugs. And to prevent people from starting drugs. What I want to do is destroy the street-level market that drives the crime. (...) Q: What's the first step in your program? A: The first step would be to set up a national commission to explain why we are changing strategy and making this a public health war rather than a criminal justice war. There is a need for national education on this. We can't just stop without an explanation. After a period of preparation, every state would implement the new program at the same time. Q: You have been talking about this for six years now. Is there any reason for hope? A: A lot of reason for hope. The fact that Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders questioned our drug policy is a signal that policymakers are debating this question and are seriously considering a different direction. (...) Q: In wading into this controversy, have you paid a price? A: It is a cross to bear. But it is something I chose to do. I knew I was going to get tagged as being Mr. Drugs. But I can tell you with certainty what America is going to look like if we don't change our current approach: that vision is a nightmare of increased urban violence, the spread of AIDS and higher levels of hard-core addiction. ------------------------------- Latin america: Governments urged to fight drug trafficking IPS, 2.5.94. Teresa Herrera The 12th International Conference on Drugs Control, held in Ecuador and attended by 130 delegates from 35 countries, called on all the governments of the area to carry out preventive and repressive campaigns against drug abuse. "The traffic of drugs is continuing to expand and to corrupt government officials all over the world", said the director of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Thomas Constantine. The delegates, mostly high-ranking politicians, agreed that the problem of drugs is "worrying". In some countries, drug abuse is increasing at a rate of at least 20% a year. This is the case in Honduras, where until very recently the figure for drug abuse was only 1%. Mario Hung Pacheco, the chief of the Honduras police, told IPS that "if no-one uses drugs, no-one can produce them. The battle must begin at an early age, in primary and middle school, so that young people learn to say no." Central America could become one of the areas of Latin America with highest drug consumption, warned the police chief. During the conference, Colombia made an appeal for an agreement between producer and consumer countries. The Colombian Police Chief, Octavio Vargas, stated that "we must work together in everything we do to fight the drug traffickers and drug use". However, Vargas stated his opposition to the legalization of drugs, and considers drug-trafficking to be "a crime against humanity". In order to prevent a massive increase in drug abuse, "the best thing is to intensify prevention campaigns among children and young people," he said. The DEA delegate also declared his opposition to the legalization of drugs, stating that "it would only protect the interests of the drug traffickers and prevent them from being tried and imprisoned." Octavio Vargas ageed that drug traffickers should face heavy prison sentences. Repression should be carried out by a specialized corps "which works honestly and possesses the moral integrity and the professional skills to face the problem effectively," he stated. The delegates supported the idea of a harmonization of legislation concerning the repression of drug trafficking. Vargas underlined the need to establish common penalties for drug traffickers in all countries. Mario Solis, the Bolivian National Secretary of Social Affairs, proposed reinforcing border controls, although he admitted that the drug traffickers "use increasingly sophisticated methods, which allow them to get round security systems". The drugs traffic has "many heads: if you attack it on one side, it rises up on another," he said. ------------------------------- Depenalization of cannabis stirs up debate in Germany Le Soir, 3.5.94. Allain Lallemand. The decision of the German Constitutional Court, effectively depenalizing the use and the possession of small quantities of cannabis derivates, has provoked much questioning around Europe; though not entirely new, the debate highlights the problem of European unification of judicial practices with regard to "soft drugs". The differences within Europe are reflected by those within Germany itself. The state of Schlesig-Holstein, for example, has already ceased to prosecute persons found in possession of less than thirty grams, while Bavaria does not allow possession of drugs, however small the quantity. As a result, on Friday the conservative "Bild Zeitung" reacted to the ruling with the headline "We say no!" (to the ruling, that is), whilst at the opposite end of the political spectrum the left-wing "Tageszeitung" expressed its regret that the ruling does not extend to cannabis cultivation for personal use, a solution proposed by the newspaper to reduce the power of the black market. The debate is heated: while the young Socialists believe that the ruling is a step in the right direction, the Christian Democrats maintain that "depenalization" may be taken by young people as a sign that drugs do not harm the health. Whatever the case, a first gesture was made on Thursday evening in Bonn, when hashish users decided to gather in a park for a collective smoke of the newly depenalized drug. In France, "Le Monde" (see above) took the opportunity to underline the confusion in Europe with regard to drugs, concluding that if a system of common rules had to be drawn up there is no doubt that it would first of all concern the repression of traffic rather than the status of the user. "Liberation", on the other hand, spoke of the "good news" for hashish smokers, and reported the opinions of experts who stated that it is now necessary to bring out legislation on the concept of "a small quantity" of cannabis, without which the ruling might turn into a Pyrrhic victory. In Great Britain, "The Times" spoke of an "astonishingly liberal" decision, but added that Great Britain seems to be heading towards a similar pragmatic solution. More than 45% of cases of (cannabis) possession end with nothing more than a warning, while ten years ago the proportion was only 1%. ----------------------------- France: Mehaignerie prepares bill to halt drug dealers Le Monde, 16.4.94 A bill aimed at intensifying repression of new forms of drug-trafficking is in the process of preparation, announced Pierre Mhaignerie in the first issue of "La Lettre", a new monthly publication produced by the interministerial delegation on urban affairs. Predicting that "everyone who has frequent relations with drug dealers must be able to justify their way of life", the new bill will consider drug dealing in the same way as procuring, for which a similar provision exists in articles 225-6 of the penal code. The minister points out that the use of minors for drug dealing will be "severely punished". For users, a circular advocates more frequent recourse to compulsory therapy. =========================== The International Antiprohibitionist League (IAL) is an association of scientists, drug experts, journalists, politicians from all over the world whose aim is to work for the reform of prohibitionist laws on drugs. As a multicultural and independent association, the IAL encourages studies and research projects on the consequences of prohibition and proposes alternative at both political and social levels. Among its activities, the IAL sponsored a forum on "The costs of Prohibition on Drugs" in Bruxelles, worked in close contact with the Italian anti-prohibitionist movement, and helped the organization of similar associations in Spain, Portugal, France. Recently, a report "For a Revision of the United Nations Conventions on Drugs" was distributed among members of the European Parliament and other National Parliaments. The most immediate goal of the IAL is the organization of an International Conference on the alternatives to drug prohibition to be held under the approval of the United Nations in 1995. Financially supported by its members and private contributions, the IAL has three different levels for its annual membership: - Associate member: US $ 50 - Full member: US $ 100 - Special member: US $ 300 Payment from the US can be made by: - Credit Card (American Express, Visa, Mastercard); - Bank Transfer to: IAL, account # 424-6075921-55, Kredietbank, Bruxelles, Belgium *Thank you for your interest!* ------------------------------------------------------ INTERNATIONAL ANTI-PROHIBITIONIST LEAGUE ------------------------------------------------------- P.E. - REM 508 - 89 Rue BELLIARD - 1040 BRUXELLES - BELGIUM Tel: (32)-2-230.4121 - Fax: (32)-2-230.3670 - Email: <[i--l] at [igc.apc.org]> ==================== end ========================