Decriminalization

Drug Decriminalisation Across the World

2015-07-31T18:15:55+00:00

The criminalisation of people who use drugs compounds drug-related challenges and worsens health and welfare outcomes. Across the world, there is a growing number of jurisdictions where the possessio ...

Health bodies call for drugs to be decriminalised

2016-06-16T10:45:12+00:00

Two leading public health organisations have called for the possession and personal use of all illegal drugs to be decriminalised in the UK. The Royal Society for Public Health and the Faculty of Pub ...

A Quiet Revolution

2016-04-04T10:54:06+00:00

This is the second edition of ‘A Quiet Revolution: Drug Decriminalisation Across the Globe’. The first edition was released in July 2012 and has since been cited by a wide range of organisations and ...

UN attempt to decriminalise drugs foiled

2015-10-19T14:58:36+00:00

A paper from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has been withdrawn after pressure from at least one country. The document, which was leaked, recommends to consider "decriminalising drug and pos ...

Cannabis policy in the Czech Republic

2015-09-29T09:47:57+00:00

The Czech drug related legislation is quite extensive and includes laws as well as various by-laws. The most important feature of the Czech legislative system is that criminal law does not consider d ...

Drug policy and incarceration in São Paulo, Brazil

2015-07-02T12:14:50+00:00

This briefing paper analyses the impact of drug policy on incarceration in São Paulo (Brazil), based on information collected among 1,040 people caught for having committed a drug-related offence (i. ...

The science of decriminalizing drugs

2015-02-02T21:50:12+00:00

The legal landscape for marijuana has never looked this relaxed. Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, D.C. voted during the recent election season to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Other stat ...

Portugal: Ten years after decriminalization

2012-11-26T16:47:59+00:00

In 2001, a small European country, Portugal, took a brave step, changing its drug policies and refocussing its efforts away from arresting and criminalising drug users, towards smart public health in ...

A Quiet Revolution

2012-07-06T08:13:35+00:00

'A Quiet Revolution: Drug Decriminalisation Policies in Practice Across the Globe' is the first report to support Release's campaign 'Drugs - It’s Time for Better Laws'. This report looks at over 20 ...

Will reducing or removing the criminal penalties for drug possession lead to greater use?

2012-06-29T14:33:16+00:00

We should decriminalise the possession of drugs for personal use for the following simple reasons: (1) If users are addicted then they are ill, and criminal sanctions are an inappropriate way to deal ...

A resounding success or a disastrous failure

2012-01-05T16:46:33+00:00

Two observers and scholars of the 2001 Portuguese drug policy reform consider divergent accounts of the reform which viewed it as a ‘resounding success’ or a ‘disastrous failure’. Acknowledging from ...

Drug Policy in Portugal

2011-08-31T13:49:12+00:00

?In 2000, the Portuguese government responded to widespread public concern over drugs by rejecting a "war on drugs" approach and instead decriminalized drug possession and use. It further rebuffed co ...

Dug Policy Profile Portugal

2011-07-06T08:58:00+00:00

This profile describes the national drug policy of Portugal, a policy that has attracted significant attention recently in the media and in policy debates. It considers national strategies and action ...

Time to decriminalise drugs?

2011-02-07T13:21:04+00:00

The drug trade has increased globally in intensity and reach, and substance abuse in South Africa has escalated rapidly. Drug misuse is a major social, legal and public health challenge despite the w ...

TNI-EMCDDA Expert Seminar on Threshold Quantities

2011-05-03T14:58:16+00:00

A wider trend for drug law reform is arising out of a felt need to make legislation more effective and more humane. Within this trend, a number of countries have considered decriminalisation or depen ...

What Can We Learn From The Portuguese Decriminalization of Illicit Drugs?

2010-12-02T03:50:41+00:00

The issue of decriminalizing illicit drugs is hotly debated, but is rarely subject to evidence-based analysis. This paper examines the case of Portugal, a nation that decriminalized the use and posse ...

Portuguese priorities

2010-10-11T09:41:05+00:00

In July 2001, the Portuguese government introduced Law 30, setting in train a radical new approach to illicit drug use. In practice, it decriminalised the possession of certain quantities of drugs fo ...

Review of methodologies of evaluating effects of drug-related legal changes

2010-09-27T12:42:51+00:00

This paper analyses scientific and grey literature that examines the consequences of drug law changes, and describes their approach and methodologies. A multi-part search strategy identified 36 prima ...

Penalisation of drug possession

2009-12-01T00:00:00+00:00

Polish law provides punishment for possession of narcotic drugs. It is a controversial issue whether punishing for possession of any amount of drugs is a right thing to do. Regardless of one’s opinio ...

Mexico: The Law Against Small-Scale Drug Dealing

2009-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

In August 2009, Mexico adopted a new law against small-scale drug dealing, which introduces some significant advances in key subjects, such as the recognising of and distinguishing between user, drug ...