The Future Of The EU Drug Policy

I would like to address two major observations and starting from these, I will formulate a conclusion regarding the European drug policy.

The first observation concerns the changes in the drug phenomenon and its consequences for the drug policy.

Generally speaking, changes in the drug phenomenon have led to the development in more and more EU countries of a pragmatic, multidimensional approach towards the different aspects of the drug problem.

Firstly, the awareness that the intensive use of illicit and licit drugs has become a reality in our society, led to the growing conviction that a realistic and dynamic approach of this problem is necessary.

Secondly, in more and more EU countries, the drug problem, and as a consequence drug policy, is being considered first of all as a matter of public health. The increased awareness of the risks related to blood-born viruses, such as HIV and Hepatitis, increasingly leads to the development of harm reduction strategies.

Thirdly, several European countries developed during the nineties new strategies and legal approaches in relation to the criminal aspect of the drug phenomenon. States are obliged to make more rational use of the criminal justice system. The fact that many courts are dealing with a considerable backlog, and that prisons are overpopulated, illustrates that the traditional criminal sanctioning system has reached its limits. Therefore, the approach towards drug users and certain forms of drug related crime has changed in practice. The use of alternatives to punishment, and especially to imprisonment, has been widely acknowledged, meaning that drug-use offenders are oriented towards treatment, counselling, education and social reintegration.

In conclusion, one can clearly see the development of a more or less uniform pragmatic drug policy in the EU member states.

In this respect, one should be aware of the fact that the “drug policy model” in the EU member states, with a focus on public health and social welfare is based on an extensive social welfare safety net. Possibilities for public health are determined by the social system of a country. In a social welfare state, the possibilities for a public health policy are more comprehensive than in a social system in which public health depends mainly on free market principles. The EU drug policy derives its success from the strength of its social preconditions and its social systems.

In this regard, the new member states are clearly in a different position. The political and socio-economical transformations they went through, don’t allow them yet to build a social system that displays sufficient capability. In terms of drug policy this means less provisions in the field of demand reduction and the lack of specific drug treatment. As was the case in most present EU member states during the seventies and the eighties, the emphasis of their drug policy lies within the fight against the supply of drugs.

A second remarkable observation concerns the consequences of differences in the social reality throughout the EU. EU Member States’ drug policy practice is based upon and founded in common social ground, and growing similarities can be noticed. However, one should take into account the cultural differences and the fact that social systems have their own identity and evolution. Policies are closely interwoven with national cultures and traditions.

Therefore, countries and regions should have enough room to experiment and find out which approach works best.

This room for manoeuvre for regions and countries obviously has to be founded within a general EU framework, which is provided by the general drug policy options set out in the EU drug strategy and EU action plan (2000-2004), and within the framework of the UN Drug Conventions. As for the latter, research shows that the UN Drug Conventions do leave room for Parties to develop a differentiated national drug policy.

Now what can be concluded as regards the European drug policy?

In order to develop a EU drug policy that is able to change in accordance with the changes of the drug phenomenon, the EU drug strategy has to be based on a regular assessment of the nature, the magnitude and emerging trends of the drugs phenomenon and its consequences on the one hand, and on a regular evaluation of the effectiveness of the policy measures taken, on the other hand.

Over the years, it increasingly becomes clear that evaluation is indispensable. Evidence based drug policy and evaluation must be an integral part of the EU approach towards licit and illicit drugs. An emotional and moral debate on drug policy development should be avoided.

At EU level, one can observe an increase in the availability and the quality of the data and the information on the drug situation. The annual reports on the drugs situation in the EU and in the candidate countries, issued by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction in Lisbon, and by Europol in The Hague clearly illustrate this. Moreover, the EMCDDA has brought scientific expertise to bear on decision-making to a greater extend than before.

However, the development of an integrated drug policy and evaluation of this policy requires more than information on epidemiology and more than the development and evaluation of prevention and treatment strategies.

The strength and surplus value of a truly integrated drug policy lies within the evaluation of a drug policy that goes beyond prevention, treatment and law enforcement as such. In other words, a drug policy and strategy aimed at developing a cross-pillar approach of the drug problem.

Scientific tools need to be developed to sustain and steer drug policy development. In this context, the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe works at stimulating the exchange of knowledge and experience. The Pompidou Group also supports the development of an integrated drug policy network in the Central and Eastern European Countries.

The development of an EU drug policy is a necessity, not only on the level of the “pillars” as such, but on a cross pillar level as well. Especially in this field, the most important steps still have to be taken, because this will prove to hold the true nature and the surplus value of the EU drug policy.

As long as the debate on the draft European Convention continues, there is still a unique opportunity to root the principles of a global and integrated approach - within an enlarged EU - in its fundamental documents, and to reinforce the uniform pragmatic approach developed by regions and countries within the EU.

The strength of the European drug policy is that it originates in a bottom-up movement that has taken place in a considerable number of member states during the last years. And it is due to this movement, that the policy is based on solid foundations.

On a political level, these developments need to be consolidated and generalised. This implies an extra effort towards the new member states which display insufficient capability, especially concerning the elaboration of prevention and treatment networks. Working on two different speeds in the field of drug policy would be a major pitfall, which could stimulate an escalation of the drug phenomenon on EU-level.

Finally, it is of the utmost importance that the European Union as a whole can make a difference on the global policy as outlined by the UN. At the EU-conference, organised by the Greek presidency during March 2003 in Athens, the representative of Mr. Costa, Mr. Leroy of the UNODC, disclosed a future adaptation of the UN-Conventions. It should be noted that the process of a growing acceptance of a health perspective for the drug problem and of harm reduction measures and strategies, is not limited to the EU. Influenced by the discussion on HIV/AIDS and injecting drug use, the acceptance of harm reduction strategies is gaining influence. One can not underestimate the initiatives taken by UNAIDS and the pioneer role they play in advocating and promoting harm reduction measures within the UN. The demand reduction side of the drug problem is becoming more prominent in the discussion on international drug control.

The European drug policy is at a historical turning point: the elaboration of an integrated and multidisciplinary drug policy and the dissemination of this concept on UN and by consequence on a global level. This model should not originate in a defensive strategy but should be based on the philosophy that this model is the most comprehensive answer on a global level to the multidimensional and global phenomenon.

The challenge for the European drug policy is obvious: unity in diversity.