Green Observatory: Drug Policy

The report details a growing movement across Europe to replace the 'war on drugs' with policies based on harm reduction, public health, and human rights. It provides country-specific accounts from Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the UK, highlighting a tension between restrictive national laws and progressive proposals for decriminalisation, legalisation of cannabis, and the implementation of safe consumption rooms.

• In Belgium, the drug policy is still governed by a law from 1921 that prioritises repression, which Greens argue has failed to stop drug use and instead criminalised users and blocked access to care. While the town of Liège is opening a minimal risk 'consumption room' in September, progressive actors are campaigning via 'Stop 1921' to amend the law to focus on user health.
• The Czech Republic legalised medical cannabis in 2013, but the state administration has been slow to provide patient access, with only a few kilograms prescribed over five years. The Czech Greens advocate for the decriminalisation of all drugs and the medical use of psychedelics and MDMA.
• France is described as having a highly prohibitive legal framework despite high rates of cannabis consumption among youth. Greens in France argue that prohibition sustains black markets and organised crime, and they recommend legalising cannabis for both therapeutic and recreational use.
• Germany's approach varies by state; for example, Bavaria is noted as the most restrictive, while other states with Green involvement have higher tolerance levels for cannabis possession. The German Greens proposed a 2015 cannabis control act to regulate sales to adults in specialised stores with high taxes and a ban on advertising.
• Hungary has seen a regression in drug policy since 2010, adopting a zero-tolerance approach with a goal of a "drug-free Hungary by 2020". This shift led to the closure of the two largest needle exchange programmes in Budapest in 2014 and 2015, contributing to a doubling of Hepatitis C prevalence among people who inject drugs over five years.
• The Netherlands faces a 'back door' problem where the sale of cannabis is tolerated in coffee shops, but large-scale cultivation remains illegal, leaving the supply market to organised crime. GroenLinks proposes legalising cultivation and trade to regulate this supply and reduce criminal influence.
• Poland's drug policy has become more repressive since 1997. Efforts to combat 'legal highs' through prohibited substance lists have had the unintended consequence of increasing poisonings, which rose from 562 cases in 2010 to a peak of 7,358 in 2015. While medicinal marijuana was legalised in 2017, it must be imported and is not covered by national health insurance.
• In Spain, the budget for the National Drugs Plan decreased from approximately 32 million euros per year (2003-2009) to 14.7 million euros per year (2013-2017). In the UK, Class A drug use is estimated to cost over 15.4 billion pounds annually, while drug deaths reached 3,450 in 2016 amid cuts to treatment services.

APA

Saal, C., Trnka, J., & Belliard, D. (2018). Green Observatory: Drug Policy. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/green-observatory-drug-policy/

Chicago

Saal, Caroline, Jan Trnka, and David Belliard. Green Observatory: Drug Policy. Green European Journal, 2018. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/green-observatory-drug-policy/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Saal |first1=Caroline |last2=Trnka |first2=Jan |last3=Belliard |first3=David |title=Green Observatory: Drug Policy |publisher=Green European Journal |date=30 July 2018 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/green-observatory-drug-policy/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{saal2018green, author = {Saal, Caroline and Trnka, Jan and Belliard, David}, title = {{Green Observatory: Drug Policy}}, institution = {Green European Journal}, year = {2018}, month = jul, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/green-observatory-drug-policy/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }