6 - Harm reduction meets the EU: from public health to public order

Summary

A 1992 report by the European Parliament made the allegation that the power of criminal organizations was growing at an alarming rate and was having serious effects on society and on the political institutions of the member states. It continued to note ominously that organized crime undermined the foundations of the legitimate economy and threatened the stability of the states of the Community. In this ongoing debate on international crime, much attention is given to the aberration of Dutch drug policy with its open retail trade in cannabis and tolerance for the petty trade in hard drugs. At the same time, many member states have in fact incorporated selected features of the Dutch method into their own systems. In 1994, the German Federal Court urged the Länder to differentiate drug offenses according to the nature of the stimulant. Belgium, Denmark, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Spain have also dropped the US-style “war on drugs” model. Chiefs of government, however, are hesitant to openly endorse a moderate anti-drug approach, as opposed to local authorities, which are willing to experiment with new anti-drug methods. Of course, there is a core group of countries (France and Sweden) that unconditionally rejects drug toleration and they carry the upper hand in official EU deliberations since the EU itself perceives drugs as an internal security challenge.

Internal security dominates the official discussion on drugs in Brussels and at intergovernmental meetings because European cooperation arose from numerous attempts to deepen policing, custom, and judicial cooperation. In other words, drug policy coordination falls under the remit of the Ministers of Home Affairs and Justice.