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Invisible5-HT2A
Registered: 01/30/10 Happy 14th Shroomiversary!
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Poland Edges Toward Drug Decriminalization
    #14289492 - 04/14/11 11:23 AM (12 years, 9 months ago)

http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2011/apr/07/poland_edges_toward_drug_decrimi

In the Polish Sejm (parliament) April 1 members voted to amend their draconian, decade-old drug laws. The move is designed to draw a distinction between users and dealers, and could result in no charges being filed against users, but slightly stiffer penalties for dealers and people holding large quantities of dope.

Under the current law, people possessing even the smallest amounts of illegal drugs can be sentenced to up to three years in prison. The amendment would enable prosecutors to avoid bringing charges against people holding small amounts of drugs who have not been previously convicted of a drug crime. Prosecutors would also make a determination on whether a person is drug dependent, and could order treatment in lieu of prosecution and imprisonment.

The measure passed the lower house on a vote of 258 to 159, with six abstentions. It must still be approved by the upper house and signed into law by the president.

Progress on reforming Poland's drug laws came only after years of delay. A team of experts appointed by the former justice minister had drawn up the amendments more than two years ago.

The Sejm was also the object of a concerted civil society campaign to liberalize the drug laws. Celebrity chef Robert Maklowicz created a Facebook video, Cook Our Children a Better Future, arguing for reform, while at the same time, 71 Polish artists sent an open letter to the Sejm seeking a review of Polish drug policy.

Former Polish president Aleksander Kwaśniewski, sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, and renowned international human rights expert Wiktor Osiatyński also joined the fray, signing a January open letter coordinated by Krytyka Polityczna, an influential group of liberal thinkers. Over 100 organizations from Poland and worldwide recently signed a petition coordinated by the Polish Drug Policy Network.

For many advocates, the proposed reforms don't go far enough. There is also concern that the quantity guidelines for determining what constitutes personal use have yet to be set. But there are also rumblings of discontent from the other side of the issue. "Which mafia did you support today?" asked conservative Law and Justice Party member Beata Kampa.

[Editor's Note: Kampa's comment presumably was made without irony, but is actually highly ironic. While decriminalization without a legal supply won't undo the mafias, it is prohibition of drugs that allows mafias to earn illicit drug profits.]


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OfflineMandark
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Registered: 11/15/06
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Re: Poland Edges Toward Drug Decriminalization [Re: 5-HT2A]
    #14291847 - 04/14/11 06:31 PM (12 years, 9 months ago)

The title is slightly misleading. Poland had one of the harshest drug laws in Europe and this was just a slight modification. Description of the change from a different website:
Quote:

Under the new law, public prosecutors will be able to refrain from prosecuting a person for the possession of psychoactive or psychotropic substances if the individual possesses only a small amount of an illegal drug for personal use and has been arrested for the first time. At the same time, the maximum penalty for possessing a large amount of drugs was raised. Despite attempts by  the Social Liberal Democrats (SLD) [the correct name of that party is Democratic Left Alliance - Mandark], upper and lower limits were not defined or written into the bill.

To date, Poland has had one of the most punitive drug policies in Europe. The possession of any amount of illicit substances can result in a three-year prison sentence. While this is only a small change, it is nevertheless a step in the right direction.



It allows, but does not obligate to anything. It doesn't even define small amount. Nothing might even change in practice.

The only good thing was the public debate that accompanied it, although the media distorted the information (as always). Some conservative tabloids even claimed that marijuana was legalized. Right-wing Law and Justice party politicians said numerous times during the parliamentary discussion that the government makes it easier for dealers to harm 'our children'. Some politicians claimed that all people jailed for possession are actually dealers.

However, there have been some voices of reasons (like the left-wing Krytyka Polityczna - 'The Political Critique' - mentioned in the original post) and I feel that in about 20 years we may actually see the parliament debating on decriminalizing drugs in Poland.


--------------------
"One might ask why tobacco is legal and marijuana not. A possible answer is suggested by the nature of the crop. Marijuana can be grown almost anywhere, with little difficulty. It might not be easily marketable by major corporations. Tobacco is quite another story." - Noam Chomsky


Edited by Mandark (04/14/11 06:39 PM)


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