Young, wild and free

At the moment, the Belgian Drug Law of 2003 prohibits the use, sale and production of any kind of drug. Although the criminalisation of most drugs is still the norm, its about time we rethought our drug policy. The war on drugs has failed. A solution may be found in drug liberalization. Definition A drug is a chemical substance that, once taken, affects the body. While some stimulants, sedatives, painkillers and mind-altering drugs are legal (e.g. alcohol, aspirin, caffeine and nicotine), others are banned (e.g. cannabis, cocaine, heroin and amphetamines). This distinction is illogical because its based on drug types instead of the degree of addictiveness and the degree of harm to the individual and/or the community. Alcohol, for instance, is by far the most harmful drug1, thus outperforming illegal drugs like heroin and crack. Law and policies in Belgium Since the Belgian drug law came into effect in 2003, producers, traders and users have been treated differently because the law introduced separate penalties for each of them. This counts for cannabis compared to other illicit drugs as well. The use and possession of all drugs is forbidden. Nevertheless, adults who are in possession of a quantity of cannabis for personal use, namely three grams or one plant or seed, will not be verbalized and therefore not prosecuted. The crime will principally be regarded as a lowest-priority offence, but there are two exceptions to this approach. In case of problematic drug use or public nuisance, prosecution will follow nonetheless. After the Constitutional Court decided in a judgement that the concepts of problematic drug use and public nuisance were defined too vaguely and imprecisely by the legislature, the Minister of Justice sent a new circular letter to the prosecutors. The circular letter stipulated that prosecution is obliged in case of disturbed public order, possession in a public place, obvious possession in or near schools and drug use accompanied by minors. However, charges against a suspect may be dropped under condition of following a therapy in a drug rehabilitation centre. The Belgian drug policy is founded on the Communal Declaration of 2010, which aims to pursue a warning policy even though it is perceived as a tolerant policy2. The gap between (n.d.) Drugs that cause most harm: scoring drugs. [WWW] http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2010/11/drugs_cause_most_harm [December 1, 2013] 2 GELDERS, D. & VANDER LAENEN, F. (2007). Mr. Police Officer, I thought cannabis was legal'; Introducing new policy regarding cannabis in Belgium: a story of good intentions and Babel. Drugs: Education, Pr, 14, 103-116.
1

legislation and legal practice creates legal insecurity. On the one hand, the Drug Law contains very specific situations in which some drugs can be tolerated; On the other hand toleration varies from place to place and depends on local priorities. For example, Antwerp recently started a war on drugs, while Ghent is thinking about facilitating drug use. Types of drugs liberalisation There are several ways to eliminate drug prohibition laws. Drug decriminalisation presumes reduced control and penalties in comparison with the existing laws. Such a policy is mostly associated with the imposition of fines instead of imprisonment. Another type of drug liberalization is drug re-legalization, which aims to stop drug prohibition by the government. While full legalisation implicates the abolishment of all drug laws, partial legalisation only permits drugs under controlled circumstances such as restrictions on advertising and age limitations. For instance, alcohol is partially legalized because only people who reached the age of sixteen may consume it. War on drugs Even though drugs have been prohibited for ages, today, the numbers of drug users are soaring and the substance is cheaper and more available than ever3. The war on drugs has obviously failed, but the government doesnt seem to be willing to change their point of view. Nevertheless, legislation has a lot of benefits, besides the fact that millions of taxpayers money could be saved. First of all, drugs legalisation would lead to less crime. In a free market, prices would be lower and users would be offered an alternative route of supply, thus taking away huge profits from criminal organisations. Those gains are now used to protect production facilities. As a result, countries such as Mexico and Afghanistan are very unstable. Aside from that, a lot of property crime is drug related. By lowering prices, theft to buy drugs wouldnt be necessary. Drug addicts can also seek help more easily because the entrance berries for a relevant therapy are lowered. People will be threatened faster because drug use is no longer considered as a crime and drug addiction will be more negotiable. Second, drugs are too dangerous to be left in the hand of criminals. Criminalisation limits the amount of information for consumers about the purchased product. Hence, asymmetric costs are attached to acquire information about the type of drug, quality and quantity. When customers would know exactly what they are using, drugs will be safer.

KUSHLICK, D. (2013) Why not legalise drugs? [WWW] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23374228 [December, 1 2013]
3

Third, the government has no business in regulating private behaviour. Every individual has the right to do with his or her own body whatever he or she wants. In addition, drug use doesnt directly violate the rights of other people, so it should be legalized. Another argument to legalize drugs is the following. The common use of illegal drugs makes the law look unproductive and out-dated, and results in criminalizing a large group of the population. The criminalisation of drugs is sometimes even racist, as the poorer black population of the U.S. gets faster into drug circuits and consequently, also in prison. Further, it has to be noted that historically drugs werent forbidden because regulation is a rather new concept. Humans have been using diverse drugs since the beginning of time. Today, a lot of states - for instance Portugal, Uruguay and Colorado - are passing drug laws that decriminalize drugs or provide a form of re-legislation. Portugal Portugal has already reaped the fruits of the decriminalization of all drugs in 2001. Decriminalization contributed to less HIV infections4, and didnt lead to massive drug tourism, neither to massive drug consumption. A vision for the future Its necessary to achieve a free drug market in which dealers sell drugs and consumers use drugs responsively to avoid drug abuse and repression. Unless every substance that is currently illegal is made legal and available to every person of all ages, who chooses to use drugs, an illegal market with its disadvantageous characteristics will continue to exist. Legalising drugs will not only reduce crime and the number of HIV containments, but also encourage treatment and safer drug use, lead towards lower prices and save millions of taxpayers money. In short, the legalisation of drugs is the most curative way to reduce the harm of drugs for the individual and the whole of society.

SZALAVITZ, M. (2009) Drugs in Portugal: did decriminalization work? [WWW] http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html [December, 1 2013]
4