Denmark: proposal to decriminalize all drugs

The Danish environmentalist party Alternative is proposing to decriminalize the use of all drugs, as Portugal has done, in response to the failure of repression.

Sikandar Siddique, spokesperson for Alternative, believes that personal drug use should no longer be a matter for the justice system, which could be replaced by a treatment obligation. «Drug abuse is a health issue, not a punitive one, which is why we need to help, not prosecute, drug addicts. Alternative therefore proposes decriminalizing the simple use of drugs».

Sikandar Siddique also believes that the current hard line against drugs has failed. «Although we have a ban on drugs and have a very tough policy on drugs, we find that more and more young people are using them. That's why we're studying countries like Portugal, where they reduced abuse and death rates by decriminalizing drugs».

This proposal follows a new report by Center for Substance Abuse Research, which shows that around 25,000 teenagers aged 15 to 24 have used cocaine in the past month, a figure that has doubled in five years.

Misbrug er et spørgsmål om sundhed ikke straf, hvorfor vi skal hjælpe, ikke jagte misbrugere. Alternativet foreslår derfor en afkriminalisering af narkotika til eget forbrug #dkpol #gadejuristen #dkmedier https://t.co/m3Pvx3uTIo

ADVERTISING

- Sikandar Siddique (@SikandaSIDDIQUE) January 14, 2020

The Alternative proposal is supported by the Liberal Alliance and the Unity List, which together account for just 21 of the 179 seats in Parliament. In contrast, the Danish People's Party, the Radical Left and the Conservative People's Party do not support the proposal, relying instead on judicial deterrence and parental education.

In 2017, the Norwegian parliament voted to decriminalize drugs. A commission linked to the Ministry of Health delivered a report on December 31, 2019, and the details will be negotiated in Parliament in 2020. In December, Norway's Attorney General supported the initiative, as current drug policy has not had the desired effect.