Lithuanian president opposes decriminalization of cannabis

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda says he opposes the idea of decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of cannabis in the country.

The Medical cannabis is legal in Lithuania, just like the the production and sale of CBD.

«I am opposed to this idea at the moment because I believe that we have so far failed in our fight against the spread of drugs in schools and among young people, who are the future of our country,» Gitanas Nausėda said on Lithuanian radio station LRT RADIO on Friday while answering questions from the public.

According to the president, it is necessary to curb the spread of drugs among young people before taking any steps to decriminalize the possession of these substances.

«I’m not convinced when someone says we’re going to liberalize this sector to some extent and then move on to education and various other projects. We’re putting the cart before the horse here. I think we should first educate people and work to stop this harmful and negative trend. And then we can talk about legislative initiatives,» he said.

Earlier in December, the The Lithuanian Parliament approved a proposal aimed at amending the Code of Administrative Offenses to include fines for the possession of small amounts of cannabis, but failed to remove this offense from the Criminal Code in a separate vote.

Under this bill, fines ranging from €300 to €1,000 would be imposed for repeat offenses. In all cases, the cannabis would be confiscated. The Ministry of Health would determine what constitutes a “small” amount of cannabis.

Parliament also approved a proposal by Jonas Varkalis of the Liberal Movement, under which anyone caught with cannabis three times in a year would be required to go to a center for addiction-related illnesses and undergo a treatment program designed by a psychiatrist.

Currently, possession of even a small amount of any type of narcotic is punishable under Lithuanian criminal law.

In 2018, the Lithuanian Parliament twice rejected amendments aimed at decriminalize possession of small amounts of narcotics.