European Drug Policies The Ways of Reform

335 Pages·2017·4.087 MB·English

by  Renaud Colson, Henri Bergeron (eds.)

European Drug Policies
The drug control regime established by the international community has not
succeededincurbingeitherthedemandfor,ortheofferof,narcotics.But,despite
a series of developments in the Americas – including the legalisation of cannabis
in Uruguay and in several states in the United States of America – there is still
little support in Europe for repealing drug prohibition laws. Nevertheless, a gra-
dual policy convergence reveals the emergence of a European model favouring
public health strategies over a strictly penal approach to combatting drugs, while
growing transnational support for legalisation indicates the persistence of an
alternativeparadigmfordrugpolicy.Thisbookexaminesthevariousinfluenceson
drug policies in Europe, as grassroots movements, NGO networks, private foun-
dations and academic research centres increasingly confront the prevailing dis-
courses of drug prohibition. Pursuing an interdisciplinary approach and bringing
together legal scholars, social scientists and practitioners, it provides a comprehen-
sive and critical assessment of drug policy reform in Europe.
Renaud Colson is Associate Professor at the Law & Political Science Faculty of
the University of Nantes.
HenriBergeronisResearchFellowattheCentreforSociologyofOrganisations,
Sciences Po, CNRS, scientific coordinator of the Chair in Health Studies, and
director of the Health Research Programme at the LIEPP (LABEX), Sciences Po.
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European Drug Policies
The Ways of Reform
Edited by
Renaud Colson and Henri Bergeron
N
O
D LONDON
N
O LONDON
L
LONDON
Firstpublished2017
byRoutledge
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BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Names:Colson,Renaud,editor.|Bergeron,Henri,editor.
Title:Europeandrugpolicies:thewaysofreform/editedbyRenaudColson
andHenriBergeron.
Description:NewYork:Routledge,2017.|Includesbibliographicalreferences
andindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2016030753|ISBN9781138915206(hbk)|
ISBN9781315690384(ebk)
Subjects:LCSH:Drugcontrol--Europe.|Narcoticlaws--Europe.|Drugsof
abuse--Europe.
Classification:LCCHV5840.E8E93941996|DDC364.1/77094--dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2016030753
ISBN:978-1-138-91520-6(hbk)
ISBN:978-1-315-69038-4(ebk)
TypesetinBaskerville
byTaylor&FrancisBooks
Contents
List of illustrations vii
List of contributors ix
Acknowledgements xvii
Foreword xix
European drug policies in context 1
HENRIBERGERONANDRENAUDCOLSON
PARTI
Regional dimensions of European drug policies 11
1 The politics of expertise and EU drug policy 13
MARTINELVINS
2 Pathways to integration of European drug policy 27
CAROLINECHATWIN
3 The soft power of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs
and Drug Addiction 40
HENRIBERGERON
PARTII
Domestic drug policies in Europe 57
4 Belgian drug policy 59
CHRISTINEGUILLAIN
5 Danish drug policy 73
ESBENHOUBORG
6 French drug policy 87
IVANAOBRADOVIC
vi Contents
7 German drug policy 100
TILMANNHOLZER
8 Italian drug policy 114
GRAZIAZUFFA
9 Drug policy in the Netherlands 128
JEAN-PAULC.GRUNDANDJOOSTJ.BREEKSEMA
10 Polish drug policy 149
KASIAMALINOWSKA
11 Portuguese drug policy 164
CAITLINHUGHES
12 Spanish drug policy 182
CRISTINADÍAZGÓMEZANDEMILIANOMARTÍNGONZÁLEZ
13 Swedish drug policy 195
JOHANEDMAN
14 Swiss drug policy 206
FRANKZOBEL
15 Drug policy in the United Kingdom 217
SUSANNEMACGREGOR
PARTIII
Trends and prospects in European drug policies 239
16 Changing paradigms in drug policies in EU Member States: from
digression to convergence 241
FRANZTRAUTMANN
17 The changing face of harm reduction in Europe 254
DAGMARHEDRICHANDALESSANDROPIRONA
18 Legal responses to drug possession in Europe: from crime to
public health 272
BRENDANHUGHES
19 Cannabis social clubs in Europe: prospects and limits 285
TOMDECORTEANDMAFALDAPARDAL
Index 300
Illustrations
Figures
10.1 Drug possession arrests in Poland, 1999–2007 157
12.1 Prisons providing therapy for drug users 183
17.1 Year of introduction of OST and NSPs in EU countries 257
17.2 Estimated number of clients receiving opioid substitution treatment
in the EU (EU15 and EU13) 259
17.3 Numberofproblemopioidusersinopioidsubstitutiontreatmentas
a percentage of the estimated number of problem opioid users,
2013 or most recent year available 262
Tables
9.1 Dutch coffee shop criteria 133
9.2 Outcomes of Dutch drug policy 140
11.1 Timeline of key events leading to the Portuguese decriminalisation
of illicit drugs 166
12.1 System of penalties for drug related offences 190
15.1 Timeline of major legislation and policies 218
15.2 Drugs classification system under the MDA 228
Boxes
Main drivers in Spain for the counter-reforms of the 1990s 186
The development of Cannabis Social Clubs (CSC) under the umbrella of
‘shared drug use’ 191
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Contributors
Henri Bergeron is a CNRS Research Fellow at the Centre for Sociology of
Organisations (Sciences Po), co-director of the Health Department of the Inter-
disciplinary Centre for the Evaluation of Public Policies (Centre of Excellence –
LABEX),andscientificcoordinatoroftheChairinHealthStudies–SciencesPo.
He is also the director of the Master on ‘Organisational Behaviour and Human
Resources’atSciencesPoandthescientificdirector ofthe GlobalHealthPolicy
track at Sciences Po’s School of Public Affairs. He conducts research on public
health, healthcare policy and changes in medical practice through the study of
various subjects: illegal drugs, alcohol, obesity and cancer. His recent books
include Drugs and Culture. Knowledge, Consumption and Policy (Ashgate, 2011, with
GeoffreyHuntandMaitenaMilhet),Sociologiepolitiquedelasanté(PUF,2014,with
PatrickCastel),Lesdroguesfaceaudroit(PUF,2015,withRenaudColson).
Joost J. Breeksema works as an independent drug policy researcher and is
currently working in the harm reduction field for the Mainline Foundation.
AspresidentoftheDutchOPENFoundationheorganisesacademicconferences
and promotes scientific research into psychedelic substances in the Netherlands
and beyond. Among his recent publications are ‘The Beneficial Effects of Psy-
chedelics, with a Special Focus on Addictions’ (Current Drug Abuse Reviews, 2014,
withRudieKortekaas)andCoffeeShopsandCompromise:SeparatedIllicitDrugMarkets
intheNetherlands(OpenSocietyFoundations,2013,withJean-PaulGrund).
Caroline Chatwin is Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Kent.
She has more than 10 years’ experience researching European drug policy and
haspublishedaresearchmonographonthissubject;DrugPolicyHarmonizationand
theEuropeanUnion(PalgraveMacmillan, 2011). More recently,she hasworkedas
anadvisoronEuropeandrugpolicytotheHouseofLordsandhasparticipated
in a special project on ‘Improving Global Drug Policy’ sponsored by the
Brookings Institute. Her latest work examines the contribution that European
drug policy can make to recent discussions on global drug policy reform.
Renaud Colson is Associate Professor at the Law and Political Science Faculty
of the University of Nantes and Honorary Lecturer at Cardiff University. He