The different drug policies in France and Netherlands

Résumé du document

The Oxford dictionnary defines the drugs as « A substance taken for its narcotic or stimulant effects, often illegally » it has to be differentiate with the large definition of drugs : « A medicine or other substance which has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body ». I will focus my essay on the drugs mostly considered as illegal drugs, without taking account of other legal drugs such as tobacco, alcohol, medicine. The aim of this essay is to specify the different criminal law approaches in Europe concerning Marijuana, LSD, Ecstasy, Heroïne, Cocaïne.

On the international scene, drugs are a main problematic which affect millions of people. Indeed, there is a large increase in consumption of illegal drugs which are more and more diversified. The real problem is the growth of production of drugs by criminal organizations and the enlargement of an underground drug market uncontrolled by the States. Depending on the type of drugs, some countries in the world are known as main drug-producing-country.

Afghanistan produces 92 % of Opium which reach Europe through Asia, Turkey and the Balkan area. But the growing production in central Europe, Turkey, Africa is an on-going problem which will more and more endangered the European Union in the next years.

Extraits

[...] Conclusion : Even with a certain will of harmonization in the European Union on the traffic and use of drugs policy, it is undeniable that there are still divergences concerning the criminal approach of that problem. The position of Netherlands on that question remains at the opposite direction of the French policy which promote a repressive system on every kind of drugs while Netherlands proposes a flexible system without a criminalization of the use drugs. Despite a law which seems to be repressive for the use of any kind of drugs without making a difference between soft or hard drugs, France is in reality more flexible in practice, with the appreciation of the authorities based on the circumstances (without any other related behaviour, don't harm the life of an other individual by acting under influences of drugs ) the amount of detention. [...]

[...] This state is regularly pointed by the others for its flexible legislation. As an example it is possible to quote the words held by M. Yves Bot, public prosecutor of the court of Paris for whom " the Dutch position can be interpreted as a lack of solidarity towards the other European countries in the sense that it introduces the product so ( . ) And diffuse it somewhere else As seen above, the Dutch system regarding narcotics is ruled by the law Opium Wet or Act of 1976 which came to modify the law on the opium of 1916. [...]

[...] As regards to soft drugs, the article 11 of the law, interpreted by virtue of the directive of the Council of the general prosecutors of 1996, plans the non-application of sentences in case the quantities of hashish or marijuana possessed are not superior to 5 grams. Thus involves a decriminalization de facto and not a legalization by the non-application of sentences for the users owners of quantity lower than 5 grams. Beyond this quantity, the consumers expose themselves to criminal proceedings. The major question raised by the Dutch policy regarding drugs is in the practice of coffee shops. [...]

[...] The Netherlands is governed by the legal principle of opportunity of the pursuits which grants to the Prosecution the power to avoid the pursuits which are not of the general interest. However, this discretionary power having very been used widely by the prosecutors, the Dutch Supreme Court required a certain homogenization of the practice. In this objective, directives were developed to harmonize the practices and specify the conditions of applications of the judicial measures. In Holland, the definition of breaches regarding drug is comparable to that of other countriesat the exception of the distinction between drugs presenting an unacceptable risk and cannabis and its by- products. [...]

[...] The incurred sentence is the life imprisonment as well as euros of fine. A period of safety can be also planned[9] - The traffic in itself is repressed by articles 222-35 and following ones of the Penal code which incriminate the production or the illicit manufacturing of narcotics. The sentence for a breach is 20 years of imprisonment and euros of fine. The sentence can be increased to 30 years if the breach is committed with the aggravating circumstance of organized group. [...]