Norway's courts will now be able to sentence drug-addicted convicts to treatment programmes instead of sending them to jail.
Following successful trials in Bergen and Oslo, the narkotikaprogrammet (narcotics programme) is being introduced nationwide, effective immediately.
Announcing the expansion of the programme, Justice Minister Anders Andundsen said: “We’re rolling out a program that has been tested since 2006, in which addicts have been sentenced to treatment with concrete follow-up."
“The goal is that more addicts will rid themselves of their drug dependency and fewer will return to crime,” Anundsen continued. “But if the terms of the programme are violated, the convicts must serve an ordinary prison term.”
The legislation was introduced by the Conservative party, who are ruling as a minority government in a centrist coalition, and backed by almost every party in the Norweigan parliament.
However, the new measures have also attracted criticism from across the political spectrum. Right-wing pundits in Norway have argued that possession of illegal substances should remain a criminal offence, while those on the left feel that the law still does not do enough to protect vulnerable addicts.
In an interview with the Norweigan Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), drug liberalisation campaigner Arild Knutsen said: "Addicts will still be treated like criminals. Drug rehab programmes are still a form of punishment, and that’s not what these people need. They need help.”
Similar decriminalisation measures across Europe and beyond seem to have achieved the desired effect, reducing drug use and abuse by removing factors that create problematic drug use such as stigmatisation, lack of access to healthcare, prison sentences and employment difficulties.
Portugal adopted a similar but slightly bolder policy in 2001, totally decriminalising all personal possession of drugs. 15 years later, rates of drug use have fallen across the nation, and British people are now 15 times more likely than Portuguese people to die of a drug overdose.
With its introduction of a network of federal-administrated, legal marijuana dispensaries, Uruguay is becoming the first country in the world nternational Convention on Drug Control. However, data does not yet indicate the impact of the legislation on a country where 10% of the prison population is incarcerated for small drug offences.
Amongst other countries, the Netherlands, Colombia and Spain have adopted similar approaches towards some drug use, while Ireland is set to enact a similar programme to Portugal this year.
While the outcome of decriminalisation varies from country to country, Norwegian legislators are hoping their policy will follow the usual trend and instigate a decrease in addiction, drug-related crime and drug-related deaths.
