NCJ Number
155443
Date Published
1995
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This analysis of juvenile drug use and drug policies in the United Kingdom and the United States focuses on the debate about decriminalization and summarizes the views on this issue presented at a conference of British juvenile court judges in February 1995.
Abstract
A representative of the British Association of Chief Police Officers opposed legalization and urged more emphasis on prevention and treatment. He noted that the police regularly caution people possessing small amounts of soft drugs for their own use the first time they are arrested, but cautioning is a formal part of the judicial process. A British magistrate questioned the interpretation of decriminalization as nonenforcement and argued that it is much closer in meaning to legalization. The Director of Release said that decriminalization means the nonenforcement of the law, while legalization means changing the law and that neither is a perfect solution. A juvenile court judge from the Netherlands said that up to now, the Netherlands has chosen to decriminalize the personal use of drugs, but not drug dealing. However, he believes that the country is on the way to legalizing the production and sale of soft drugs. A British psychiatrist presented survey data and analyzed British drug policies. She noted that reducing supply, reducing demand, and treatment received much attention in a recent government report, which overlooked three other policies: harm reduction, addressing the causes of the problem, and decriminalizing drug use.