EUROPE CRITICISES BULGARIA ON DRUG LAWS

Sofia Echo.com January 02, 2006

On Thursday, Parliament will consider changes to the penal code, which envisage imprisonment of between 10 and 15 years for anyone caught with a narcotic substance, regardless of its quantity. The EC sharply criticised Bulgaria for the lack of differentiation between people dependent on narcotic substances and drug dealers. Whatever the punishment for drug possession was, it should not be imprisonment, the EC suggested. In Austria, people in possession of only a small amount of a forbidden substance for personal use are usually accepted for treatment in medical centres, Novinar newspaper reported. In March last year the National Assembly criminalised the possession of a single dose. In this way, national authorities placed addicts among criminals, alongside drug dealers. Last week four non-government organisations presented a report stating that the measure was ineffective. Nearly 2500 people have been detained for drug possession in the past year. Experts, however, said that the court cannot determine which of these are addicts and which are dealers.