After analyzing the enormous social and health-related costs of criminalising the personal use of drugs, which resulted from decisions made in 2000, the Ministry of Health has recommended de-criminalization of personal use again. The new laws would change our policy from the costly and counter-productive "zero-tolerance" model, back to a sensible harm-reduction appoarch.

Dr. Marek Balicki, Poland's Minister of Health stated, "We still have the illusion that if we have criminal punishment for illict drugs possession, then we will solve the drug problem. Making criminals from young people that have tried drugs is without sense. This is not a good road. We should punish dealers, not their victims."

Dr. Balicki stated that criminialisation of drug possession caused much harm to society and didn't produce any positive results. This rational analysis by the Department of Health observed that imposing criminal penalties for drug possession hasn't stopped people from using drugs and hasn't made drugs any less available.

The new law in Poland also allows for other positive innovations. A change in the 'marijuana' drug law makes it easier for farmers to obtain a permit needed to grow industrial Cannabis, hemp. This broadens the possibilities for hemp in different sectors of our food production, manufacturing industries and trade. Farming organically to produce industrial feedstocks for making paper, food, cloth, building materials, plastics, cosmetics and health products, allows for a major economic shift, with enormous potential for increasing Poland's resource base.

Another important change allows for the research and development of Cannabis-based therapeutics. However only synthetic THC based medicaments are allowed to be sell throught pharmacies.

Beside the progressive changes, the new law proposes to ban products that, in any way, refer to illegal drugs. For example, under the new law, people will not be allowed to buy or produce t-shirts made showing a Cannabis leaf design. Wearing such a shirt would be punished by a fine. This will also apply to any songs, videos or musical albums about Cannabis.

The new law, after public review, will go to the Parliament for consideration and approval in the Spring. The Ministry of Health stated that it would finish its legislative process just before Autumn.

Kanaba commends the wisdom and initiative of Poland's Minister of Health. We believe that this proposition is the first step on a road to develop truly effective and rational drug policies that are not entangled in expensive and ineffective, repressive strategies. Only through decriminalization of drugs, proper education and a functional healthcare system can we hope to reduce the harms done to society and individuals by the abuse of drugs.

The proposal made by the Ministry of Health, in its current form, is not perfect. At Kanaba, we hope that by working together with other Polish drug policy organizations, we will be able to improve the effectiveness of our drug control system, based more in recent recommendations made by the European Parliament's CATANIA Report.

We strongly recommend that the final version of these new drug laws will make it possible to distribute not only synthetic THC-based pharmaceuticals through the pharmacies, but will also allow people the individual freedom to grow their own herbal therapeutics in their gardens.

We adamantly disagree with Article 69 that seeks to ban products that contains images, slogans, names or anything that could resemble llegal drugs. The effects of such legislation on young people are to create a "forbidden fruit," having the opposite result than intended. If Article 69 is included in the final version of Poland's drug laws, then we will have no choice than to go to appeal the matter to the Court. This article is obviously a crude attempt at 'thought control' which violates our Polish Constitution. Any form of "prevention censorship" that threatens people's "guarantees to freedom of expression" is against the law and must always remain so.

Please, send Your comments to our Ministry of Health. They are waiting for it until 4 February. E-mail address is  m.sztyk@mz.gov.pl, fax number + 48 (0)22 634 92 13.

Artur Radosz
Coordinator of Kanaba.info
Polish Association for effective and rational drug policy
e-mail:  artur@kanaba.info
phone: +48 693 094 498
fax: +48 (0)22 74 11 890