NCJ Number
83152
Date Published
1974
Length
17 pages
Annotation
A proposed amendment to Belgium's 1921 antidrug law is repressive and inadequate, but does not differ greatly from legislation elsewhere in Europe and America.
Abstract
Although the original legislation was formulated from a medical perspective, the only sanctions it provides are penal, specifying fines or incarceration to a maximum of 2 years for use or sale of narcotics and opiates. It also regulates law enforcement investigation tactics of suspected drug offenses. A 1971 legislative reform proposal aims to update the existing law with an amendment specifying new types of illegal toxic substances and increasing penalties to a maximum 20 years of forced labor. Detailed comparison with laws existing in the Netherlands, France, West Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and the United States shows similarly repressive provisions. Only in France is there a sentencing option provided for treatment of addiction. Belgian law could fill this need by providing for drug treatment as a probation measure. While the old Belgian penalties are comparable to other legislation in Continental Europe, the reform amendment brings Belgium closer to the United States and Britain with respect to drug differentiation and penalty severity. Despite the emergence of trafficking as the central problem of the illicit drug scene since 1921, the reform amendment fails to distinguish between drug trade and use and does not attempt to deal with international trafficking. Seven references list the laws cited from the respective countries.