EUROPE CRITICISES BULGARIA ON DRUG LAWS

The European Commission demanded that Bulgaria's Parliament determine
quickly what the amount of drugs constituting personal possession
should be and accept measures for the decriminalisation of its
possession. 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.