LETTER TO POLISH PARLIAMENT

11 years ago, Poland introduced a new drug law which punishes the possession of the smallest quantities of drugs with prison sentences of up to even three years. It is one of the most punitive laws in the EU. It has been clear for several years that in most cases, this law targets occasional drug users and drug dependent persons. Such a punitive law leads to young people found with, for example, 0.5 grams of marijuana, being sent to court. This results in the young person not only being sentenced, but also receiving a criminal record for 10 years, which shuts the door to higher education, scholarships abroad, loans and also, which is important, finding a decent job (the majority of employers demand a certificate stating a clean criminal record).

Three years ago, the Ministry of Justice, thanks to the incumbent Minister, brought together a team of experts under the leadership of prof. Krzysztof Krajewski (a criminologist and lecturer at the Jagiellonian University, Krakow) which was tasked with drawing up a project to amend the law. Their aim was to shift the focus from punishment to education, prevention, help and treatment for drug dependent persons. This amendment has been lying on the shelf for over a year.

The Polish Drug Policy Network, and several Polish organizations engaged in Harm Reduction, assistance for drug dependent persons, and working in the HIV/AIDS field, call for the project to be reviewed by the Parliamentary Committee as soon as possible.

Regarding this, we are also requesting international organizations to support our efforts and to sign the letter to the Marshall of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Grzegorz Schetyna, to accelerate work on the amendment of the drug law. We are collecting signatures until 30 January, 2011.