In 2016, Australia legalized medical cannabis at the federal level. There are also many single-theme marijuana parties dedicated exclusively to the campaign for cannabis legalization. In 1994, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that drug addiction was not a crime, nor was possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use. In 2000, the German Narcotics Act («BtmG») was amended to allow supervised injection rooms. In 2002, a pilot study was launched in seven German cities to investigate the effects of heroin-assisted treatment on drug users compared to methadone-assisted treatment. The positive results of the study led to the inclusion of heroin-assisted treatment in compulsory health insurance in 2009. 4. In May 2016, the Federal Council decided to approve the measure to legalise cannabis for seriously ill patients who have consulted a doctor and «have no therapeutic alternative». German Health Minister Hermann Gröhe presented to the cabinet the draft law on the legalisation of medical cannabis, which is expected to enter into force in early 2017. [61] [62] [63] [64] [65] However, a policy of non-enforcement has led to a situation where the use of non-enforcement has become commonplace, and for this reason, the courts have ruled against the government when individual cases have been prosecuted. Proponents of legalization argue that Thailand`s legal marijuana market could reach $5 billion by 2024. [50] Proponents of drug liberalization have different reasons for supporting liberalization and have different policy proposals.

The two most common elements are the legalization (or relegalization) of drugs and the decriminalization of drugs. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) defines decriminalisation as the withdrawal of an act or activity from the field of criminal law; Punishment, which simply means a relaxation of the criminal penalties provided for by law. Decriminalization generally refers to drug-related offences and may include either the imposition of sanctions of a different (administrative) nature or the abolition of all sanctions; Other (non-criminal) laws then regulate the conduct or activity that has been decriminalized. Punishment usually consists of personal consumption as well as small-scale trafficking and usually means the abolition or reduction of custodial sentences, while conduct or activity remains a criminal offence. The term legalization refers to the removal of all drug-related offenses from criminal law: consumption, possession, cultivation, production, trafficking, etc.[7][8] Portugal joined the war on drugs in the seventies, although drug use was not a relevant social problem in the country at that time, and that the legislator has not made a distinction between drug use and drug trafficking so far. The utopia of a drug-free society has been maintained in Portugal and elsewhere by conservative discourses shaped in the field of law (political-legal discourses) and in the field of health (medical-psychological discourses), which function as vehicles of social control and converge in the understanding of drug use as a deviation from the norm, whether in the legal field (crime) or health (pathology). In 2000 and contrary to drug use, Law No. 30/2000 made drug trafficking (production, production and trafficking of illicit drugs) legally punishable by Legislative Decree No.

15/93, which criminalizes «trafficking in human beings and other illegal activities» (Article 21°), «less serious trafficking in human beings» (Article 25°); and the «distributor/user» (Article 26°). The latter category refers to situations where the person`s ultimate goal is to obtain substances for personal use that do not exceed the amounts for an average use of up to five days. Footnote 8 The most ambitious challenge, however, is to promote a debate that places the phenomenon of drug use within the realm of human rights, thereby promoting respect for the principles of individual liberty and the right to make informed choices. The interaction between the drug phenomenon and human rights is anything but linear (see Bone [2]). The central conflict has remained fairly immutable since the beginning of the global ban: the interest of States in restricting access to and use of certain substances and the interest of individuals in their consumption, which deploys a parallel conflict at another level, but not distant: between the health of the population or sovereignty over one`s own body — what to prioritize? Different perspectives take shape in the debate, from conservative trenches (such as the right to equal access to health and justice) to the right to use drugs for specific purposes – namely the religious rituals provided for by UN conventions – or simply the right to use drugs [66]. The most liberal movements advocate the need to «legalize everything» and present a variety of arguments that vary between the right to privacy and individual freedom (which can be read both in the light of Article 12° of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) and cognitive freedom (Article 18°); and circumventing notions of informed choice and individual sovereignty over the body [33]. In April 2009, the Mexican Congress passed amendments to the General Health Law that decriminalized the possession of illicit drugs for immediate and personal use, allowing a person to possess up to 5 g of marijuana or 500 mg of cocaine. The only restriction is that people in possession of drugs must not be within 300 metres of schools, police stations or correctional facilities.

Opium, heroin, LSD and other synthetic drugs have also been decriminalized, it is not considered a crime as long as the dose does not exceed the limit set by the General Health Law. [93] Many question this, as cocaine is synthesized as much as heroin, both of which are made as plant extracts. The law sets very low quantity thresholds and strictly defines the personal dosage. For those caught above the legally permitted threshold, this can result in lengthy prison sentences as they are considered petty traffickers, even if there is no other evidence that the amount was intended for sale. [94] Costa Rica has decriminalized drugs for personal use.