Cannabis Policy Innovations and the Challenges for EU Coordination in Drug Policy

Constanza Sánchez-Avilés

doi:10.1017/aju.2020.60

Abstract

In the past decades, Europe has been the site of multiple drug policy innovations and cannabis policy experimentation. Most of the policy reforms in this area are taking place at the national and subnational levels. They have not resulted from agreements or harmonization initiatives at the EU level, but rather from bottom-up adoption of cannabis policies and practices that deviate from punitive approaches. Cannabis regulation has been only marginally debated by European institutions and is not discussed in depth in any EU document. On the one hand, the diversity of European drug policies is a positive development: it serves as a policy laboratory and reflects adaptations to local contexts in light of drug market-related challenges. On the other hand, a greater EU consensus would be helpful for policy coordination and international engagement.

Highlights

Drug Policy and Markets in the EUThe principle of subsidiarity governs this area of policy, meaning that the issue of illicit drugs is controlled at the national, rather than the EU level.[1] This means that the role of the EU is to provide principles and frameworks within which member states can formulate and implement their policy responses with relative autonomy
In the past decades, Europe has been the site of multiple drug policy innovations and cannabis policy experimentation
Cannabis regulation has been only marginally debated by European institutions and is not discussed in depth in any EU document, except for a limited number of policy analyses conducted by the EMCDDA

Summary

Drug Policy and Markets in the EU

The principle of subsidiarity governs this area of policy, meaning that the issue of illicit drugs is controlled at the national, rather than the EU level.[1] This means that the role of the EU is to provide principles and frameworks within which member states can formulate and implement their policy responses with relative autonomy. Member states implement divergent approaches to drug control and there is a lack of consensus among them regarding whether drug policy has to be reformed and, if so, in what direction. This contrasts with other criminal justice areas where the EU has been more capable of harmonizing policies, such as corruption, anti-money laundering and organized crime

AJIL UNBOUND

The Diversity of Cannabis Policies Within the EU

Conclusion