c-ray
04-30-2006, 05:38 PM
According to a study by the Max-Planck-Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law commissioned by the Federal Health Ministry there are "large differences" in the criminal prosecution of cannabis users in different states. A comparison with a survey by the Institute for Therapy Research shows that there is no association between the extent of cannabis use and the practice of criminal prosecution.
The Max-Planck-Institute investigated the practice of criminal prosecution in six of the 16 German states, in Bavaria, Berlin, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. In 1994 the Federal Constitutional Court asked to abandon criminal prosecutions in case of possession of a "low amount" for personal use. However, the guidelines issued by the states show a significant difference. Thus, the upper limit that does not result in a criminal procedure is six grams in Bavaria and Saxony, ten grams in North Rhine-Westphalia, 15 grams in Berlin and Hesse, and 30 grams in Schleswig-Holstein. Further differences, for example with regard to repeated drug possession, result in a stop of the criminal prosecution without restraints in between 40 and 60 per cent in Bavaria and between 80 and 90 per cent in Schleswig-Holstein and Berlin.
The Institute for Therapy Research investigated the amount of drug use in Germany in 2003 commissioned by the Federal Health Ministry and had interviewed in written form 8,061 subjects aged 18 to 59 years. According to this survey 4.4 per cent of respondents from Schleswig-Holstein, the most liberal state concerning drug policy had used cannabis within the past 12 months. In Saxony and Bavaria, two of the most repressive states, the proportions were 4.7 and 5.5 per cent. Therefore, the Max-Planck-Institute stated that the different practices in criminal prosecution probably does not directly influence the use of illegal drugs, but points out that the insufficient empirical basis of the data do not allow a substantiated scientific conclusion on this issue.
(Source: Schäfer C, Paoli L. Drogenkonsum und Strafverfolgungspraxis [Drug use and practice of criminal prosecution]. Max-Planck-Institut, Berlin 2006)
The Max-Planck-Institute investigated the practice of criminal prosecution in six of the 16 German states, in Bavaria, Berlin, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. In 1994 the Federal Constitutional Court asked to abandon criminal prosecutions in case of possession of a "low amount" for personal use. However, the guidelines issued by the states show a significant difference. Thus, the upper limit that does not result in a criminal procedure is six grams in Bavaria and Saxony, ten grams in North Rhine-Westphalia, 15 grams in Berlin and Hesse, and 30 grams in Schleswig-Holstein. Further differences, for example with regard to repeated drug possession, result in a stop of the criminal prosecution without restraints in between 40 and 60 per cent in Bavaria and between 80 and 90 per cent in Schleswig-Holstein and Berlin.
The Institute for Therapy Research investigated the amount of drug use in Germany in 2003 commissioned by the Federal Health Ministry and had interviewed in written form 8,061 subjects aged 18 to 59 years. According to this survey 4.4 per cent of respondents from Schleswig-Holstein, the most liberal state concerning drug policy had used cannabis within the past 12 months. In Saxony and Bavaria, two of the most repressive states, the proportions were 4.7 and 5.5 per cent. Therefore, the Max-Planck-Institute stated that the different practices in criminal prosecution probably does not directly influence the use of illegal drugs, but points out that the insufficient empirical basis of the data do not allow a substantiated scientific conclusion on this issue.
(Source: Schäfer C, Paoli L. Drogenkonsum und Strafverfolgungspraxis [Drug use and practice of criminal prosecution]. Max-Planck-Institut, Berlin 2006)