by the following Members:

on the harmonization of the Member States' laws on drugs

A. whereas the Irish Presidency has included the fight against drug abuse as one

of the priorities for the next half-year and whereas the European Council has

reaffirmed the importance of completing a study on the harmonization of the

Member States' laws,

B. whereas drugs policies at international level are derived from the United

Nations Conventions of 1961, 1971 and 1988, and whereas these conventions

prohibit in particular the production, trafficking, sale and consumption of a

whole range of substances other than for medical or scientific purposes,

C. whereas, despite the considerable resources devoted to the application of such

policies, the production and consumption of prohibited substances have

increased exponentially over the last 30 years, which constitutes a genuine

failure as police and prison authorities also recognize,

D. whereas, in particular:

As regards production and trafficking

- the increasing profits which criminal organizations derive from trade in

illegal substances and which are ploughed back into criminal activities or

legal financial circuits have reached such magnitude that the foundations

of legal bodies and constitutional government are being undermined, even in

the EU Member States,

- the profitability of the trade in illegal substances can only lead to an

increase in the number of countries involved in production and generate

massive investment in research into, and the production of, new chemical

drugs, within the European Union as well,

- the main effect of deploying high levels of resources to stem the traffic

in illegal substances has merely been to increase the selling price (crime

tariff) for the sole benefit of organized crime circles, given that over 90%

of narcotics move freely around the world,

As regards social and health aspects and consumption

- consumers of illegal substances lack any information concerning the

composition and effects thereof and are consequently exposed to risks

(including, in particular, death as a result of an overdose and infection

by the AIDS virus) which far outstrip the dangerous nature of the substances

themselves,

- the clandestine nature of the consumption of illegal substances is an often

insurmountable obstacle to prevention work and the provision of assistance

by public authorities and private organizations; current policies therefore

condemn consumers to live on the edge of society, in permanent contact with

the criminal underworld,

- organized crime acts in such a way that the number of consumers increases

rapidly and they are encouraged to move on from relatively harmless

substances such as cannabis and its derivatives to the consumption of so-called hard drugs,

- extreme financial need and pressure from the world of organized crime lead

consumers of illegal substances to become dealers themselves, which

increases drug use even further,

As regards legal and prison-related aspects

- the application of repressive drugs laws eventually places unbearable

pressure on the legal and prison system to the extent that over half of

those currently detained in the prisons of Europe are on trial for crimes

directly or indirectly linked to drugs,

- the implementation of current drugs policies leads to the introduction into

national law of rules which gradually restrict individual freedoms,

E. whereas the soundness of current policies and the search for alternative

solutions are currently under consideration in an increasing number of the

Member States' parliaments,

The European Parliament,

1. Maintains that the drug prohibition policy stemming from the UN Conventions of

1961, 1971 and 1988 is the actual cause of the increasing damage which the

production, trafficking, sale and consumption of illegal substances inflict on

whole sections of society, the economy and public institutions, thus

undermining health, freedom and people's very lives;

2. Recommends that the Council and the Member States should ask the European

Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction to assess the costs and

benefits, from the social, health and economic points of view, of the policies

conducted pursuant to the UN Conventions of 1961, 1971 and 1988;

3. Recommends the Council and the Member States to consider the positive results

obtained from policies implemented in several Member States which involve risk

reduction (in particular through the administration of substitute substances),

the decriminalization of the consumption of certain substances, the partial

decriminalization of the sale of cannabis and its derivatives and the

controlled distribution of heroin;

4. Calls on the Council and the Member States to take the following action in

order to make the fight against organized crime and drugs trafficking much more

effective:

(a) introduce new rules on the production, sale and use of cannabis and its

derivatives;

(b) repeal the criminal penalties relating to the consumption of other

illegal substances;

(c) establish a system for the public control of the supply of substances

which are currently illegal, and also to allow such substances to be

prescribed by doctors;

5. Instructs its President to forward this recommendation to the Council, the

Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.