Caritas against distinction between cannabis and other drugs

Caritas today said that there should be no distinction between soft and hard drugs, however it said that first-time offenders should not be penalized.

In a statement Caritas said it “does not agree with the decriminalisation of cannabis as proposed in the white paper” and would be presenting a detailed reaction in the coming days.

In it’s reaction to the white paper on the decriminalisation of drugs launched yesterday, which recommends that persons caught in possession of drugs for personal use are referred to a justice commission on their first offence, with the possibility of being referred to a social board which could order further actions, including rehabilitation programmes.

However cannabis users, including repeat offenders, will be exempted and will only appear before the commission which could issue warnings and administrative fines.

Caritas said that while it agrees that the drug laws need to be changed “the reform’s main emphasis should centre around the notion that drugs are bad.”

While expressing its agreement on not criminalising first-time offenders caught in possession of drugs for personal use, who it insisted should appear in front of a rehabilitation agency, it stressed that drug traffickers should be sentenced to jail.