Initiatives for recovery of drug users

The Romanian authorities are proposing measures to support the victims of drug use.

Leyla Cheamil, 19.09.2023, 13:50

Drug
trafficking has grown constantly in Romania and the average age of users is
getting alarmingly younger. The reports of the anti-mafia prosecutor’s office
(DIICOT) show that in the last decade, cases have tripled, from around 7,000 tens
years ago to more than 21,000 last year. The number of arrests has grown 1.5
times and that of persons charged 2.5 times. With regard to the age of users,
DIICOT’s figures from 2022 show this dropped to 11-14 years. The most
frequently used substance was cannabis.

Justice minister and Liberal Party member Alina Gorghiu said recently that Romania
has many drug users, something that can be seen from the statistics of the
National Anti-drug Agency, and they cannot all be put in prison for using these
substances, but must be helped to rid themselves of this problem. Gorghiu said
anti-mafia prosecutors are overwhelmed with the very large number of
drug-related cases, most of which are about the possession of very small
quantities for private use. She said most are young people and, unless they
have a criminal record, prosecutors will not press charges. On the other hand,
it is not possible under the current legislation for the specialists of the
National Anti-drug Agency to assess and provide counselling to these young
people, and most of them would not even agree to the assessment, the justice
minister said.

To prevent and combat
psychoactive substances and provide medical assistance, Liberal MPs came up
with a series of proposals. They want the creation of at least 8 regional
centres for community therapy to help the victims of drug use and to set up a
national database of traffickers, similar to that used for sex offenders.
Justice minister Alina Gorghiu explains:

This database will help recognise, identify and
monitor persons who have committed crimes related to drug trafficking, which
means we would be able to know where and by what means they carry out their
trafficking and how they move around. These data can be passed on to the police
and other law enforcement bodies. In our opinion this is a solution to prevent
re-offence.

In a related move, the Senate rejected a bill seeking
to decriminalise the possession of cannabis for personal use, up to 3 grams.
The proposal aimed to replace criminal penalties amounting to a fine ranging
from 200 euros and 600 euros. (CM)