Drug use - the impact of criminalisation

A  2014 UK Home Office Report on the international evidence regarding the impact of decriminalisation of drug use concluded:  ‘Different countries have different means of collecting data, and the availability of data varies, so it is difficult to compare levels of use directly, but we did not in our fact-finding observe any obvious relationship between the toughness of a country’s enforcement against drug possession, and levels of drug use in that country'.

... we did not in our fact-finding observe any obvious relationship between the toughness of a country’s enforcement against drug possession, and levels of drug use in that country.’

The Home Office reported that the Czech Republic and Portugal had similar approaches to possession, with possession of small amounts of any drug not leading to criminal proceedings.  However, the outcomes were very different: in Portugal levels of drug use were relatively low; in the Czech Republic reported levels of cannabis use were among the highest in Europe.

In Sweden, which has one of the toughest approaches to drug use, the Home Office reported that available indicators pointed to relatively low levels of drug use, but not markedly lower than in countries with different approaches.

Home Office (UK) Drugs: International Comparators October 2014