Support Our Work Mailing list About / Contact

Italy: Demonstration in Rome against new drug law

01 February 2004

Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

On Saturday 21 February 2004, over 10,000 persons demonstrated in Rome to oppose the drug law reform, proposed by deputy prime minister, Gianfranco Fini, that the government is seeking to introduce and is due to come under parliamentary scrutiny. The "Street Parade" saw the participation of political parties, social organisations, students, teachers and social centres, as well as social workers who work in public drug therapy centres. The draft of the new law was agreed by Parliament on 13 November 2003, and seeks to eliminate the distinction between "hard" and "soft" drugs, criminalise consumption, making it punishable with prison sentences and increasing the role of private drug therapy clinics in rehabilitation. The low thresholds that it introduces for possession to be considered a crime threaten to criminalise all drug users at a stroke. The proposed law also extends the use of administrative sanctions for "non serious" offences, such as the confiscation of passports for up to a year, and of motor vehicles. The demonstration's slogan was "Right or wrong, it shouldn't be a crime".

see: Italy: New drugs law heralds the mass criminalisation of drug users: Briefing paper (4,000 words) Briefing paper (pdf)

Our work is only possible with your support.
Become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

 Previous article

EU: Justice and Home Affairs Council, 19 February: Press release

Next article 

EU driving licences: UK calls for multi-use, interoperable, licences

 

Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.

Report error

Statewatch does not have a corporate view, nor does it seek to create one, the views expressed are those of the author. Statewatch is not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement. Registered UK charity number: 1154784. Registered UK company number: 08480724. Registered company name: The Libertarian Research & Education Trust. Registered office: MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH. © Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Personal usage as private individuals "fair dealing" is allowed. We also welcome links to material on our site. Usage by those working for organisations is allowed only if the organisation holds an appropriate licence from the relevant reprographic rights organisation (eg: Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK) with such usage being subject to the terms and conditions of that licence and to local copyright law.

About | Contact | Privacy Policy