Strasbourg, 20/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - In Strasbourg last week, the European Parliament adopted by 285 to 273 the EP recommendation to the Council on the EU's anti-drugs strategy. The EP basically wants the EU's anti-drugs strategy to have a scientific basis and for European cooperation on cross-border large-scale drugs trafficking to be revised. Rapporteur Giusto Catania (GUE/NGL, Italy) commented after the vote that the European Council will now no longer be able to ignore the recommendation approved by the EP, which radically changes the EU's approach to its anti-drugs strategy. He said the EP had made its views extremely clear, criticising the prohibition and criminalisation policy for drugs-users and calling for a scientific, non-ideological approach to the issue. (See Europe/Documents in annex to this issue for the European Council's conclusions on the EU's anti-drugs policy.)
The Catania report highlights the importance of substitution treatment in prison, the need to develop research on the growth of currently illegal plants (a rather grey area) like cannabis, coca leaves and opium for medical use and also for food safety, sustainable agriculture, or as alternative energy sources to replace products made out of wood and oil.