Brussels, Belgium: Police will issue a verbal warning to anyone found in possession of three grams or less of marijuana, in accordance with new nationwide guidelines which took effect this week. Under the new guidelines, law enforcement is instructed not to confiscate the marijuana.

The new policy clarifies a 2003 law liberalizing the possession and private use of small quantities of marijuana, but which had been struck down by the Courts last year as overly vague. The new guidelines are expected to stay in effect until Parliament approves an amended version of the 2003 law.

European Drug Laws

Western Europe has historically rejected America's "do drugs; do time" ideology in favor of more liberal policies defining drug use as a health issue rather than a criminal one. Today, this trend is most widely manifested in European laws decriminalizing the possession and use of marijuana. The following documents provide a comprehensive overview of marijuana and other drug laws throughout Europe.

Decriminalization in Europe: Recent Developments in Legal Approaches to Drug Use European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Report (2001) http://eldd.emcdda.org/databases/eldd_comparative_analyses.cfm

EU Country Profiles http://eldd.emcdda.org/databases/eldd_country_profiles.cfm

Trends in European Drug Laws: The legal Status of Cannabis http://eldd.emcdda.org/trends/trends_cannabis.shtml

Medicinal Cannabis and Derivatives: A Legal Analysis of the Options, Their Limitations, and Current Practice in the EU EMCDDA Report (2002) http://eldd.emcdda.org/databases/eldd_comparative_analyses.cfm

How the Law Is Changing Across Europe UK Guardian Special Report (2001) http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,531479,00.html

Drug Policy Around the World Drug Policy Alliance Fact Sheet http://www.drugpolicy.org/global