Romania's Drug Policy from 2005 to 2012: Experiences with Implementation

Abstract

Even with the relatively high rate of illicit drug use in Romania, drug prevention remains a relatively low political and professional priority. Policies focus primarily on the criminalization of drug use rather than on prevention and treatment. By studying official Romanian drug policies and legislative documents, as well as national and European reports on the state of the ‘‘drug problem,’’ this article focuses on the impact of policy on drug use, treatment, and prevention, with an emphasis on the criminalization of drug use and the resultant trends and practical impacts. The reported lifetime use of illicit drugs has been rising slowly but steadily over the last few years. Contraction of communicable diseases among intravenous drug users is also trending upwards. And with the emphasis on criminalization of drug use and the accompanying marginalization of users, drug-law-related offences are also likely to increase. Unmet needs in drug prevention, a declining tendency to seek drug treatment, and an increase in drug-related deaths are also indicators of the negative effects of the current policy on drug use, criminalization, infections, and the lack of effective prevention. As Romania continues to face serious financial limitations, evidence-based research on drug use is needed; best practice guidelines have to be followed in order to improve access to drug prevention, treatment, and harm-reduction services.

Keywords :

• drug policy
• prevention
• drug treatment
• IDUs
• Romania

THE AUTHORS

Csaba L. Degi is a researcher and lecturer at the Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Sociology and Social Work in Cluj Napoca, Romania. He holds a BSc and an MSc in social work and a PhD in clinical psychology. Since 2001 he has been working with youth, especially with adolescents, at risk of developing drug-use behavior, and with HIV-infected young people. Based on his relevant practical and research experiences, he developed and coordinates alcohol/drug use/HIV/AIDS prevention programs, activities, and networking at community, school, and group level. His results have been published in peer-reviewed journals.

GLOSSARY

• Anti-Drug Strategy (2005–2012): An official plan of Romania to have a functional integrated system of institutions and public services, which would ensure adequate medical, psychological, and social treatment for drug users, a low level of drug use prevalence in the general population, and a reduction in drug-related organized crime.

• Balkan drug trafficking route: A regional corridor of illicit drug trade; it involves the northern line of the Balkan route, which runs through Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania to the Western European market.

• Criminal Procedure Code: An organic law in Romania, which regulates areas of high importance, such as property and security. A new code is intended to enter into force in 2014.

• Criminalization of drug use: Drug use conduct may be proscribed and subjected to punishment on conviction.

• Dream shops: Specialized retail or online shops that sell a broad range of herbal mixtures, products of several potentially psychoactive plants blended with relatively obscure synthetic substances (e.g., combinations of synthetic cannabinoids), dubbed legal highs.

• EDDRA: European Exchange on Drug Demand Reduction Action (EDDRA) is a main tool of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) for collecting, validating, and storing data on evaluated prevention, treatment, and harm reduction interventions, with the aim of effective dissemination of evaluated best practices.

• European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA): The EMCDDA is the EU drugs agency which collects, analyzes, and disseminates drug-related information in the European Union to 27 member states.

• Harm-reduction services: Policies, programs, and practices (models of intervention and treatment), aimed at reducing harm associated with drug use and abuse experienced by individuals, families, and communities.

• HBV: The hepatitis B virus which is spread through body secretions or infected blood. Hepatitis B is a highly contagious liver infection caused by HBV.

• HCV: The hepatitis C virus which may be transmitted through unprotected sex with an infected person or by sharing personal items contaminated with infectious blood. Hepatitis C is a potentially life-threatening liver disease that results from infection with HCV.

• Head shops: See Dream Shops.

• HIV: The Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which is transmitted via the exchange of a variety of body fluids from infected individuals. HIV destroys and impairs immune cells, processes, and functions. The most advanced stage of HIV infection is Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

• Injection drug users or intravenous drug users (IDUs): An indicator of problematic drug use, according to EMCDDA, as it carries a high risk of transmitting blood-borne diseases, because of needle sharing among IDUs.

• Legal highs: New substances used to produce narcotic or psychotropic effects, and not controlled by the United Nations drug conventions.

• MUlti-Session, STandardised Printed Programmes (MUSTAP): Structured, standardized, and multi-session drug prevention protocols, introduced by the EMCDDA, which have defined contents for each session, with detailed material and manuals and concrete contents for each lesson. MUSTAP interventions do not support drug education in an unsystematic and unstructured way.

• National Anti-drug Agency (NAA): A specialized governmental body in Romania, established in 2003, to create a unitary outlook on the prevention and countering of illicit drug trafficking and use, and to coordinate activity in the drugs field, at both national and local level.

• Poland Hungary Aid for Reconstruction of the Economy (PHARE): A pre-accession program established by the EU to financially assist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. It promoted legislative, economic, and social convergence in order to reduce the need for transition periods.

• Psychoactive substances: Also known as psychotropic drugs, these chemical agents modify perception, causing changes in consciousness, mood, and behavior, as they affect the central nervous system and brain function.

• Romanian General Police Inspectorate: A central unit of the national police force; a legal entity with general prevention and protection responsibilities.

• Spice: Smokable products marketed under the ‘‘Spice’’ brand, which produce cannabis-like subjective effects.