President, prime minister support decriminalization of drug use by young people

RIGA - Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity) supports the idea of decriminalizing drug use by young people.

Following a meeting with President Edgars Rinkevics on Wednesday, Silina told reporters that she had previously proposed this when she was the minister of welfare. The Health Ministry has already approved a proposal by the Justice Ministry that young people should no longer be criminally liable for using drugs.

The prime minister has discussed the idea with other ministers, and they support the initiative, said Silina.

"Everyone understands how dangerous it is when young people, fearing criminal liability, do not call an ambulance or try to conceal that they have used drugs, and this is how young lives are lost," said Silina, emphasizing that this did not apply to those who possess drugs, organizers, crime bosses - they are to be held accountable under the Criminal Law and receive appropriate punishment.

"For these young people, doing drugs is not for fun, they often do it because they come from socially disadvantaged families, often they found themselves in care institutions," said Silina, emphasizing that the initiative was on the agenda.

Silina hopes that it will be possible to explain to the public why it is necessary to decriminalize drug use among young people. "It is not about downplaying the risks posed by drugs, on the contrary - we want to help young people who do this out of foolishness by giving them a chance, instead of putting them in a prison," emphasized Silina.

Rinkevics agrees and supports the proposal that criminal liability should not apply to young people who use drugs. However, those who organize drug trade, sell drugs and are responsible for the fact that young people get them must receive criminal penalties, Rinkevics believes.

In the opinion of the president, young people do not know much about the Criminal Law, and not many are aware that exemptions from criminal liability already exist, as stated by the Health Ministry.

"If you do drugs, if you have problems - turn to a specialist, you will not be held responsible - that is the right way to go about it," said Rinkevics, also emphasizing that it was necessary to work on explaining the harm of drugs to young people.

Latvian Medical Association and Creative Center Open earlier this week said that they had turned to President Edgars Rinkevics, Saeima Speaker Daiga Mierina (Greens/Farmers) and a number of ministers, calling for decriminalization of personal drug use as this would help make preventive measures more effective.

The Medical Association's President Ilze Aizsilniece believes that this is necessary so that young people be not afraid of talking about the problems of drug abuse and seeking help.