Pourquoi l’Europe devrait éviter le piège des politiques répressives en matière de drogues

La stratégie de l’UE en matière de drogues pour 2026–2030 proposée par la Commission européenne met davantage l’accent sur l’application de la loi et le contrôle des frontières, suscitant des appels à prioriser la réduction des risques, le logement, l’accompagnement communautaire et des approches fondées sur les droits. Pour en savoir plus, en anglais, veuillez lire les informations ci-dessous.

The European Commission's new 2026 to 2030 EU Drugs Strategy and Action Plan risks reversing decades of evidence-based, health and human rights-focused drug policy. Its emphasis on law enforcement, border control and security reflects a punitive approach that has repeatedly failed.

Europe has long been at the forefront of progressive drug policies. In the 1970s and 1980s, courageous political leadership addressed rising heroin use with harm-reduction interventions such as needle and syringe programmes, opioid agonist treatment and supervised consumption rooms.

Portugal further shows the benefits of ending punitive approaches. Before decriminalisation in 2001, the country accounted for more than half of all new HIV diagnoses in the EU, largely related to injecting drug use, despite representing only 2% of the EU population. By redirecting resources from criminal justice to treatment and harm reduction, new infections dropped from 518 in 2000 to 13 in 2019, drug-related mortality fell to less than half the EU average, and incarceration declined from over 40% of prisoners in 2001 to 15.7% in 2019.

The next Drugs Strategy will shape policy for years to come, and it should prioritise supportive housing, community-based care and social measures addressing structural drivers of harmful drug use.