The SPo is the third party in the alpine republic to speak out in favor of reforming the narcotics law
The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPo) decided at its 43. party congress this weekend to advocate the decriminalization of cannabis in the future. However, this decision was not allowed to change the policy of the government led by the party, insofar as the co-ruling Christian Democratic People’s Party (OVP) does not see any need for action to change the Austrian Narcotics Act.
However, the decision could become significant if a coalition of SPo Grunen and NEOS emerges after the next parliamentary election in 2018: in October, the NEOS advocated not only decriminalization, but legalization of cannabis (as it was pushed through by referendums in the U.S. states of Colorado and Washington), and the Austrian Grunen plead for permission of medical marijuana.
The NEOS proposal is considered to be the reason why the Social Democrats’ youth organization, the Socialist Youth Austria (SJ), also called for the legalization of cannabis prior to the party conference. She agreed with party leaders before the vote on a compromise that would set up an addictive substances task force to examine how decriminalization could be implemented in practice.
cannabis plant. Photo: United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Proponents of cannabis prohibition pushed for the decriminalization resolution to be passed under the slogan "helping instead of punishing" ran. In it, the party postulates that "social circumstances" as "financial note" and "precarious living conditions" of narcotic users should be eliminated because they could lead to addiction and because "only social justice healthy people garantier[e]". In addition, schools, youth centers, and other institutions are to be provided with a "Prevention network" be built up, which "Catches young people safely".
Decriminalization of cannabis in Austria has increased prere on German politicians to address the ie. So far, attempts to build such prere have been relatively fruitless: a petition published in 2013 by almost forty percent of Germany’s renowned criminal law professors, who derive from the Basic Law an obligation on the part of the Bundestag to review what they see as Germany’s failed drug policy, has so far remained without consequence.
Even German police union president Rainer Wendt’s call a week ago for police officers to be exempted from the obligation to report possession of small amounts of cannabis has yet to generate any significant reaction from German politicians. According to Wendt, a more sensible allocation of resources would allow several thousand police officers across Germany to devote themselves to fighting violent crime instead of coping with it "senseless bureaucracy" dedicate.