Danish Politician Wants to Decriminalize All Drugs

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]D[/dropcap]anish politician Henrik Sass Larsen recently suggested in his new book that cannabis, and other drugs, should be decriminalized in Denmark. Christiania, a district in Copenhagen, had already “legalized” all drugs in 1971 after being overrun by anarchists and hippies who had established a level of autonomy from Denmark. An open hash market has existed there for decades, but had recently been destroyed by angry neighbors. Drug decriminalization is more likely to happen in Denmark than in most other European countries.

According to The Local, Larsen’s new book, Exodus: The Way to the Center-Left, mentions that he believes decriminalizing cannabis and also hard drugs would be a good way to go. Larsen is a member of Danish parliament, and a Social Democrat.

Larsen spoke to Informatíon, a Danish publication, about his recent revelation. “Everything we’ve done in the last 50 years has been in vain,” he said regarding the “War on Drugs.” “There are not fewer people using or abusing drugs. Every school child knows where they can get hash. It has served no other purpose than to send a whole lot of people to prison, and the volume of resources society has spent on it has exploded.”

Larsen feels that the state should sell legal cannabis, and that hard drug use should not be punished. According to him, this would save money currently spent on police resources, and could instead be used for drug education and treatment for addicts.

This was a surprise to many, considering the more conservative stance on drugs that Social Democrats usually take in Denmark. Trine Bramsen, another member of the same party, previously claimed that it would be wrong to decriminalize cannabis.

“This is a question that splits people along party lines. Trine is positioning herself differently to me. I’m not sure I’d ever be able to convince her [of my viewpoint],” Larsen claimed.

Denmark is known as a liberal nation that is fairly cannabis-friendly, and have already approved a medical trial program and begun growing cannabis. Whether or not the country is ready to further embrace decriminalization based on Larsen’s suggestions remains to be seen.