Drug Policy in Practice. How Much Does it Cost? How Does the Institution Work? The Cases of Poland and Hungary

Polish and Hungarian drug laws, including the penalization of drug possession, institutional realities and the costs of law implementation and enforcement are the main topics for discussion. The experts from the Institute of Public Affairs will present their study on the economic and institutional consequences of punishing for the possession of psychotropic substances in Poland and Gergely Horváth will present the findings of the Hungarian National Focal Point research on the changes in the drug-related public expenditure.

The empirical research conducted by the Institute of Public Affairs indicates that:

• At least PLN 80 million (EUR 21 million) a year is the cost of Art. 62 from the Drug Use Prevention Act, that penalizes for possession of any quantity of a psychotropic substance;
• Law enforcement professionals do not believe that Art 62 contributes to any significant reduction of the drug problem.

The research is based on a quantitative study among the police, public prosecution, judicial, and probation authorities involved in implementation of art 62 of the Polish Drug Use Prevention Act.

12:00 – 12:10 Welcome and Introduction

Ewelina Kuzmicz (Institute of Public Affairs)

12:10 – 13: 00 Penalizing possession: Article 62 of the Drug Use Prevention Act – costs, time & impact

Prof. Zofia Mielecka Kubien (Karol Adamski University of Economics, Katowice), Dr. Dorota Wiszejko (Wierzbicka, Institute of Public Affairs)

13:00 – 13:20 Drug-related public expenditure in Hungary: studies, gaps and challenges.

Gergely Horvath (Hungarian National Focal Point)

13:20 – 14:30 Discussion

Coffee and sandwiches provided.