Drug policy of Sweden

The drug policy of Sweden is based on zero tolerance focusing on prevention, treatment, and control, aiming to reduce both the supply of and demand for illegal drugs. While using illegal substances is a crime, personal usage does not result in jail time if it is not in combination with driving a car. Penalties are divided into three degrees: 1) Lesser narcotics crimes come with penalties ranging from fines to a maximum six months in jail, 2) Narcotics crime that result in penalties ranging from fines to maximum of three years in jail, and 3) Severe narcotics crime with penalties ranging from not less than two years in jail up to a maximum of ten years in jail. There is also related legislation for mandatory health care that can possibly be used in conjunction with a sentence for a drug-related offense. The general drug policy is supported by all major political parties with the exception of Vänsterpartiet (the former communist, left-wing party).

A study conducted in 2000 supported the view that the new, tougher policy had had a preventive effect on drug use. A report by the UNODC praised Sweden for having one of the lowest drug usage rates in the western world, and attributed this to a drug policy that invested heavily in prevention and treatment (including free community services), as well as in strict law enforcement. However, the methodology of the UNODC report has been criticized for being unscientific and fundamentally biased in favour of repressive drug laws, since Sweden was the fourth largest donor to the UNODC in 2007.

According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), in 2005, the rate of drug-related deaths per capita in Sweden was more than twice that of the Netherlands and there were more persons addicted to severe narcotics ("heavy drugs") than in other countries. White House Drug Policy Director Kerlikowske in 2011, cited Sweden's Drug Control Policies as Model for U.S.; prevalence rates for cocaine use in Sweden are barely one-fifth of fellow European countries, such as the United Kingdom and Spain.

Between 2005 and 2013, the EMCDDA recorded a more than doubling in the rate of drug-induced mortality among adults (15–64) in Sweden, with the country moving from having the ninth to having the second highest rate in Europe. There is no evidence that the increase in the number of drug-related deaths due to an increase in the number of injecting drug users, most indications are that the number of injecting drug users has declined. There are several other causes behind the increase in the reported number.

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