On 2 July, the Social Security and Health Committee of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, together with international partners, invited representatives of various organisations and experts to a conference on “Drug Policy in the Republic of Moldova”. Representatives of six ministries, various state institutions (customs, border police, General Police, National Public Health Agency, penitentiary, probation, etc.), NGOs and drug-using communities’ representatives, national, regional and international experts participated in the event in Chisinau or remotely. It is a pleasure to see that among the latter were not only the former Mayor of Prague (Czech Republic), Dr Pavel Bem, who is currently advising the Prime Minister of his country on drug issues, or the head of the Estonian Health Development Institute, Aliona Kurbatova, but also Dr Mindaugas Lankauskas, a researcher at the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences (LCSS LI).

At the conference, participants discussed Moldova’s drug policy and harm reduction, the impact of existing legislation on the fight against drugs, and the need for necessary reforms. Drug policies and services, according to the participants, need to be continuously improved in order to increasingly respect the principles of democracy, the rule of law and human rights. At the same time, this will also help the country to move forward in its integration into the European Union.

M. Lankauskas in his presentation “Threshold Quantities for Illicit Drugs: Understanding Lithuania’s Legal Framework for Drug Offenses” focused on discussing Lithuania’s legal framework for determining the quantity of illicit drugs.

“In Lithuania,” the scientist told the audience, “criminal liability for illegal disposal of narcotics and psychotropic substances does not depend on the type of substance, but on the quantity of the controlled substance. The use of drugs is an administrative offence, the possession of small quantities is a criminal offence, and the possession or distribution of larger quantities is a criminal offence with severe penalties.”

Finally, a researcher from the LCSS LI briefed the participants of the Lithuanian regulation on estimating the net quantity of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Moldova, which currently punishes the total amount of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances without measuring their content or concentration, is considering introducing a model similar to Lithuania's in the future.

The event was co-organised and supported by the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and other Moldovan civil society organisations.

If one is interested to learn more about drug regulation policy issues, one can read Dr M. Lankauskas’ recent article “How Does Themis Weigh Drugs? Peculiarities of the Legal Regulation of the Determination of Quantities of Some Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances in Lithuania” (article in Lithuanian) published in the journal “Criminological Studies”.

For English-speaking readership, we suggest the latest publication by Mindaugas Lankauskas and his fellow colleague Skirmantas Bikelis “Penal Response to Less Serious Drug Distribution Offenses: The Case of Lithuania in the Regional Context”, which explores the criminological contexts of less serious drug distribution offences and the penal frameworks of the relevant countries in the Baltic region.