The Netherlands, Portugal and the Czech Republic: Political Perceptions and Legal Realities

Abstract

In Europe, the Netherlands, Portugal and the Czech Republic are the countries increasingly portrayed as having the most ‘progressive’, ‘liberal’, or even ‘radical’ drugs policies in Europe. In a post-United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) 2016 period and with the 2019 UN target date approaching, the EU and these countries within are bound to play a key role in the definition of an international drug policy for the next decade. This chapter analyses how the perceptions of these countries match against the drugs legislations and how they fit into the overall EU drug policy approach.

Citation

Ballotta, D. and Hughes, B. (2018), "The Netherlands, Portugal and the Czech Republic: Political Perceptions and Legal Realities", Klein, A. and Stothard, B. (Ed.) Collapse of the Global Order on Drugs: From UNGASS 2016 to Review 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 217-231. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78756-487-920181010