The Legislative Assembly of Portugal has approved amendments to Directive 94/96 of March 26, 1996,better known as the “Narcotics Law.”
The amended law broadens the definition of personal use and no longer considers possession of a quantity exceeding that authorized for a 10-day supply as proof of trafficking. This means that, from now on, when seizing substances from a user, the police will have to prove that these substances were intended for the black market, rather than for personal use, before they can accuse them of
“drug trafficking.”
This week, the Portuguese government approved the final text of the new Narcotics Law, the result of a bill presented to parliament in March by a delegation of MPs, mostly from the Social Democratic Party (PSD). After some reservations expressed by the judicial police and the PSD itself, the law received parliamentary approval.
Nevertheless, the final version of the text, following lengthy discussions within the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms, and Guarantees, is the result of a collective debate on the PSD’s bill as well as on another bill tabled in June by the Socialist Party (PS).
