International - Poland

Basic Data

(Prevalence of Illicit Drug Use) "Under monitoring drug use prevalence in the general population National Bureau for Drug Prevention and Millward Brown SMG/KRC conducted a qualitative study on a representative sample of 1001 Polish population in 2010 (15-75 year old, N = 1001). The study was concerned using psychoactive substances. The study was conducted face to face at respondents’ homes by means of a computer and was based on the Omnibus approach. The results of the study show that the most prevalent drugs in Poland include cannabis (4%), legal highs (3%) and amphetamine (1%). Last year prevalence were: legal highs – 2%, cannabis – 1% and amphetamine – 0,5%."

(Prevalence of Cannabis Use) "Cannabis is the most prevalent drug in Poland and Europe. In 2010, 4% of the respondents reported using it in a lifetime (5% in 2009), 1% in the last 12 months (2% in 2009) and 0% in the last 30 days (0% in 2009).
"The last measurement shows a drop in cannabis use. In the 2008 HCLU [Hungarian Civil Liberties Union] survey, 7% of the respondents reported a single contact with cannabis. If we compare the 2008 and 2010 results we observe a fall of 3 percent point.
"Cannabis use was more prevalent in men than women. Experimenting rates stood at 6% for men (7% in 2009) and 2% for women (3% in 2009). The male respondents used cannabis three times as frequently as women. The rates are lower if we consider the recent use (last 12 months): 2% of men and 1% of women (the same results as in 2009). Almost every tenth respondent aged 15-39 admitted to ever using cannabis."

(Legal Flexibility Regarding Personal Use Offenses) "The amendment introduces Article 62a which gives the prosecutor and the judge an option to discontinue the criminal procedure towards individuals caught in possession of small amounts of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for private use. Unlike in the Czech Republic it was decided that the insignificant amount of drugs would remain undefined leaving it to prosecutors and judges. This solution was criticised by some law experts and anti-drug law deregulation activists. According to the legislators, the precise definition of the insignificant amount term would be a gargantuan legislative challenge. Moreover, the legislators indicate that defining the limits for small amounts of drugs can be based on internal regulations (especially for prosecutors) as it is the case in a number of European countries. Article 62a also defines grounds for applying the provision which include 1) possession of small amounts of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances 2) for private use, 3) circumstances of the crime¹⁰ and 4) the degree of social harm. The regulations also introduce the prosecution option leaving the decision to launch proceedings to prosecutors and judges."