The setting up of a specialised drugs court, which would perform a function similar to that of the Family Court but with an obviously different subject matter, is still under discussion in Malta, the 2008 Annual Report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction said yesterday.

So far in the European Union, such specialised drug courts have been established in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Norway and are under discussion in Malta. Discussions in Malta have been ongoing since at least 2004.

The United States had pioneered the concept, where the first drugs court was set up in 1989 in Miami-Dade County in response to the city’s crack cocaine problem. Since then some 2,140 specialised drug courts have been established across the 50 states.

Fundamental to the system is the way in which such courts integrate alcohol and other drug treatment services with the justice system and as such provide for access to treatment and rehabilitation through the forging of partnerships between the court, public agencies, and community-based organisations. Abstinence is monitored by frequent drug testing and a coordinated strategy between the court and the entities concerned govern the court’s responses to participants compliance, or lack thereof.

Yesterday’s report outlined how three EU member states had adopted new policy documents early this year. Malta, through its first ever drug policy document, identified over 50 actions to be implemented in the coming years but without defining any time frames.

The report highlights how a number of countries over recent years have introduced or widened options or systems for offenders to refer offenders for treatment or counselling. Malta, as well as Ireland, has adopted measures that, following arrest, drug users can now be referred for treatment. The report also acknowledged the fact that, in 2006, Malta found that the minimum six-month sentence for suppliers was not always appropriate in situations of sharing, and changed the law to permit exceptions.

The report uses Malta data from member states’ 2007 national reports, which have been extensively reported in the past and which backdating data under the microscope to 2006. It highlights how Malta, based on 2006 figures, was one of the few EU member states where cannabis was not the illicit drug most commonly involved in known drug law offences. The most common drug people were caught with was heroin, which accounted for 41 per cent of offences over the year in question.

The report also highlights how 12 European countries, including Malta, have reported additions or changes to their lists of controlled substances. In Malta’s case, the report notes, the country has added mCPP (meta-chlorophenylpiperazine), which has shown up in pills sold as ecstasy in Europe, and BZP (benzylpiperazine), a recreational drug with euphoric, stimulant properties similar to amphetamines.

Overall, yesterday’s report confirmed the need to bring society together to form a European alliance to tackle the issue of drugs, and indicates that the consumption of drugs in Europe is stabilising, while the number of deaths linked to drugs is on the increase.

“Every hour, a young person in Europe dies from a drug overdose. This alarming fact from the EMCDDA’s report confirms the urgent need to highlight to young people the serious risks of taking drugs,” commented Jacques Barrot, Commissioner responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security.

“To succeed in overcoming this problem, it is important to get society on board in every Member State. This is the goal of the European alliance on drugs which is aimed at involving and raising awareness of the risks associated with drugs amongst citizens, in particular young people, companies and local authorities.”

This alliance, proposed by the Commission’s new “Drugs Action Plan” 2009-20012, will be officially launched on 26 June 2009 on the International Day against Drug abuse and Illicit trafficking. The new ‘Drugs Action Plan’ adopted by the Commission last September focuses on reducing the demand and supply of drugs, tackling drug trafficking and concentrates on international action.