National Strategies on Drugs
The Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania, by Resolution No XIV-1982 of 23 May 2023, approved the National Agenda for Drug, Tobacco and Alcohol Control, Prevention of Consumption and Harm Reduction up to 2035 (hereafter – National Agenda). The National Agenda will ensure the coordinated continuity of the State’s comprehensive policy on drug, tobacco and alcohol control, prevention and harm reduction, and the control and monitoring of its implementation.
The strategic aim of the National Agenda is to create a healthier and safer society, where everyone is helped to prevent or reduce the harm caused by alcohol, tobacco and drugs. It allows them to be empowered to take care of their own health, social and economic well-being and that of their family or community. The mission is a human-centred, integral, contextual policy development based on validated scientific and factual data and coordinated solutions. These create prerequisites and enable people to address the health, rights, education, social and other issues related to the use of psychoactive substances by them or their close connections.
Policy cornerstones:
• Demand reduction - is understood as prevention, early intervention, treatment, psychological and social rehabilitation and reintegration measures aimed at preventing or delaying the onset of psychoactive substance use among young people. It motivates substance users to change their behaviour, and assists psychoactive substance dependent people to successfully return to and reintegrate into society.
• Supply reduction - is understood as regulatory, instrumental, methodological, motivational and international cooperation measures aimed at managing the physical and economic availability of licit and – as limited as possible – illicit psychoactive substances through effective use of control and criminal justice systems.
• Harm reduction - is understood as high quality, validated and effective measures to reduce the direct and indirect harms to the individual and society associated with the use of psychoactive substances.
The sixth objective of the National Agenda is to reduce the harmful effects of drug use on public or personal health, the social and economic environment. A humanistic, person-centred and evidence-based criminal justice policy should be focused on personal health and support for drug users. To achieve the sixth Agenda goal, the following objectives are set:
1. Ensure low-threshold access to services and the service package coverage for individuals who use drugs. Implementation directions for this objective include:
- Ensure legal and financial conditions for providing necessary harm reduction services in low-threshold cabinets (hereinafter - LTC), detention facilities, recreational areas, and other target environments. Implement an evidence-based and World Health Organization (hereinafter - WHO) recommended set of harm reduction measures equally accessible to all population groups.
- Strengthen the contribution of municipalities to the provision of harm reduction services through LTC.
- Ensure and develop continuous shared methodological guidance for LTC and detention facilities in providing harm reduction services, maintain the low-threshold service system, and provide regular training for service-providing staff.
- Improve and expand case management services (including mediation and referral for treatment) for individuals who use drugs by creating an integrated system connecting LTC, detention facilities, the Lithuanian Probation Service, healthcare, and social service providers.
2. Ensure an effective response to existing and emerging trends and challenges related to drug use to reduce the spread of infectious diseases, poisonings, and fatal poisoning cases, as well as reduce the stigma associated with drug-dependent individuals. Implementation directions for this objective include:
- Ensure the creation and support of an enabling environment by adjusting legal regulations and addressing the issue of stigma related to drug use in society, including detention facilities.
- Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of applied programs and opportunities for improvement, introduce innovations in the field of harm reduction service delivery, expand outreach and other programs.
- Periodically conduct research related to drug use, as well as research that allows for the assessment of the effectiveness and improvement possibilities of prevention, harm reduction, rehabilitation, and resocialization programs and measures within the penal system.
- Ensure the availability of overdose prevention measures, increase the coverage of infectious disease testing services, and condom distribution in LTC, detention facilities, and recreational areas.
3. Review the existing criminal policy applied to drug users to achieve a balanced drug control policy in Lithuania. Implementation directions for this objective include:
- Decriminalize actions related to the possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use, subjecting them to administrative liability and implementing educational, social, and healthcare system interventions based on individual assessment.
- Review the sanctions provided in the Criminal Code for drug-related crimes and explore the possibilities of depenalization to balance the regulation of responsibility for drug-related offenses.
- Expand the options for choosing alternative sanctions for illegal drug possession at various stages of the criminal process and promote their more effective use.
- Develop information systems related to the justice system that meet the needs of the state and society, ensuring their development and updates.
Following the approval of the National Agenda by the Parliament, the National Agenda Plan 2023–2026was approved in 8 May 2024 by a resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. This plan has been launched as a road map for the first stage of the implementation of the National Agenda. The second phase of the implementation of the Agenda is foreseen for the period 2027–2030 and the third phase for the period 2031–2035.