HREN J.
In Slovenia, illicit drugs are regulated mainly by the Criminal Code and the Act on the Production of and Trade in Illicit Drugs. While the former covers criminal offences, the latter concerns most minor offences involving the trade in and production and possession of illicit drugs in the Republic of Slovenia. The area is further elaborated by the Decree on the classification of illicit drugs, which defines the illicit drugs, dividing them into three groups based on the seriousness of the potential threat to public health their abuse poses. The procedure for taking decisions on minor offences is defined by the Minor Offences Act. In Slovenia, minor offences are sanctioned by fines, which range from EUR 40 to EUR 5000 for individuals. In addition to fines, offenders may be issued a warning or, if certain other conditions are met, they can avoid fines by performing community services that have either general benefits or benefit a local self-governing community.
Article 33 of the Production of and Trade in Illicit Drugs Act permits more lenient penalties to be imposed for the possession of small amounts of an illicit drug for one-time personal use, provided that the offender voluntarily enters a treatment or social assistance programme approved by the Health Council or the Council on Drugs. The adoption of the Production of and Trade in Illicit Drugs Act in 1999 effectively decriminalised the possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use. The act, which has not undergone any substantive changes since 1999, represents the basis for law enforcement to process offenders and defines the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs, including cannabis, as a minor offence. .
The applicable legislation concerning the cultivation of cannabis defines the conditions under which cannabis can be grown legally. Cannabis may be cultivated only for nutritional and industrial purposes under specific conditions defined by the applicable Rules of Procedure.
In the period from 2012 to 2014, the procedure for the adoption of an act on cannabis was initiated twice by representatives of certain civil society organisation and other individuals acting in accordance with the Referendum and Popular Initiative Act. During the second attempt in 2013, enough signatures were collected to prompt the National Assembly and the government to consider the proposed act. The proposal envisaged a new regime, under which the cultivation, processing and use of cannabis would be permitted for horticultural, medical and industrial purposes. Although the proposal failed to garner sufficient support, its consideration prompted the Committee of Health to adopt a decision to examine the possibility of using cannabis-based medicinal products for medical purposes in Slovenia. With the amendment of the Decree on the classification of illicit drugs in 2014 synthetic drugs containing THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol) became accessible in Slovenia.
Discussions concerning cannabis are regularly published in various print and electronic media. The topic is also discussed at the political level.
This year the Ministry of Health cooperated with the medical profession and the Public Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices to enable the use of medicinal products based on cannabis extracts by amending the Decree on the classification of illicit drugs. In principal, then, there are no reservations about the use of such products in Slovenia provided that they are regulated as strictly as any other drug. These medicinal products must comply with the applicable standards of safety, effectiveness and quality, and be prescribed by physicians based on the consideration of any possible risk.
Last year the Medical Chamber of Slovenia, with support from the Ministry of Health, formed a special expert group to thoroughly study the use of cannabinoids in medicine. At the end of September 2016, the Chamber submitted to the Ministry its first report, including a proposal for action in the area of medical marijuana and cannabinoids, based on its findings and a survey regarding this topic, which was conducted among physicians. In terms of the regulation of cannabis, the Chamber proposed that medical marijuana and cannabinoids, which are currently listed as Schedule I substances, be made available also for medical use.