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Ieva Pakarklytė, the senior of the faction, expects these amendments to be adopted at the end of the spring session. The parliamentarian believes that all the members of the Seimas have already had enough time to listen to the arguments of the experts and make sure that this project is supported.
Although the project also has the support of Eugenijus Gentvilas, the largest of the faction of the Liberal Movement (LRLS), he believes that the initiators of the amendments should speak more and persuade colleagues who do not support the project. Meanwhile, the vice president of Seimas, a member of the Lithuanian Christian National-Democratic Union (TS-LKD) faction, affirms that this project is the responsibility of the entire coalition, so the three ruling political forces should seek support for it.
On Monday, the Legal Affairs Committee is debating the decriminalization project
However, this “free” initiative has already gone further than the partnership project. The amendments by MEP Morgana Daniela to transfer sanctions for low-volume drug trafficking from the Criminal Code (CC) to the Code of Administrative Offenses (ANC) have already passed the consideration stage and have been discussed in additional designated committees and hearings with experts . they are already taking place on Monday in the Main Commission of Law and Order. The major of the Freedom Faction I. Pakarklyt los hopes that the parliamentarians can approve the draft before the end of this session of the Seimas.
“The decriminalization project has passed the presentation stage and is currently under consideration. It has already been considered by additional committees: Human Rights and Health. Now, next Monday, he will travel to the main Law and Order Committee. We hope that by the end of the spring session we can return to the plenary hall, “I. Pakarklytė told Eltai.
The Seimas member is convinced that sufficient time has been allocated to discuss this issue. She argues that those who really wanted to form an opinion on the draft had ample opportunities to do so, and hearing arguments from experts also means that MPs are more likely to support the amendments being drafted.
“During this period from the fall session, when the project was presented in the winter, it really took place at many events. We also had international conferences where experts from other countries spoke about the experiences of their countries on how they carried out decriminalization. Whoever wanted to, really had the opportunity to dig deeper. Some groups have devoted time to this topic separately. I know that not long ago, the TS-LKD Group had a separate and more detailed meeting with experts. I think that by hearing more and more expert opinions, there are more and more sympathizers, because they understand that people who have addictions should not be punished, but treated ”, is convinced the senior of Freedom Faction.
Conservatives were left with unanswered questions even after discussions with experts.
The fact that conservatives organized additional discussions with experts on the issue of decriminalization was also confirmed by J. Razma, a member of this group. Although he claims to support the very principle of waiving punishment for possession of a small amount of drugs, the vice president of Seimas still questions whether the Freedom Faction initiative is really the best way to refer addicts to treatment.
“We in the group have really explained this issue in depth. We agreed at a time of such principles that it really does not make sense to impose the highest possible penalties of the Penal Code on an addict, put him in jail. It is necessary to find ways and methods to guide an addicted person on the path of treatment in the most effective way possible. This is the question of whether the measures proposed by the Freedom Group representatives are sufficient and effective, “said J. Razma.
Nor is the MP still convinced that all drugs should be decriminalized, not just cannabis and other soft drugs.
“It remains an open question whether it really would not make sense to separate the soft drugs from the hard drugs. Because its use is already a clear sign that a person is addicted ”, doubted the Conservative.
E. Gentvilas has doubts about the amount of the fines foreseen in the project
Meanwhile, the largest of the Liberal Movement faces doubts about the proposed penalty of 20 euros for the first offense and a maximum fine of up to 200 euros for recidivism. He said that he had proposed an increase in the planned penalties, but could not specify whether the authors of the project had already taken this suggestion into account.
“I don’t know if he took my considerations into account. If I see that this is not the case, I will certainly propose to increase that fine. Because, in my opinion, both the first fine of 20 euros and that large fine of 200 euros are not sufficiently motivating to encourage the choice of treatment, ”said E. Gentvilas.
However, he notes that even without considering his proposal, he still intends to support the project and is inclined to seek a compromise. According to the Liberal, it is much more beneficial for the State to sanction people with an administrative fine and send them to treatment than to pay for the detention of addicts.
“I welcome the project. If we want to have a thousand young people a year, mostly young people in the cyp, then my opinion is different. It is better to allow them to receive an administrative fine, pay, receive an instruction for treatment. according to the treatment, then he pays huge fines. It is important that they do not distribute, do not sell. The fuse is inserted only for their own needs, “said the elder of the LRLS faction.
Conservatives view decriminalization as the responsibility of the entire coalition
When asked what she planned to do apart from the Alliance project to get enough support for the decriminalization project, the Freedom Group leader simply emphasized that as far as the Alliance is concerned, her group had already done everything possible. . .
“For this vote (on the Association-ELTA), Freedom Group has done everything possible. We mobilized those 63 votes. Yes, some were missing, but that is already a record. In 2017, there were only 29 votes. We will return in the fall with this issue and we believe that there is potential and more of those hesitant voices to speak. Of course, we hope that the coalition partners will also see this and will not abandon this issue in their factions “, is convinced I. Pakarklytė.
Meanwhile, Razma believes that not only members of the Freedom Group, but all political forces in the ruling coalition should work and seek support on this issue. The conservative assures that his faction is also helping coalition partners to seek support in the opposition.
“I would not consider it to be the exclusive business of our partners, Freedom Group, or that they have something to learn here. I think this is a shared responsibility of the coalition and we are not going away from it either. We are not going to say that Freedom Group was not completely flexible or did not seek a compromise. We are really trying to help sincerely and also in seeking support from other factions, “said J. Razma.
Meanwhile, E. Gentvilas assured that he did not intend to assess whether the Freedom Party had learned its lessons after a failed vote on the Association. However, the parliamentarian emphasizes that it is not possible to relax and it is necessary to try to persuade the members of the Seimas who do not support the project.
“I am not your teacher to monitor progress and write grades or evaluations. They have always spoken to me, both about the Public Limited Companies Law and about decriminalization. I think we have to talk here with those who disagree, “said the liberal.
Don’t expect support from A. Širinskienė
Still, Razma is skeptical about persuading some opposition politicians to support the decriminalization project. According to him, some parliamentarians vote more often on the basis of political attitudes than on the arguments of experts.
“I do not imagine that it would be possible to get Agnė Širinskien to vote or vote for or some others in that committee. There will probably be some political attitudes there. It is important that the representatives of the rulers agree and find the best option, which would be provided in the stage of consideration in the Seimas ”, says the Conservative.
Considering how to persuade MPs who do not support the bill, I. Pakarklytė said that certain bills should be supported first by those who had included such provisions in their electoral program. He noted that his coalitions had been issued by coalition partners in the Liberal Movement. Meanwhile, some conservatives, according to I. Pakarklytė, even without strict program provisions on the Association issue, still supported the project or supposedly realized the mistake of not voting in favor of the law proposed by the Freedom Faction. .
“First of all, one should ask the leaders of the Liberal Movement why the members of their group do not vote or vote against the Association project when it is in its electoral program. As for the conservatives, they have not articulated so clearly the need for a Law of Association, but we see that there are enough people who support and doubt. After the vote, we heard that my colleague Vytautas Juozapaitis felt sorry for his abstention. We hope that more people like this can be found, “said the eldest of the Freedom Faction.
Meanwhile, E. Gentvilas confirmed that there may be dissident initiatives in his faction to decriminalize drugs, but according to the eldest of the faction, M. Danielė, the initiator of the project, he still intends to speak with these politicians.
“There may be skeptics, not necessarily the same three (who did not support the Association – ELTA project). Perhaps they spoke to them. In the group we have agreed that the author of the project, Morgana Daniele, should come to the group to present professional arguments. I myself told him that it is not cannabis, the drugs that we have to talk about, but how to cure a person of addiction ”, assured the major of the LRLS faction.
He hopes to approve the draft in the spring session.
El Liberal did not dare to speculate on whether the bill would be adopted in the spring session, but said he was looking forward to the end of the incarceration of addicts. However, he also urged those people not to wait for the Seimas to adopt the relevant amendments and to seek ways to overcome drug addiction now.
“I don’t know. I am not the one who sets the agenda, I am not the author, but I certainly agree. I see that there are such possibilities, both ideologically and over time. I want to stop that flow of people being prosecuted as soon as possible. But also, I would like to urge all the people who have one or another drug addiction to be arrested and not wait until they are planted and fined ”, stated E. Gentvilas.
Mr. Razma also expressed the expectation that the project will be adopted in the near future.
“I am moderately optimistic that we can finish this project, maybe tweaking it a bit if we can come to an agreement, but I really don’t bury it yet,” the curator said.
Meanwhile, the Freedom Faction elder who started the project promises that her political force will do everything possible to ensure that the project is adopted at this session of the Seimas.
“We will do everything possible to make that happen. The path in the committees so far is calm, we think it will continue to be so and we will really do everything possible both with ourselves and with the people of other factions who are deepening this project and spreading the message to their colleagues ”. I. Pakarklytė assured.
