Pubdate: Sun, 15 Oct 2000
Source: Expressen (Sweden)
Contact:  http://www.expressen.se
Copyright: Expressen
Author: Lena Lindehag
Note: Translated by John Yates

NEW JUSTICE MINISTER: "DRUG CRIMINALISATION MEANINGLESS"

Justice Minister Thomas Bodstrom, 38, has said that the use of drugs should
be permitted. In an article in the journal 'Liberal Debatt' two years ago
he wrote that the criminalisation of narcotics consumption was a completely
meaningless reform.

Bodstrom has himself smoked hasch many times.

"The criminal policy against those who abuse narcotics is extremly harsh
and the criminalisation of narcotics has not led to a reduction in abuse.
On the contrary, the effect has been the social marginalisation of drug
abusers."

These opinions have been put fowards by Justice Minister Bodstrom in the
journal Liberal Debatt.

"As a lawyer I was often outraged at the very long prison sentences handed
out to drug abusers," he says today.

At the same time Thomas Bodstrom admits that he is taking these values into
the Government.

"I have never in any way hidden the fact that I have this perspective on
these issues", he says.

As Minister of Justice he will accomodate himself to the Governments view
of narcotics policy.

"The Justice Ministers job is to see the whole picture from other
perspectives. I will have to make compromises and think in other ways."

"One is continually influenced by what one is doing."

Thomas Bodstrom has personal experience of drugs. In his teenage years he
tried hasch many times.

"But I have not received criminal record," he points out.

Should you have been imprisoned?

"No, that I could not have been while it was not illegal."

In the Justice Ministers youth it was permitted to use drugs. Something
that Bodstrom took advantage of "A couple of times" according to what he
can remember.

"It was at parties and things like that," he says

Bodstrom does not have more detailed memories of which places, nor does he
remember how many times he smoked hasch.

Was it less than five times?

"Yes, I think so."

Bodstrom says he didn't like hasch.

"It was strong and unpleasant. I felt ill."

You tried again, anyway.

"Yes, I didn't like it any of the times."

Bodstrom took up the then current political debate on criminal policy in
Liberal Debatt.

"Laila Freivalds and Gun Hellsvik have had a kind of contest over who
stands for the most restrictive criminal policy," he wrote, and continued:

"That the debate between Freivalds and Hellsvik lacks content and is boring
is not so strange considering they think the same."

Thomas Bodström sees no problems in reconciling his opinions as a lawyer
with those he says are expected of him as Minister of Justice and successor
to Laila Freivalds.

"I think it will be very exciting," he says.
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