ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights how the reform of the Belgian drug law came along in the light of the evidence-based rhetoric put forward by the Federal Government in 1999. It outlines how criminal policy on drugs was anchored through an adaptation of the drug law and the Ministerial Circular Letter of 8 May 1998. It also presents how the upcoming Federal elections on 18 May 2003 did put a lot of pressure on the activities surrounding the new drug law, especially on the debates in the Parliament. The new drug law was developed by an Inter-Cabinet Working Group supervised by the Minister of Justice Marc Verwilghen, in close cooperation with the Minister of Public Health. The new Ministerial Circular Letter detailing the prosecution policy with regard to the possession of and the retail trade in illegal narcotic substances was implemented by the Minister of Justice Marc Verwilghen, together with the College of Prosecutors-General.
