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Demokratiskolan
The Drugs card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 20 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaCulture & everyday life
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Culture & everyday life

Drugs

Allowed, restricted & prohibited drugs

Few areas span as many levels: the Riksdag criminalises drugs, the alcohol monopoly (Systembolaget) sells the wine, the municipality gives the bar its permit and the region cares for the person who got caught. Policy draws a sharp line between permitted, restricted and forbidden. Where the lines fall is one of the most debated choices in Swedish politics.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · permits, inspection & social services · approx 20 %
  • Region · care & addiction clinics · approx 20 %
  • State · criminal law, monopoly & customs · approx 55 %
  • EU · import rules & new substances · approx 5 %

The central government dominates through criminal law, the alcohol monopoly (Systembolaget) and customs. The general election weighs heaviest, but the care and inspection you meet are steered in the regional and municipal elections.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityInspection & support
The regionCare
Central governmentThe law, the monopoly & the border · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The social welfare committee (socialnämnden) and the municipality's permit unit.
The regional council (regionfullmäktige), the health and medical care committee and the addiction clinics.
The Riksdag, the Government, the Police, the Customs Service (Tullverket), the Public Health Agency (Folkhälsomyndigheten) and the alcohol monopoly (Systembolaget).
What do they decide?
Serving permits, inspection of alcohol and tobacco sales, preventive work and the social services' support for substance misuse.
Addiction care, detoxification, medication-assisted treatment and psychiatry, under the Health and Medical Services Act.
The Narcotic Drugs (Punishments) Act, the Alcohol Act, the retail monopoly, border control and the overall ANDTS policy.
Where are decisions made?
In the social welfare committee and in the outreach work among young people.
In the region's care budget and at the clinics.
In the Riksdag, at the agencies and in the shops of the alcohol monopoly (Systembolaget).
Who pays?
The municipal tax plus inspection fees from retailers and bar owners.
The regional tax funds addiction care.
The central government budget. The alcohol and tobacco taxes at the same time give the central government large revenues.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Contact with the social welfare committee, involvement in parent patrols and associations.
Regional election The regional election steers the resources of addiction care. Comments through the patients' committee.
General election The general election steers drug and alcohol policy. Inquiries go out on open referral.
EUThe EU governs import rules and the minimum levels of the taxes and coordinates the monitoring of new substances. The monopoly of the alcohol monopoly (Systembolaget) has been examined and accepted by the EU Court of Justice.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case The path through addiction care
  1. State

    The Riksdag draws the line between permitted and forbidden

    The Narcotic Drugs (Punishments) Act makes all handling of narcotics punishable, including personal use. Alcohol is instead restricted: the alcohol monopoly (Systembolaget) has the sole right to retail sales and the shop's age limit is 20 years.

    Point of influence

    The general election decides the direction of policy. When drug policy is reviewed, anyone can respond to the referral.

  2. State

    Customs and the police watch the flows

    The Customs Service (Tullverket) stops smuggling at the border and the police work against street dealing and supply. This is the central government's repressive side of the policy.

  3. Municipality

    The social services are the first door

    The person who seeks help, or whose relatives raise the alarm, often meets the municipality's social services first. The social welfare committee is responsible for support and housing, and in serious cases the administrative court (förvaltningsrätten) can decide on care without consent under the LVM. The individual can appeal such a decision to the administrative court of appeal. The individual can appeal such a decision to the administrative court of appeal.

    Point of influence

    The social welfare committee's politicians are elected in the municipal election. Relatives' associations are a strong voice in many municipalities.

  4. Region

    Addiction care takes over

    The region's addiction clinic provides detoxification, treatment and psychiatry. The municipality and the region are to coordinate around the individual, often in a joint individual plan.

    Point of influence

    The regional election steers the resources of addiction care. The patients' committee receives comments on the care.

  5. Your everyday life

    A neighbour on the way back

    Behind every recovery lies a chain of public decisions: a law, a customs check, a social worker and a clinic. Where the chain holds or breaks is decided in three different elections.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. Where should the line be drawn between permitted, restricted and forbidden, and who should draw it?

  2. Is addiction primarily a matter for the justice system or for care?

  3. What does society gain and what does it lose from the monopoly of the alcohol monopoly (Systembolaget)?

  4. How do you talk to young people about drugs without either scaring them or glossing it over?

  5. Who in your municipality catches the person who is starting to get caught, and what would there need to be more of?

Glossary

Narkotikastrafflagen
The law that makes all handling of narcotics punishable, including personal use.
Detaljhandelsmonopol
Systembolaget's legally established sole right to sell strong beer, wine and spirits in shops.
LVM
The Care of Abusers (Special Provisions) Act: compulsory care that the social welfare committee applies for and the administrative court decides on.
ANDTS
The collective name for policy on alcohol, narcotics, doping, tobacco and gambling.
Patientnämnd
The region's independent body that you turn to with complaints and comments on the care.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.