Belgium To Ratify Pot Law Change February 20, 2003 - Brussels, Belgium Brussels: The Belgian Parliament recently approved legislation legalizing the possession and cultivation of marijuana for personal use, according to a press release issued by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA). Parliament voted to allow recreational users to possess up to five grams of marijuana and/or cultivate one plant without facing any criminal penalty. The legal change follows a formal declaration by Parliament in 2001 mandating prosecutors and judges to "no longer interfere in the lives of people who use cannabis on a personal basis and who do not create harm or do not show dependence." The production and sale of large quantities of marijuana will continue to be actively prosecuted under the new policy, as will public smoking and/or marijuana use in the presence of a minor. For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director of The NORML Foundation, at (202) 483-8751 or see NORML's report, "European Drug Policy: 2002 Legislative Update." Belgium To Ratify Pot Law Change February 20, 2003 - Brussels, Belgium Brussels: The Belgian Parliament recently approved legislation legalizing the possession and cultivation of marijuana for personal use, according to a press release issued by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA). Parliament voted to allow recreational users to possess up to five grams of marijuana and/or cultivate one plant without facing any criminal penalty. The legal change follows a formal declaration by Parliament in 2001 mandating prosecutors and judges to "no longer interfere in the lives of people who use cannabis on a personal basis and who do not create harm or do not show dependence." The production and sale of large quantities of marijuana will continue to be actively prosecuted under the new policy, as will public smoking and/or marijuana use in the presence of a minor. For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director of The NORML Foundation, at (202) 483-8751 or see NORML's report, "European Drug Policy: 2002 Legislative Update."