The Ministry of Justice has proposed raising the threshold for what constitutes a large quantity of narcotic substances from the current 10 doses to 30 doses. This means that if a person is found with an amount below that limit, it would be treated as a misdemeanor rather than a criminal offense.

"We currently have a minimum one-year prison sentence for possessing an amount of narcotics equivalent to half a day's supply for someone with an addiction. That means people are afraid to seek help. Even half a day's dose is considered large enough to warrant a minimum sentence of one year in prison," said Minister of Justice Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200).

According to the minister, the solution would be for the state to increase the limit for what is considered a personal-use quantity. However, possessing a larger amount would still be punishable by a fine.

Pakosta said the real issue lies in prosecuting drug dealers, as the police and courts currently must prove that a dealer has profited financially from selling narcotics.

"It should be enough that the amount is clearly too large for a single person to use for self-harm. There's no need to start debating business plans in court," Pakosta said.

Interior ministry disagrees

Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) approved the legislative intent document (VTK), but noted that it does not sufficiently prioritize prevention and addiction treatment over punishment.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Igor Taro, also a member of Eesti 200, declined to approve the VTK.

According to Taro, the Ministry of the Interior does not support differentiating between less dangerous and more dangerous narcotic and psychotropic substances, as doing so would send the wrong message to society and could contribute to the normalization of drug use.

"All banned narcotics are inherently dangerous and cause health damage," Taro explained.

Pakosta countered that the interior ministry had simply misunderstood the VTK and that the Ministry of Justice had made no proposal to classify drugs based on their level of danger.

"The interior ministry's criticism is completely wrong, entirely misplaced — we never had such an intention," said Pakosta, adding: "Why they wrote that is a matter for their own conscience."

In addition, the Ministry of the Interior argued that the proposed changes in the VTK would negatively impact public order, citizen safety and the operations and intervention capacity of law enforcement agencies, particularly the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA).

Pakosta disagreed with that assessment as well, saying the PPA's analysis had omitted key details.

"In their feedback, the police strangely failed to mention that the current legal framework already includes the evidentiary burden they are concerned about. In fact, under the legislative intent, that burden on the police would actually decrease. This is clearly stated in the document — in particular, that they would no longer have to prove financial gain," Pakosta explained.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the legislation regulating the handling of narcotics is expected to enter into force in the first half of next year.

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