Legal and policy frameworks

Many countries have laws that punish anyone who provides a room for illegal drug use, also without specific legislation, workers can be criminally prosecuted for giving users certain paraphernalia (equipment to use drugs), as it is seen as facilitating drug us. For that reason, opening a drug consumption room requires adopting country-specific laws. Many DCRs operate under special or experimental laws, or, like in Liege, Belgium, without national political consensus or a proper legal framework.

Depending on the host country, official endorsement of the provision of DCRs may be based on a number of different regulatory frameworks or legal approaches, for example:

• Legal expert opinion: Schultz, 1989 for Switzerland; Körner, 1993 for Germany, guidelines from the attorney-general College van Procureur-generaal 1996, for the Netherlands.
• Specific provisions or exemptions in national drug laws: amendment to BtMG (§10a) in Germany, specific 2004 ‘injection room’ Bill by the parliament in Norway, Law 30/2000 in Portugal, section 360 of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act (1985) in Australia.
• Existing local public health regulations: Spain (EMCDDA, 2023).

Establishing a DCR is an ongoing process with no fixed end. Practices are regularly reviewed to ensure they remain effective and legitimate.

Legal basis for DCR in Germany