processed. in 2007, 18,000 prisoners were kept in a prison built to hold up to 7,000. in urban regions of ecuador as many as 45% of male inmates were serving time for drug charges; this prison demographic rises to 80% of female inmates. in 2008, under ecuador's new constitution, current prisoners serving time were allowed the "smuggler pardon" if they were prosecuted for purchasing or carrying up to 2 kg of any drug, and they already served 10% of their sentence. later, in 2009, law 108 was replaced by the organic penal code (coip). the coip contains many of the same rules and regulations as law 108, but it established clear distinctions among large, medium and small drug traffickers, as well as between the mafia and rural growers, and prosecutes accordingly. in 2013, the ecuadorian government left the andean trade promotion and drug eradication act. germany compared with other eu countries, germany's drug policy is considered progressive, but still stricter than, for example, the netherlands. in 1994 the federal constitutional court ruled that drug addiction was not a crime, nor was the possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use. in 2000, germany changed the narcotic law ("btmg") to allow supervised drug injection rooms. in 2002, they started a pilot study in seven german cities to evaluate the effects of heroin-assisted treatment on addicts, compared to methadone-assisted treatment. the positive results of the study led to the inclusion of heroin-assisted treatment into the services of the mandatory health insurance in 2009. in 2017, germany re-allowed medical cannabis; after the 2021 german federal election, the new government announced in their coalition agreement they intention to legalise cannabis for all other purposes (including recreational), although concrete legislation to this effect has not yet been introduced. india main article: drug policy of india indonesia like many other governments in southeast asia, the indonesian government applies severe laws to discourage drug use. liberia liberia prohibits drugs such as cocaine and marijuana. its drug laws are enforced by the drug enforcement agency. netherlands cannabis coffee shop in the city center of amsterdam, netherlands drug policy in the netherlands is based on two principles: that drug use is a health issue, not a criminal issue, and that there is a distinction between hard and soft drugs. the netherlands is currently the only country to have implemented a wide scale, but still regulated, decriminalisation of marijuana. it was also one of the first countries to introduce heroin-assisted treatment and safe injection sites. from 2008, a number of town councils have closed many so called coffee shops that sold cannabis or implemented other new restrictions for sale of cannabis, e.g. for foreigners. importing and exporting of any classified drug is a serious offence. the penalty can run up to 12 to 16 years if it is for hard drugs, or a maximum of 4 years for importing or exporting large quantities of cannabis. investment in treatment and prevention of drug addiction is high when compared to the rest of the world. the netherlands spends significantly more per capita than all other countries in the eu on drug law enforcement. 75% of drug-related public spending is on law enforcement. drug use remains at average western european levels and slightly lower than in english speaking countries. peru according to article 8 of the constitution of peru, the state is responsible for battling and punishing drug trafficking. likewise, it regulates the use of intoxicants. consumption of drugs is not penalized and possession is allowed for small quantities only. production and distribution of drugs are illegal. in 1993, peru, along with ecuador, signed the andean trade preference agreement with the united states, later replaced with the andean trade promotion and drug eradication act. bolivia and colombia had already signed the atpa in 1991, and began enjoying its benefits in 1992. by agreeing to the terms of this agreement, these countries worked in concert with the united states to fight drug trafficking and production at the source. the act aimed to substitute the production of the coca plant with other agricultural products. in return for their efforts towards eradication of the coca plant, the countries were granted u.s. tariff exemptions on certain products, such as certain types of fruit. peru ceased complying with the atpa in 2012, and lost all tariff exemptions previously granted by the united states through the atpa. by the end of 2012, peru overtook colombia as the world's largest cultivator of the coca plant. portugal in july 2001, a law maintained the status of illegality for using or possessing any drug for personal use without authorization. the offense was however changed from a criminal one, with prison a possible punishment, to an administrative one if the possessing was no more than up to ten days' supply of that substance. this was in line with the de facto portuguese drug policy before the reform. drug addicts were then aggressively targeted with therapy or community service rather than fines or waivers. even if there are no criminal penalties, these changes did not legalize drug use in portugal. possession has remained prohibited by portuguese law, and criminal penalties are still applied to drug growers, dealers and traffickers. russia drugs became popular in russia among soldiers and the homeless, particularly due to the first world war. this included morphine-based drugs and cocaine, which were readily available. the government under tsar nicholas ii of russia had outlawed alcohol in 1914 (including vodka) as a temporary measure until the conclusion of the war. following the russian revolution and in particular the october revolution and the russian civil war, the bolsheviks emerged victorious as the new political power in russia. the soviet union inherited a population with widespread drug addiction, and in the 1920s, tried to tackle it by introducing a 10-year prison sentence for drug-dealers. the bolsheviks also decided in august 1924 to re-introduce the sale of vodka, which, being more readily available, led to a drop in drug-use. sweden sweden's drug policy has gradually turned from lenient in the 1960s with an emphasis on drug supply towards a policy of zero tolerance against all illicit drug use (including cannabis). the official aim is a drug-free society. drug use became a punishable crime in 1988. personal use does not result in jail time if not combined with driving a car. prevention includes widespread drug testing, and penalties range from fines for minor drug offenses up to a 10-year prison sentence for aggravated offenses. the condition for suspended sentences could be regular drug tests or submission to rehabilitation treatment. drug treatment is free of charge and provided through the health care system and the municipal social services. drug use that threatens the health and development of minors could force them into mandatory treatment if they don't apply voluntarily. if the use threatens the immediate health or the security of others (such as a child of an addict) the same could apply to adults. among 9th year students, drug experimentation was highest in the early 1970s, falling towards a low in the late 1980s, redoubling in the 1990s to stabilize and slowly decline in 2000s. estimates of heavy drug addicts have risen from 6000 in 1967 to 15000 in 1979, 19000 in 1992 and 26000 in 1998. according to inpatient data, there were 28000 such addicts in 2001 and 26000 in 2004, but these last two figures may represent the recent trend in sweden towards out-patient treatment of drug addicts rather than an actual decline in drug addictions. the united nations office on drugs and crime (unodc) reports that sweden has one of the lowest drug use rates in the western world, and attributes this to a drug policy that invests heavily in prevention and treatment as well as strict law enforcement. the general drug policy is supported by all political parties and, according to opinion polls made in the mid 2000s, the restrictive approach received broad support from the public at that time. switzerland the national drug policy of switzerland was developed in the early 1990s and comprises the four elements of prevention, therapy, harm reduction and prohibition. in 1994 switzerland was one of the first countries to try heroin-assisted treatment and other harm reduction measures like supervised injection rooms. in 2008 a popular initiative by the right wing swiss people's party aimed at ending the heroin program was rejected by more than two thirds of the voters. a simultaneous initiative aimed at legalizing marijuana was rejected at the same ballot. between 1987 and 1992, illegal drug use and sales were permitted in platzspitz park, zurich, in an attempt to counter the growing heroin problem. however, as the situation grew increasingly out of control, authorities were forced to close the park. in 2022, switzerland initiated pilot trials for the non-medical use of cannabis. thailand thailand has a strict drug policy. the use, storage, transportation and distribution of drugs is illegal. in 2021, thailand unified all the laws on narcotic, psychoactive substances, and inhalants into the narcotic code 2564 be (2021 ad) with more relaxing policy. the sentence of many criminal offenses relating to narcotic was reduced as the new law focuses more on drug rehabilitation. according to the narcotic code, narcotic substances are divided into 5 categories. category i - highly addictive narcotic such as heroin, amphetamines, methamphetamines, etc. category ii - highly addictive narcotic with medical use such as morphine, cocaine, ketamine, codeine, medicinal opium (opium extracts or products), etc. category iii - drug formularies that legally contain the category ii narcotic, etc. category iv - chemicals used for synthesizing the categories i and ii narcotic such as acetic anhydride, acetyl chloride, etc. category v - narcotic plants such as opium poppy, magic mushroom, cannabis extracts with thc higher than 0.2% by weight and cannabis seed extracts. with the current law, kratom and cannabis plant no longer belong to the category v narcotic. they are on longer considered narcotic plants. however, plantation, possession, distribution, and use of these plants are still controlled by certain level of permission and regulations. it is also illegal to import more than 200 cigarettes per person to thailand. control takes place at customs at the airport. if the limit has been exceeded, the owner can be fined up to ten times the cost of cigarettes. in january 2018, thai authorities imposed a ban on smoking on beaches in some tourist areas. those who smoke in public places can be punished with a fine of 100,000 baht or imprisonment for up to one year. it is forbidden to import electronic cigarettes into thailand. these items are likely to be confiscated, and you can be fined or sent to prison for up to 10 years. the sale or supply of electronic cigarettes and similar devices is also prohibited and is punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to 5 years. it is worth noting that most people arrested for possessing a small amount of substances from the v-th category are fined and not imprisoned. at present, in thailand, the anti-drug police are considering methamphetamines as a more serious and dangerous problem. ukraine crimes in the sphere of trafficking in narcotic, psychotropic substances and crimes against health are classified using the 13th section of the criminal code of ukraine; articles from 305 to 327. according to official statistics for 2016, 53% of crimes in the field of drugs fall on art. 309 of the criminal code of ukraine: "illegal production, manufacture, acquisition, storage, transportation or shipment of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues without the purpose of sale". sentence for crime: fine of fifty to one hundred non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens; or correctional labor for up to two years; or arrest for up to six months, or restriction of liberty for up to three years; or imprisonment for the same term. on august 28, 2013, the cabinet of ministers of ukraine adopted a strategy for state policy on drugs until 2020. this is the first document of this kind in ukraine. the strategy developed by the state drug control service, involves strengthening criminal liability for distributing large amounts of drugs, and easing the penalty for possession of small doses. thanks to this strategy, it is planned to reduce the number of injecting drug users by 20% by