The Alliance for Rights-Oriented Drug Policies
Your Rights Watch
New Civil Disobedience
AROD Sends Cannabis to Police and Prosecutors to Demand Principled Review of Drug Policy
The Alliance for Rights-Oriented Drug Policy (AROD) continues its fight for a human rights-based drug policy through civil disobedience. As part of our ongoing campaign to challenge arbitrary persecution and failures in leadership in the drug field, we have sent a symbolic amount of cannabis to key actors in the Norwegian justice system. The goal is to activate the right to judicial review and force a necessary debate on Sections 231 and 232 of the Penal Code, Section 89 of the Constitution, and Norway's obligations under human rights law.
This action is based on 30 years of documented debate on the legitimacy of the drug prohibition, where experts such as Johs. Andenæs, Nils Christie, and reports like NOU 2002:4 and NOU 2019:26 have pointed out serious deficiencies. We demand truth and reconciliation to restore trust in the rule of law, and the letters emphasize the need for an impartial assessment of drug policy – especially as more and more countries regulate cannabis to protect public health.
The Letters We Have Sent:
Letter to Police Chief Johan Brekke, Innlandet Police District (dated September 26, 2025): This letter praises Innlandet's previous efforts for legal security but challenges the district to take responsibility for a principled review following AROD's actions in 2023 and 2024. It includes a checklist to clarify the threat to the rule of law and attached documents showing the disputed premises of the drug prohibition.
Letter to First State Attorney Runar Torgersen, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (dated September 26, 2025): The letter urges the Director of Public Prosecutions to intervene to preserve a liberal rule of law, focusing on failures in professional responsibility since 1994. It includes the same checklist and documentation showing the need for truth and reconciliation in the drug field.
Court Hearing in Oslo District Court: AROD Challenges the Basis of the Drug Prohibition
The Alliance for Rights-Oriented Drug Policy (AROD) attended a court hearing in Oslo District Court on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 1:00 PM. The case concerned the upholding of the seizure of 21 grams of hashish, sent to Police Chief Johan Brekke as part of our civil disobedience campaign. During the hearing, AROD leader Roar Alexander Mikalsen presented arguments for a principled review of drug policy, highlighting challenges such as arbitrary persecution and lack of proportionality after 60 years of unchecked power. The court, however, upheld the seizure and approved confiscation, ruling that the conditions under straffeprosessloven §§ 203, 204, 208 and legemiddelloven § 32 were met, as the amount exceeded threshold values for personal use.
Background of the Case
In September 2025, AROD sent cannabis as a protest to activate the right to judicial review and assess the Penal Code §§ 231 and 232 against the Constitution § 89 and ECHR art. 3, 5, 6, 8, 13, 14, and 18. The police decided on confiscation, but AROD immediately appealed and submitted a procedural document demanding oral hearings with evidence presentation over 15 days, including experts and reports such as NOU 2019:26 and Prop. 92 L.
Key Principled Questions
The case challenges the foundation of the drug ban: Investigations show punishment as inappropriate, and this is another opportunity for Norwegian authorities to rebuild the rule of law. Arbitrary persecution continues due to failure of leadership, and the prosecution and the court will be held accountable for violations of the Penal Code.
Court Ruling and Next Steps
The court hearing decided to uphold the seizure and confiscation of the 21 grams of hashish, stating that operating with narcotics remains generally punishable and that the amount exceeded thresholds for decriminalized personal use under recent law changes (effective June 20, 2025). AROD did not oppose the seizure itself but sought a broader principled examination of the cannabis prohibition's legitimacy, noting increasing global regulation for public health protection. As Mikalsen stated in court, "it is clearly not enough with 20 grams" to force a full review, indicating AROD's intent to escalate civil disobedience for a comprehensive hearing. We consider opening another cannabis café in Oslo to ensure effective minority protection and will pursue further actions at International Criminal Court and the Council of Europe to address leadership failures and legal violations, aligning with the Director of Public Prosecutions' priorities.
Our communication to the court and the full ruling are available here:
AROD Sends Letter to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries: Demands Action for Regulated Cannabis Industry
On September 29, 2025, the Alliance for Rights-Oriented Drug Policy (AROD) sent a letter to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries addressed to Minister Cecilie Myrseth. The letter is a follow-up to our inquiry to the Prime Minister's Office dated January 22, 2025, where we requested preparation of a resolution in the Council of State to ensure Norway's international legal obligations in drug policy. The lack of response from the authorities now forces us to escalate the matter through civil disobedience, while emphasizing the enormous economic potential in a regulated cannabis industry.
Background for the Inquiry
For over 40 years, Norway's drug policy has been characterized by moral panic and arbitrary persecution, despite research showing that the drug prohibition has made things worse. Criminologists, historians, and legal sociologists have long demonstrated the scapegoating mechanism as the driving force behind the prohibition. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Justice has failed in its professional responsibility since the Penal Law Commission's report (NOU 2002:04), where the requirement for justification of punishment is not met. This was confirmed in NOU 2019:26 and the Drug Reform Committee's report, which describes the policy as characterized by "public panic," "misleading notions," and "misinvestment in punishment."
In the January letter, we asked the Prime Minister's Office, together with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, to propose a resolution to respect the Constitution and human rights. We pointed out that over half of Europe's population lives in countries that have regulated cannabis to protect public health, and that Norway's resistance to less intrusive measures threatens the rule of law. Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl and other politicians are disqualified in the case, as they prioritize the prohibition regardless of facts. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries was recommended as deputy minister in the Council of State, as it is the only one that has shown willingness to consider a legitimate purpose for the prohibition.
Despite several reminders, we have not received a response. This silence confirms a systematic deprioritization of rights-based jurisprudence, which has been identified by reports as a systemic problem, and in the letter to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, we emphasize that the ministry's silence means a betrayal of professional responsibility for the regulation of cannabis, on par with the Ministry of Justice's betrayal of decriminalization. AROD announces that we are taking civil disobedience further to force a debate. We are starting the process of building a brand and putting Norway on the map through regulated production of cannabis seeds, and we urge the ministry to take immediate action to avoid further lawless conditions.
Read the Letter in Full:
As more and more nations regulate the cannabis market to protect public health, no state can take for granted that the prohibition fulfils a legitimate purpose. Instead, a human rights analysis is needed to look at the rights of drug law violators, and several times AROD has brought cannabis to the Norwegian authorities to have this issue resolved before the courts.
Even so, all attempts to challenge the law have been met by a wall of silence. For more than a decade, even the European Court of Human Rights has shied away from its duty to deliver a verdict on this issue, and the right of 700 million citizens to a fair trial and an effective remedy has yet to be recognized.
Therefore, on the 16th of November, with five letters, AROD launched a new campaign of civil disobedience to assist the rule of law. Inside these letters, there is sufficient cannabis to get a case before the court, and time will tell how the Norwegian state will respond.
Will AROD be allowed to show a connection between drug policy and the arbitrary persecution of the past, or will the Norwegian state continue to ignore the evidence of human rights violations?
This letter to the Director of Public Prosecutions presents ARODs list of evidence, witnesses, and legal strategy:
More letters of civil disobedience
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AROD to the Commission for Drug Policy Enforcement (Norwegian)
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AROD to the Commission for Drug Policy Enforcement (English)
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AROD to Katrine Holter at the Norwegian Police University College (Norwegian)
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AROD to Katrine Holter at the Norwegian Police University College (English)
Previous Civil Disobedience
Phase 2: More letters
AROD have not heard from the police about our letters containing cannabis. We therefore present another round of letters that aim to provide legal protection for the persecuted, this time addressed to the Norwegian Prime Minister and professors of law.
Case documents
The police has contacted AROD. The police did not want to think about legal issues that compromises the drug law, and this is our response to the police:
After this letter the police accepted ARODs terms. On 20 November 2024 therefore ARODs leader Roar Mikalsen testified to the police about the reasons for sending cannabis in the mail to politicians, and this follow-up letter details the duties of the police to investigate the connection to the arbitrary persecution of the past:
The prosecutor does not want to provide an effective remedy. Instead, the police want one day in court to ensure that the drug law escapes scrutiny, and this letter reminds the prosecutor of her duties to the rule of law:
On 25. November 2024 the case is ready for Oslo City Court. The police refuses to let the defense present evidence and the judge has accepted the request of the police. In response, AROD has appealed to the Supreme Court and filed a complaint against the prosecutor and the judge:
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AROD complaint against prosecutor Christine Lundstien 16-10-24
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Response from the Norwegian Bureau for the Investigation of Police Affairs
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AROD complaint to the Director of Public Prosecution against prosecutor
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AROD follow-up to the Director of Public Prosecutions 28-12-24
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AROD complaint against chief prosecutor Runar Torgersen, 28-01-25
The process of the Oslo City Court was a travesty of justice as the defense was denied an opportunity to challenge the law. Here is the verdict:
Questions to the Minister of Justice
These are the questions that the Norwegian Minister of Justice must answer for drug prohibition to be continued.
On this basis AROD challenges the law.
Norwegian
English
