Since the late 1980's, a larger proportion of German drug offenders have received fines and suspended sentences as judges believe that imprisonment and deterrence strategies have not solved the drug problem. However, while prosecutors and judges alike seek to send drug offenders to treatment programs outside of prisons the concept of a complete replacement of imprisonment by treatment has largely failed. For juvenile offenders, there is a clear tendency to impose milder sentences under juvenile criminal law than under the Criminal Code relating to adult offenders. Compared to the 1980's, the juvenile justice system has achieved a measure of "normalization" in terms of sentencing juvenile drug offenders. The current debate on drug policy in Germany illustrates two divergent approaches to law enforcement; on the one hand, a tougher stand against organized crime and on the other, a shift toward acceptance of the decriminalization of soft drugs and the introduction of methadone maintenance programs in nearly all the Federal States. 42 references