TOWARDS A DES-INCRIMINATION OF DRUG POSSESSION FOR OWN USE IN ROMANIA
TOWARDS A DES-INCRIMINATION OF DRUG POSSESSION FOR OWN USE IN ROMANIA

Summary/Abstract: In 2000, Law no. 143 for prevention and fight against drug use and illegal drug trafficking entered into force in Romania. This law represented an operative instrument to fight against the drug mafia and generally against organized crime in the field of the Romanian judicial organisations. Pursuant to the provisions of Law 143(4)/2000, the deed of illicit drug possession for own use has firstly been incriminated, as a reaction of the Romanian society against illicit use of drugs dramatically increasing since 1990. According to the statistic data released by the National Anti-Drug Agency, illicit drug use has been increasing after 2000 although such incrimination was already introduced in the criminal law. Almost eight years after the prohibition of drug possession for own use that has not produced any effects in reducing the number of drug users, the question of changing the criminal philosophy of the Romanian legislator, who leads an extremely harsh repressive politics in the field, may be raised. One proposes in this respect, to remove the drug possession for own use from the illicit criminal sphere and to solve such cases by imposing certain administrative sanctions altogether with some medical procedures/medical care services, the sole able to solve complex drug addiction related problems. Taking into account the reduced social danger of drug possession for own use, as well as for giving higher efficiency to medical standards in the field, with a more substantial preventing effect, the Romanian legislator needs to review its criminal politics of illicit drug use, by re-evaluating the gravity and dangerous effects of drugs possess for own use by its des-incrimination.

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