Drug consumers in the Criminal Justice system: sentencing and punishment

• In Event: Drugs, crime and criminal justice

Abstract

The research is devoted to improving the State drug policy in Ukraine by analyzing the practice of sentencing by courts for acts under Article 309 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and serving sentences for persons with drug use experience. Particular attention is paid to the criminological characteristics of persons with drug use experience who have been prosecuted. The article emphasizes that approaches to the organization of registration of such persons in the Criminal justice system lead to a lack of proper monitoring to characterize the drug situation concerning convicts objectively. It has been proven that the practice of punishing “drug offenses” related to one’s consumption leads to an inappropriate increase in the prison population at the expense of drug consumers.

Authors

• Iakovets Iryna, The Scientifis Research Institute of Intellectual Property

• Maryna Rudnytskykh, Ph.D. in Law, Legal adviser of the CLIR initiative of the project "Support of government reforms in Ukraine" (SURGe)

• Liubov Vladimirovna Sorokina, researcher at the Scientific research institute of intellectual property National academy of legal sciences of Ukraine