Criminal Law and Drug Control

The abuse of drugs and drug addiction has become a major topic in the criminal justice systems throughout the world. Increases in the number of arrested drug offenders could be observed almost everywhere throughout the last decade. But various problems arise out of attempts to strengthen the criminal law approach to drug control. Analyzing drug related data from European countries as well as far reaching changes in basic criminal law and procedural law, it is demonstrated that quite paradoxical effects seem to be the consequence of tough drug laws and strict enforcement. Large black markets, marginalized subcultures of drugs with tremendous dangers for health and life of addicts, organization and rationalization of drug trafficking seem to be the result of emphasizing repression and control as central elements in societal responses to drug problems, an emphasis which can be demonstrated by the ongoing process of enlarging police rights in controlling drug related behavior as well as increasing minimum and maximum penalties up to grossly excessive levels

Addiction · Criminal justice · Criminal law · Criminology · Drug · Drug control · Law enforcement · Political science · Psychiatry · Sociology · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · European Criminal Justice and Data Protection · Law · Psychology · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes