Drug policy of the Soviet Union
Encyclopedia
The drug policy of the Soviet Union
changed little throughout the existence of the state, other than slowly becoming stricter, although some differences in penalties existed in the different Union Republics. Policies were focused on prohibition
and criminalisation, rather than more liberal policies such as harm reduction
and the rehabilitation of users and addicts.
, and possession with intent to traffic. The 1924 Soviet Constitution
expanded this legislation to cover the whole Soviet Union. The 1926 Penal Code of the RSFSR suggested imprisonment or corrective labour for between one and three years as punishment for these offences, depending on the scale of the offence committed. It is noteworthy that drug possession without intention to traffic and the personal use of drugs warranted no penalties at this time.
Drug regulation remained largely untouched in the Soviet Union until 1974, when the Supreme Soviet issued a Decree entitled 'On Reinforcement of the Fight Against Drug Addiction'. This Decree was reproduced in Article 224 of the Penal Codes of all the Republics of the USSR, and not only increased the penalties for the offences mentioned above to between ten to fifteen years' imprisonment, but for the first time criminalised possession of drugs without intent to traffic, bringing a penalty of up to three years in prison. Additional offences of 'seducing another person to narcotic drugs', punishable by up to five years' imprisonment, and the theft of narcotics, punishable by between five to fifteen years' imprisonment, were also created. The term 'narcotics' used here referred to all drugs listed by UN Conventions, not just opiates.
A further Decree issued in 1987 made a conviction for the above offences within a year of an earlier conviction for the same violation of the law liable to punishment of up to two years' imprisonment or corrective labor. Sergei Lebedev, the Chairman of the Association of Independent Advocates in Leningrad at the time, argued that the steady escalation of criminal penalties for drug use was "indicative of the Soviet authorities’ resignation to their complete inability to solve drug problems in a constructive and humane way".
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
changed little throughout the existence of the state, other than slowly becoming stricter, although some differences in penalties existed in the different Union Republics. Policies were focused on prohibition
Prohibition (drugs)
The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent drug use. Prohibition of drugs has existed at various levels of government or other authority from the Middle Ages to the present....
and criminalisation, rather than more liberal policies such as harm reduction
Harm reduction
Harm reduction refers to a range of public health policies designed to reduce the harmful consequences associated with recreational drug use and other high risk activities...
and the rehabilitation of users and addicts.
Regulation
Legislation against drugs first appeared in post-revolutionary Russia, in Article 104-d of the 1922 Penal Code of the RSFSR, criminalising drug production, traffickingIllegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
, and possession with intent to traffic. The 1924 Soviet Constitution
1924 Soviet Constitution
The 1924 Soviet Constitution legitimated the December 1922 union of the Russian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the Belarusian SSR, and the Transcaucasian SFSR to form the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics....
expanded this legislation to cover the whole Soviet Union. The 1926 Penal Code of the RSFSR suggested imprisonment or corrective labour for between one and three years as punishment for these offences, depending on the scale of the offence committed. It is noteworthy that drug possession without intention to traffic and the personal use of drugs warranted no penalties at this time.
Drug regulation remained largely untouched in the Soviet Union until 1974, when the Supreme Soviet issued a Decree entitled 'On Reinforcement of the Fight Against Drug Addiction'. This Decree was reproduced in Article 224 of the Penal Codes of all the Republics of the USSR, and not only increased the penalties for the offences mentioned above to between ten to fifteen years' imprisonment, but for the first time criminalised possession of drugs without intent to traffic, bringing a penalty of up to three years in prison. Additional offences of 'seducing another person to narcotic drugs', punishable by up to five years' imprisonment, and the theft of narcotics, punishable by between five to fifteen years' imprisonment, were also created. The term 'narcotics' used here referred to all drugs listed by UN Conventions, not just opiates.
A further Decree issued in 1987 made a conviction for the above offences within a year of an earlier conviction for the same violation of the law liable to punishment of up to two years' imprisonment or corrective labor. Sergei Lebedev, the Chairman of the Association of Independent Advocates in Leningrad at the time, argued that the steady escalation of criminal penalties for drug use was "indicative of the Soviet authorities’ resignation to their complete inability to solve drug problems in a constructive and humane way".
See also
- Arguments for and against drug prohibitionArguments for and against drug prohibitionArguments about the prohibition of drugs, and over drug policy reform, are subjects of considerable controversy. The following is a presentation of major drug policy arguments, including those for drug law enforcement on one side of the debate, and arguments for drug law reform on the other.-...
- Drug liberalisation
- Drug policy of PortugalDrug policy of PortugalThe drug policy of Portugal was put in place in 2000, to be legally effective from July 2001. The EU had in effect forced the Portuguese government to make radical measures to reduce Portugal's record high incidence of HIV/AIDS. In 1999 Portugal had the highest rate of HIV amongst injecting drug...
- Drug policy of the NetherlandsDrug policy of the NetherlandsThe drug policy of the Netherlands officially has four major objectives:# To prevent recreational drug use and to treat and rehabilitate recreational drug users.# To reduce harm to users....
- Drug policy of the United StatesDrug policy of the United StatesDrug use has increased in all categories since prohibition except that opium use is at a fraction of its peak level. The big decline in use of opium started already after the Harrison Act of 1914. Use of heroin peaked between 1969 and 1971, cocaine, between 1987 and 1989 and marijuana between 1978...
External links
- http://www.drugtext.org/library/articles/923108.html
- http://www.cedro-uva.org/lib/cohen.future.html
- http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/328/russia.shtml
- http://www.drugpolicy.org/global/drugpolicyby/asia/russia/