Drug policy of the Soviet Union

Drug policy of the Soviet Union

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.

Contents

Regulation

Legislation against drugs first appeared in post-revolutionary Russia, in Article 104-d of the 1922 Penal Code of the RSFSR[1], criminalising drug production, trafficking, and possession with intent to traffic. The 1924 Soviet Constitution expanded this legislation to cover the whole Soviet Union[2]. 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"[3].

Impact

Treatment

Reform

See also

References

  1. ^ "Criminal Code of the RSFSR (1934), Table of Contents". Cyberussr.com. 1934-10-01. http://www.cyberussr.com/rus/uk-toc-e.html. Retrieved 2011-04-20. 
  2. ^ (Russian) http://constitution.garant.ru/history/ussr-rsfsr/1924/
  3. ^ "Drug Policy in the USSR". Drugtext.org. http://www.drugtext.org/library/articles/923108.html. Retrieved 2011-04-20. 

External links


v · d · eRegulation of therapeutic goods
Americas
Brazil · Canada · United States (drug schedules: I - II - III - IV - V)
Eurasia
Oceania

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Drug policy of the United States — Drug use has increased in all categories since prohibition[1] 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.[2] Use of heroin peaked between 1969 and 1971 …   Wikipedia

  • Drug policy of the Netherlands — Cannabis coffee shop in Amsterdam, Netherlands The 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. To diminish… …   Wikipedia

  • Culture of the Soviet Union — People s Artists of the USSR, Rashid Behbudov performing in Baku The Culture of the Soviet Union passed through several stages during the 69 year existence of the Soviet Union. It was contributed by people of various nationalities from every of… …   Wikipedia

  • CIA activities in the Soviet Union — Main article: CIA activities in Russia and Europe With Europe stabilizing along the Iron Curtain, the CIA tried to limit the spread of Soviet influence elsewhere around the world. Much of the basic model came from George Kennan s containment… …   Wikipedia

  • History of the Soviet Union (1982–1991) — The history of the Soviet Union from 1982 through 1991, spans the period from Leonid Brezhnev s death and funeral until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Due to the years of Soviet military buildup at the expense of domestic development,… …   Wikipedia

  • History of the Soviet Union (1985–1991) — The Soviet Union s collapse into independent nations began early in 1985. After years of Soviet military buildup at the expense of domestic development, economic growth was at a standstill. Failed attempts at reform, a stagnant economy and war in …   Wikipedia

  • Political abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union — Soviet Union …   Wikipedia

  • Crime in the Soviet Union — Crime statistics in the Soviet Union were often published uncomprehensively by the government, because crime was considered to be an ideological embarrassment to the Soviet Union. According to Western experts, robberies, homicide and other… …   Wikipedia

  • Drug policy of Portugal — The 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[citation needed].… …   Wikipedia

  • Foreign policy of the Reagan administration — The Foreign policy of the Reagan Administration was the foreign policy of the United States from 1981 to 1989 under President Ronald Reagan during his Administration. It was characterized by a strategy of peace through strength followed by a… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”