Increased penalties for drug trafficking
The Romanian Parliament has adopted a law that provides for higher penalties for drug trafficking.
Ştefan Stoica, 16.02.2023, 13:50
The Romanian legislators have tightened the penalties for drug trafficking. According to a draft law adopted on Wednesday by the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, cultivating, producing, manufacturing, offering, selling, distributing, transporting, procuring, buying, possessing or other operations regarding the circulation of dangerous drugs, without having the right to, are punished with imprisonment from 3 to 10 years and the prohibition of certain rights. If the respective acts involve high-risk drugs, the penalty is 5 to 15 years in prison, and if the victim dies, the penalty would be 15 to 25 years in prison.
Also, introducing or taking out of the country, as well as importing or exporting dangerous drugs, are acts punished by imprisonment from 5 to 15 years and the prohibition of certain rights. The law mentions that the goods and means used in the illicit manufacturing of drugs can be used for educational purposes, by making them available to training units of the law enforcement staff or by using them in campaigns for raising awareness of the risks associated with drug use.
The draft law also provides that the act of the person who intentionally carries out illegal operations with products likely to have psychoactive effects, claiming that they are authorized according to the law, or whose sale is permitted by law, is a crime and is punishable by imprisonment from 2 to 7 years, if the act does not represent a more serious crime. At the same time, the advertising of any products, credibly claiming that through consumption they produce psychoactive effects, represents a crime and is punishable by one to 5 years in prison.
The draft law was also adopted by the Senate, and the Chamber of Deputies is the decision-making body in this case. It had been re-examined at the request of President Klaus Iohannis, who had requested a clearer regulation regarding the substances newly mentioned in the law, such as ethnobotanical substances.
The state has the greatest responsibility in combating drug trafficking, believes Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR deputy Szabó Ödön: Indeed, children are among the victims, and we should have centers for the recovery of these children and provide support for families. The competent state institutions must fight this crime throughout Romania .
The age at which young people in Romania are tempted to use drugs is decreasing, and this is one of the major concerns of specialists in the field. According to them, the consumption of narcotic substances at young ages is influenced by their entourage and curiosity. They propose, among other things, adapting the institutional response to the new trends of the drug consumption phenomenon and co-opting the civil society in the specific activities. (LS)
