The boosters will be treated like drugs. This means that the punishment of imprisonment will threaten not only for the trafficking of these substances, but also for their possession. According to the Minister of Health, this step is necessary to combat this phenomenon more effectively. In his opinion, youths often do not realize that such substances can kill. The question is whether changing the law in this direction will actually reduce the number of drug poisonings.
The government would like the new legislation to be a breakthrough. It should also be noted that this is not first such an initiative. Projects that involve "eliminating" or "solving" the problem emerge from time to time ten years. However, the solution cannot be seen.
Where are the people coming from?
Like traditional drugs, boosters can be produced on site and then offered on the local black market. The specificity of this market is that these products can be ordered over the Internet from the farthest corners of the world, for example from Asia.
The fight against drugs is extremely difficult, as state authorities over the Vistula are unable to prohibit the production of boosters in the farthest corners of the world the more reason not to send them. All legal changes in Poland are therefore defective from their very essence. They only cover a section of this specific market.
DISCHARGES OF ADMINISTRATIVE VERIFICATION
Criminal law for drug offences is included in the chapter 7. The Anti-Drug Act. The government wants to level the drugs. This indicates that the criminal sanctions set out in this chapter will begin to apply directly to the boosters. This in turn means that not only trade in these substances will become a crime, but also their possession, production and even preparation for their import.
The closure of the afterburner shops took place In 2010 Then the government decided to hit the sellers of these products with massive financial penalties. However, these sanctions were administrative rather than criminal i.e. The drug trafficking was not a crime. The change proposed by the government involves a much heavier department.
Will Raw Discipline Expand the Problem?
one of the most important changes announced by the Minister of Health assumes the criminalization of the possession of boosters. Such a state of affairs will mean that consumers of these substances will become criminals even if this is not explicitly mentioned.
The zero tolerance strategy is nothing new. In the years ’80 Last century, the US authorities decided to free society from traditional drugs using draconian penalties not only for traders but also for users. However, the goal has not been met despite the long term imprisonment of those who have been convicted of destroying their own health rather than others. The simplest solutions are not always the best.
A valued expert in the field of drug law in Poland, Professor Krzysztof Krajewski has repeatedly expressed his criticism of such solutions. According to him, treating drug users like criminals is not only ineffective but also harmful. He also stressed the need for intensive preventive and educational actions towards this group of people.
If the central or local government authorities want to effectively and not only symbolically limit the damage caused by the boosters, they should focus primarily on education. No potential user wants to be in a hospital, tied to a bed. Informing about such consequences is probably a much better and more effective method than threatening with harsh penalties.
Source: Forbes
Andrzej Dmowski
Managing Partner Russell Bedford, Doctor of Legal Sciences, Lawyer, Tax Advisor, Restructuring Advisor, Certified Public Accountant – Expert Auditor in Ireland, Certified Fraud Examiner - Expert on Crime Detection and Economic Abuse, Certified Internal Controls Auditor - International Internal Auditor.
Graduate of the University of Cambridge - British Centre for English and European Legal Studies - Faculty of Law and Administration, Graduate and Fellow of the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw.
Specializes in settlement of transactions between related entities - transfer pricing, legal and tax aspects of M&A and issues concerning derivatives of financial instruments.