Abstract
The opening and Europeanization process of Albanian society could not have happened without the influence of western societies’ contagions, one of which is the consumption of narcotics. In the hope that this contamination could be prevented, the Albanian Legislator enacted severe criminal sanctions, not only for cultivation, production or the dealing of narcotics, but also for the possession of small quantities for personal use. This study aims to assess whether the severe sentences provided for drug possession in Albania have managed to curb the increasing tendency of this offence, using annual statistics published by the Ministry of Justice in Albania as the basis for the study. Since this study concluded that the application of severe sentences has not achieved the intended results to reduce the use of narcotics, we believe that the time has come to thoroughly rethink the fight against drugs in Albania and especially the approach towards the consumers. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n2p27
Highlights
Efforts to stop, or at least reduce, the consumption of narcotics are a challenge for many countries around the world, who have adopted different measures and mechanisms to achieve these objectives according to the extent of such phenomena, their economic and democratic levels and the historical and cultural peculiarities of the respective societies (Rosmarin and Eastwood, 2013, p. 9)
Even though the increasing incidence of the offences of “Selling, transportation and possession of narcotics”, foreseen by article 283 of the Criminal Code, is quite clear, the correlation between the number of people sentenced for such offences and the sentences stipulated for them could be influenced by the potential impact of the effectiveness of the police and prosecution office in following up these cases
As a follow-up to this study we examine the relation between the application of harsh sentences and the reduction or control of criminality in the field of narcotics in Albania, especially concerning possession of drugs in small quantities
Summary
At least reduce, the consumption of narcotics are a challenge for many countries around the world, who have adopted different measures and mechanisms to achieve these objectives according to the extent of such phenomena, their economic and democratic levels and the historical and cultural peculiarities of the respective societies (Rosmarin and Eastwood, 2013, p. 9). There is no doubt that one of the earliest mechanisms and one that, above all, the majority of countries still believe in today in the effective fight against narcotics is penal measures. In Albania the offence of selling or importation of drugs has existed since the first Criminal Code of 1928, in article 358. With the aim of preventing the spread of offences related to narcotics, the Albanian Legislator enacted severe criminal sanctions, for production, trafficking or dealing in narcotics and for possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use. Article 283 §1 of the Albanian Penal Code makes the selling, transportation, or possession of narcotic substances liable for prison sentences of 5-10 years and, further, in the second paragraph of the article, when this offence is committed in complicity or more than once the sentence can be imprisonment of 7-15 years
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