Drug abuse. Tendencies and ways to overcome it

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The polled experts, and the narcotic police squad officers explained the increased latency of drug-related crimes by the following examples. There is mutual interest in keeping crimes a secret both among drug-pushers and addicts; none of them have any desire to cooperate with the law-enforcement agencies. There are special mutually beneficial and inter-dependent relations between users and suppliers of narcotics. This kind of relationship requires thorough secrecy due to the fear of criminal punishment for both users and suppliers. Small wonder that the addicts taken to hospitals, often in critical conditions, dangerous to their life and health, do not reveal, as a rule, the source of getting drugs. And this silence is due not to some sort of moral principles, honor, duty or solidarity but rather, in most cases, to the fear of losing the already established drug source or to the fear of being victimized for revealing the source. Also much is yet to be done to develop proper legal, personnel, tactical, material and technical programs that are effective in combating drug trade. There is the obvious need to find a way to expose latent drug-related crimes. For without realizing the actual state of affairs with drug-related crimes, adequate measures of combating them will remain insufficient.

Chapter II. System and Classification of Measures to Overcome Drug Abuse

Par. 1. System of Measures to Overcome Drug Abuse

Drug abuse is a socially dangerous and complicated phenomenon. Narco-crime, particularly, should be countered by a rigid system of measures.

These combine numerous and diversified steps having social, legal, criminological, economic, ecological, organizational and international aspects. The word system is understood as "a whole consisting of parts, a combination; .a great number of elements bearing a relation to each other, connected with each other, forming a sort of integrity or unity.

The system of measures for overcoming drug abuse is comprised of many steps bearing relation to each other.

System of Measures to Overcome Drug Abuse:

The diversity of such measures, their relationships and contacts can be illustrated by law practices, law-making and law enforcement, as well as by the crime prevention theories both on domestic and international scales. For example, a comprehensive inter-disciplinary action program to prevent the spread of drug addiction submitted for discussion at the international antidrug conference in Vienna in July 1987 contained more than 400 articles and recommendations to governments and organizations as to how this negative phenomenon should be overcome.

The UN international program for combating drugs for the years 1994 and 1995, 1995 and 1996 comprises 298 projects featuring various aspects, directions and measures for checking the spread of drugs. 216 out of them were carried through in 1994 and 1995 and the implementation of the remaining 82 projects is underway. The total dollar amount of resources mobilized for the fulfillment of these projects is estimated at US$ 484,397,800. The sum was allocated by the UN International Antidrug Program's Fund.

The Concept of the Russian Federation government's policy on drug control, endorsed by decision No 5494 of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation on July 22nd 1993, incorporates quite a few antidrug measures from those developed by the world community and registered by international conventions and in other documents. This Concept emphasizes the measures that have been tested and are successfully utilized.

Since the system of measures against drug abuse is too complicated the discussion of its contents is related, firstly, to the general characterization of its components and, secondly, to the classification of these measures in their relation to each other.

Basic Aspects of Measures to Overcome Drug Abuse:

The measures against drug abuse have some social, legal, criminological, medical, biological, political, economic, ecological, organizational and international aspects. Although these aspects have different spheres of application, they still remain interrelated. For example, measures for curing drug addicts have medical, social and legal aspects to them; measures for combating drug-related crimes have legal, criminological, social and other aspects; measures for combating money laundering have legal, social, economic, international and other aspects and so on. So, each particular aspect can be discussed only in abstract terms. This approach to the definition and description of aspects makes it possible to give a full characterization of the system of measures against drug abuse.

Реферат опубликован: 14/12/2009