Drug abuse: Tendencies and ways to overcome it
p> For example, in the former USSR the first official mention of organized
crime made at the government level was on December 2, 1989, when the
decision to step up the effort against organized crime was passed by the
2nd Congress of People's Deputies. However, no laws regarding organized
crime have been adopted. This could not help but leave its imprint on the
practical activities of law enforcement agencies in the former Union
republics. There was no solid theoretical discussion of the concept of
organized crime, as the scarce publications of the last few years could
hardly give a complete picture of this problem. Some published works, however, contain a number of definitions of
organized crime. Some authors point to the following basic features.
Criminal groups based on hierarchical order consolidate within the borders
of one particular region or a country; their leaders take no part in crimes
but only perform organizational, managerial and ideological functions.
Government officials, including law enforcement officers, become corrupt
and join criminal activities providing safety to the members of criminal
associations. This association has a tendency to monopolize and expand the
spheres of illegal activities, and to protect leaders from bearing any
responsibility. Another group of authors believe that organized crime is a
system of contacts forming naturally in the criminal surroundings which
lead to the concentration and monopolization of certain kinds of criminal
activities. Diversified ties between groups engaged in criminal activities
are characteristic of this system. About the Concept of Organized Crime: Organized crime represents the consolidated criminal associations with
their own norms of behavior, hierarchical ladders and finances, it is the
most dangerous kind of crime that opposes and counteracts the lawful
actions of the state. This definition also embraces the totality of
mercenary and economic crimes committed with the help of corrupt government
officials, and law enforcement agents among them, who yielded to bribery
and other forms of corruption. Organized Crime in Foreign Legislation: In this context it is interesting to look at foreign experience in
dealing with organized crime, particularly, in the field of legislation.
The Italian criminal code states, for example, (article 416-2) that "the
association of a mafia kind is ranked as a criminal one when its members
practice the removal and intimidation of other persons in order to ensure a
cover-up and observe the law of silence and thus make it possible to commit
crimes, and win, directly or indirectly, posts allowing the management or
control of business activities, the distribution of concessions and permits
of all kinds, the signing of contracts, and communal services, as well as
making illegal profits or securing illegal privileges for themselves and
other persons." The American approach seems to be slightly different. While
the Italian Criminal Code lists features of organized crime, American
Federal Legislation (USC-par. 3781), though naming certain features of
organized crime, attributes concrete actions to it, namely, "unlawful
activities by members of a well-organized and disciplined association
supplying illegal commodities and offering illegal services, which include
but are not limited to, gambling, prostitution, usury, the spread of
narcotics, racket and other unlawful actions by such organizations."
Organized crime has broad opportunities for carrying out unlawful deeds but
the choice of these opportunities is mainly determined by the level of
expected profit, the minimum degree of possible risk of being caught and
exposed and the absence of concrete victims. It is this particular factor
that comes to the foreground in crimes related to narcotics whose users are
not interested in reporting to the police. The specific choice of a
"specialization" for this or another criminal group is a factor
guaranteeing it, to a large degree, a high level of conspiracy and a free
hand in committing crimes. Along with the previously mentioned
"specialization" of criminal associations there also exists what is termed
as an "internal specialization", i.e. the division of labor among criminal
association members. Organized Crime and Drug Related Crime: Features in Common: These features include: - clearly defined organizational and managerial structures with a
hierarchy which ensures the protection of leaders from punishment since
their actions usually remain outside the confines of the criminal code; - uniform norms of behavior and responsibility; - planned unlawful activities and common goals aimed at making large
profits; - a system aiming to neutralize all forms of legal control and
development of counter measures; - common finances invested in various areas of criminal activities,
which are used for bribing the necessary people, providing material support
to members of criminal associations and financing crimes; - monopolization and expansion of areas of criminal activity,
cooperation between criminal associations in various branches of a national
economy, the introduction of commodities and services to the black market,
exploitation of women through pornography, and prostitution; - the use of legal methods to launder drug money. In sum narcotics are a negative social phenomenon posing an extreme
danger to society. This danger is expressed in such ill-effects as the
destruction of people's health as a result of drug addiction, drug-related
crimes, the totality of which forms an independent crime branch (narco-
crime), and the ability to turn the most dangerous and well-organized part
of narco-crime into a variety of organized crime. Par. 2. Tendencies of Development Some tendencies of development can be traced by using the statistical
method, whereas others, which are not clearly evident, can be discovered by
sociological studies, expert evaluations, interviews, studies of documents
or by content analysis of mass media publications. The Structure of Narco-crime: In the structure of narco-crime, the predominant criminal actions are
the illegal preparation, acquisition, storage, transportation and
dissemination of narcotics by mail. The percentage of such crimes is high
and is increasing all the time. It varies between 87 and 96%. Actions not
with the intent to sell constitute an overwhelming share (from 96 to 99%). On the one hand, this fact gives reason to assume that the actions
listed above were taken to obtain narcotics for personal use. On the other,
a conclusion can be drawn that the main efforts against the spread of
illegal drug trafficking "have actually shifted towards intensifying
repressive measures against drug users. However, illegal activity with drugs and their deliberate sale is much
more intensive. But for various reasons, both objective and subjective,
these fall under a different legal assessment. A major factor is that it is
difficult to prove that there was an intent to sell. This is compounded by
subjective views of "intent to sell" in special situations and the absence
of a clear-cut stand by the lawmakers. 93% of the polled narcotic officers
believe that proving "intent to sell" is difficult especially since this
question is of decisive importance in final judicial rulings. Besides, 63% of the respondents charged with illegal drug operations
without the aim of selling drugs, admitted that they not only had such
intent but also had been engaged in these operations on a regular basis all
the way up until they were arrested. It is interesting to note that in police seizures, drugs obtained from
natural plants have prevailed so far. (Nearly 9/10ths). Today the amount of
seized raw materials for making drugs is estimated in tens of tons and has
grown more than 5 times in the last few years. This is well above even the
over-estimated needs and norms of known addicts. Specialized studies on the subject underline how difficult it is to
investigate and uncover the above-mentioned crimes because of "the
ingenuity of methods used to carry them out, attempts to conceal them and
also because criminal behavior is multifaceted. One should also take into account the absence of well-conceived
methods, and the shortage of professionally trained personnel to uncover
and investigate such crimes, especially, in the present-day conditions when
there are political collisions caused by the Soviet Union's disintegration,
when there are "transparent" and ill-defined borders between the former
sovereign Soviet republics, when the internal affairs agencies are not well
equipped technically, and when the customs and border control services are
vulnerable. The Structure of Crime and Latency: Among the registered crimes there are none related to violations within
the system of medical care of the rules of drug-making, drug acquisition,
storage, keeping stock of, dispensing, transporting or sending by mail, at
pharmaceutical factories or medical and bio industrial enterprises, etc.
The absence of information about drug-related crimes, however, does not
mean at all that there are no crimes present. A study of the problem has shown that there is no reason to believe
narcotics are safely kept out of reach of addicts. This has been confirmed
by more than one-third of the polled officers of internal affairs agencies.
Every second drug taker who was forced to undergo treatment, did not deny
that he had received drugs from medical personnel. Similar cases of drug
acquisition were noted by over 10% of persons charged with drug-related
crimes, whereas 17% of people from the same group of drug abusers confessed
that they used to steal drugs from hospitals, small medical centers and
pharmacies. The share of other crimes in the structure of drug-related
crimes total is insignificant, though they play a rather negative role in
the spread of narcotics. For example, during one year, the crime of
solicitation to use drugs was recorded only once or twice and 3 or 8 times
the crimes involving the organization or running dens for addicts or
providing premises for that purpose. All the same just over 98% of the polled people charged with drug abuse
and intent to sell drugs said they had persuaded 3 to 7 persons to start
using drugs. In more than 70% of such cases, a special effort was made to
invite potential "victims" to homes belonging to different persons. These
people received remuneration for granting premises especially arranged for
this purpose and where conditions were conducive for the use of narcotics.
Practically one out of every 4 persons charged with drug abuse but without
attempting to push drugs, admitted in talking to officials, that he had
persuaded at least 3 or 4 persons to use drugs treating them to narcotics
that he had bought or made for his own use. What is more, 37% of the examined complaints and statements by citizens
addressed to various agencies, especially, those made directly to the local
police officers have remained unread, though they specifically mentioned
people who had turned their homes into drug pads. Negative Tendencies: All these facts highlight: 1) an increase of the degree in danger posed
to the public by drug-related crimes; 2) the appearance of new narcotics,
giving way to diversity of drugs; 3) increase in the number of people
involved in the use of narcotics through persuasion; 4) the rising level of
organization of such crimes; 5) the expanding boundaries of illegal drug
trafficking on the world- wide scale; 6) an increase in the number of
illegal labs used to make drugs; 7) the perfection of methods used for
selling drugs and an increase in the establishment of illegal and semi-
legal shops intended for selling drugs; 8) the rising number of cases of
illegal acquisition, including theft of narcotics from medical
institutions; 9) the increase in numbers of corrupt officials involved in
illegal drug trafficking; 10) the greater degree of masked laundering of
money; 12) and a higher degree of latency of drug-related crimes. The danger to the public from drug-related crimes is manifested by an
increase of crimes committed for the sake of selling drugs, and, second, by
the total quantity of narcotics in circulation. The appearance new drug substances and the corresponding rise in
variety of drugs is reflected in the constant growth of the List of
Narcotics (narcotic substances and drug medicines both synthetic and
natural) produced by the UN International Drug Control Committee. The spreading of the cultivation of drug-bearing plants in places,
which are, difficult to physically access is confirmed by the discovery of
plantations sown with such plants in various regions of the world. These
discoveries have been made with the help of space and aerial photography. The fact that the ever-larger number of people use narcotics is
manifested in the rising figure of medical patients using drugs and
recreational drug users. The growing number of drug patients is registered
by statistics and the rise in numbers of recreational drug users is evident
from opinion polls among experts (medics at outpatient clinics for addicts
and law enforcement officers who specialize in combating drug-related
crimes). The greater degree of organization in drug-related crimes is manifested
by the growth of criminal groups and associations, in the setting up of
syndicates and cartels, in the toughening of discipline within syndicates
and cartels and in the rising cohesion of their members and the
coordination of their actions. Tougher methods of pressure are exerted on
members violating the rules of conduct within groups. Criminal groups,
associations, syndicates, and cartels are also placed under control along
with the people who commit drug related crimes on their own. The expanding boundaries of illegal drug trafficking on the
international scale are evident in the fact that drugs are smuggled into
practically all the countries of the world. This smuggling includes
attempts to carry drug consignments through the customs and across national
borders of a number of countries by various means and by different kinds of
transportation. This has been established by controlling deliveries of
narcotics and by polling experts (law-enforcement and customs officers). Law-enforcement agencies in various countries discovered the rise in
the number of drug-making labs and new methods of selling and circulating
drugs. Shops that were camouflaged as book or perfume stores have been
seized. Corruption – as a Way to Protect Drug Dealers: Growing number of corrupt officials, aspiring for higher posts tend to
improve methods to protect persons taking part in illegal drug trafficking.
Polled experts and narcotic squad police officers, admitted that over the
last few years, there was a rise in the number of requests to them by high
ranking officials suggesting that criminal responsibility be lifted from
persons involved in drug deals and against whom suits had been filed. Ever more sophisticated methods to legalize the money from drug
trafficking is manifested by laundering such money which makes it
difficult, impossible at times, to trace its primary source. At present one
can speak of the three major methods. First, cash is put into financial
institutions or into retail trade and is immediately converted into foreign
currencies or transferred abroad. Second, there is a stratification of the
money, i.e. increasing the number of transactions that are often carried
out in several countries to obscure the source of the illegally earned
money. And, third, illegal earnings are integrated into investments in
economic operations with the aim of making the money look legal. 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
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