The “May 2 law” initiated by PNL parliamentarians modeled on the “Anastasia law” was passed by the Senate on Monday and will be voted on by the deputies. The regulatory act provides that drug traffickers will be sentenced to imprisonment with execution, without the possibility of a suspended sentence, as is the case now. In 2022, 47% of convicted drug dealers received a suspended sentence.

The law was adopted by the senators with 90 votes “for”, the first chamber was the Senate.

• “This is a law that guarantees that all high-risk drug dealers will be in prison. This is where they belong.
• When we talk about high-risk drugs, we mean: cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, fentanyl, oxycodone. Those high-risk drugs that destroy destinies.
• Drug production and trafficking remain the largest criminal business in the EU,” said Justice Minister Alina Gorgiu.

47% of convicted drug dealers in 2022 received a suspended sentence

According to her, during 2022, 810 persons involved in crimes related to illegal drug trafficking (domestic and international) were finally convicted. Of them, 402 were sentenced to imprisonment, for 379 people (47% of drug dealers) the courts issued a sentence with a suspended sentence.

In just 10 months of 2023, 10,780 cases were registered against drug subjects, compared to 8,484 in the same period last year.

“The battle is not easy! It is necessary to act at all levels – from prevention to punishment. I believe that with your vote, this category of high-risk drug traffickers will do better in prison,” Gorgiou said.

What the “Law of May 2” provides.

The normative act aims to amend two normative acts related to the field of drugs: Law No. 143/2000 on preventing and combating illegal drug trafficking and consumption and Law No. 194/2011 on combating transactions with products that may have psychoactive effects.

The law will eliminate the possibility of suspended sentences under supervision for drug traffickers (crimes related to trafficking in high-risk drugs and international trafficking in high-risk drugs, provided for in Law 143/2000). Thus, high-risk drug traffickers would receive a life sentence, not a suspended sentence.

It is also envisaged to increase from 2-7 years to 3-10 years the penalties provided for by Law 194/2011 for certain actions related to transactions with products that may have a psychoactive effect.

Here is the full content of the regulatory act:

• Article I. – Law No. 143/2000 on the Prevention and Combating of Illicit Drug Trafficking and Consumption, published in the Official Gazette, Part I no. 163 dated 06.03.2014 to make changes and have the following content:
• After Article 15, a new article with the following content is added:
• Suspension of execution of the sentence under supervision cannot be decreed for the crimes provided for in Art. 2 para. (2) and Art. 3 paragraph (2).
• Article II – Law No. 194/2011 on combating operations with products that may have psychoactive effects, other than those provided for by current regulations, is amended as follows:
• Part (1) of Article 16 has been amended and will have the following meaning:
• The act of a person who, without a permit issued in accordance with this law, carries out transactions with products, not knowing that they can have a psychoactive effect, is a crime and is punishable by imprisonment for a period of 3 to 10 years and the prohibition of certain rights, if the act does not contain part of a more serious crime.
• Article 17 The actions of a person who intentionally carries out illegal transactions with products that may have a psychoactive effect, claiming or concealing that these are products permitted by law or the sale of which is permitted by law, constitutes a crime and is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 3 to 10 years with the deprivation of certain rights, if the act does not contain elements of a more serious crime.

The lowest declared age of initiation of drug use is 12 years

The initiators of the project say that this is a “response” to the growing number of criminal cases on crimes related to illegal drug trafficking.

In 2023, at the end of September, the number of such cases subject to consideration was 22,135 against 18,233 for the same period in 2022. Of these, 10,780 cases were newly registered, compared to 8,484 for the same period in 2022. .

Currently, the lowest declared age of starting to use psychoactive substances is 12 years.

In addition, the EU Drug Agency controls 930 new psychoactive substances (NSPs). These chemicals, made in underground laboratories, have much worse health effects than traditional drugs, and their price is more affordable compared to the price of high-risk drugs, which makes them attractive for young people to experiment with.

NSPs were designed to produce psychoactive effects without being subject to the law. Considering the dynamics of their appearance and considering the substances in their composition, they are not subject to state control.

These substances produce effects similar to those produced by classic drugs, directly affecting the human brain, causing changes in mental and behavioral processes. At the same time, consumption of such substances creates physical and mental dependence, and dependence destroys life.

• “Given the young age at which these substances begin to be used, as well as the fact that minors are easily influenced, they have become a prime target for traffickers of psychoactive substances.
• The consequences of consumption have forced some minors to drop out of school or sell their belongings to get money to buy substances.
• The prices of these substances are much more affordable than high-risk drugs, which makes them an attractive idea for experiments with children and young people”, – claim the initiators of the law, which was initiated after the tragedy on May 2, when a 19-year-old boy, who was driving drunk, killed two young people.