Sentencing for drug offences in Slovakia

Drug users who possess a small amount of illegal drugs for their own use and who do not pose a threat by dealing in drugs might no longer face jail time, once a draft amendment to the Criminal Code prepared by the Ministry of Justice and approved by the cabinet on February 20 is approved by parliament. While activists and professionals working with drug addicts have welcomed the change, critics of the draft say that it may allow drug dealers to avoid heavy punishment.

The relaxed rules stipulate that drug users caught with an amount of drugs exceeding 10 single doses but still considered to be for their own consumption, can face three years in prison with the possibility of a suspended sentence, the Justice Ministry said, as reported by the Sme daily. The current law stipulates that only amounts up to 10 doses can be considered to be for one’s own personal use; conviction for possession of any amount over this normally results in a mandatory custodial sentence of four or more years.

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