Art. 62.
- Who, contrary to the provisions of the Act, has narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, shall be punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years.
- If the subject of the act referred to in para. 1, there is a significant amount of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, the perpetrator is subject to the penalty of deprivation of liberty for a term of between 1 and 10 years.
- In the event of a minor, the perpetrator shall be subject to a fine, the penalty of restriction of liberty or the deprivation of liberty for up to a year.
The vast majority of Polish regulations regarding drugs and other psychoactive substances were included in the Act of July 29, 2005 on counteracting drug addiction. This comprehensive regulation contains a very wide range of regulations, ranging from a set of definitions necessary for a precise description of drug-related issues having roots in exact sciences (chemistry, biology), through planned educational and educational activities, to criminal provisions. The set of criminal provisions included in the cited act is quite broad and to a large extent casuistic. There were a number of regulations regarding the illegal cultivation, granting or advertising of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. However, the most frequently used provision of the Act is Art. 62, regarding possession of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances contrary to the provisions of the Act.
The content of the article itself is extremely concise and simple. According to the language interpretation of para. 1, anyone who carries with him any amount of any narcotic drugs or any psychotropic substance, shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of 3 years. In accordance with art. 4 of the Act:
25) psychotropic substance - any substance of natural or synthetic origin acting on the central nervous system, defined in the list of psychotropic substances constituting Annex 2 to the Act;
26) intoxicant - any substance of natural or synthetic origin acting on the central nervous system, defined in the list of narcotic drugs constituting Annex No. 1 to the Act.
This legal status creates an extremely wide range of penalisation. The verb mark of "possession", as in the case of most crimes, should be interpreted in accordance with the civil law understanding - a person does not have to be the owner of a given agent or substance, it is enough to have it physically.
A very significant breakthrough in the interpretation of art. 62 of the Act on counteracting drug addiction may constitute a relatively new way of interpretation regarding the amount of substances whose possession meets the criteria of a crime. Pursuant to the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Białystok of December 7, 2006 (II AKa 249/06), "a drug that is the subject of an offense under Art. 62 of the Act on counteracting drug addiction must meet not only the criterion of group membership of the compounds listed in the annexes to this legal act, but also the quantitative criterion allowing for one-off use to achieve at least a potential intoxicating effect or other psychotropic substance characteristic "." Such a look at the type of crime described, recurring more often in the judgments of appeal courts, slowly making their way to the consciousness of judges of first instance courts and law enforcement officers, would avoid absurd situations in which the court punished people who had the amount of drug like this negligible, impossible to weigh.
Paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 62 of the Act on counteracting drug addiction assume the existence of a type of a qualified crime (para. 2) and a privileged type (para. 3). The first case occurs when the person committing the act has a significant amount of drugs. According to the judgment of the Supreme Court of March 1, 2006 (II KK 47/05), the "measure of" significance "within the meaning of Art. 48 paragraph 3 of the Act of 24 April 1997 on counteracting drug addiction (Journal of Laws of 1997, No. 75, item 468, as amended), as well as Art. 62 paragraph 2 of the Act of July 29, 2005 on counteracting drug addiction (Journal of Laws No. 179, item 1484) may also be the ratio of the amount of specific resources to the needs of one person who is dependent on these resources. Therefore, if the object of the act is such a quantity of these means that could meet the needs of at least several dozen addicts, it should be assumed that there are a significant amount of these means. " This judgment concerned the previous legal status (under the 1997 Act, however, it is an interpretative hint taken into account to this day, also repeated several times in the judgments of appellate courts. As regards paragraph 3, the concept of a minor accident is, as usual, out of focus and it depends on the evaluation of the composition of the judges whether a particular act will be qualified in this way.
A significant issue in recent years has been introduced to the Act by Art. 62b.
Art. 62b
- Who, contrary to the provisions of the Act, has a new su psychoactive substances, subject to a fine.
- If the subject of the act referred to in para. 1, there is a significant amount of new psychoactive substances perpetrator, subject to a fine, the penalty of restriction of liberty or imprisonment for 3 years.
- If the subject of the act referred to in para. 1, there is a new psychoactive substance in an insignificant amount, intended for the perpetrator's own use, the proceedings may also be discontinued before issuing a decision to initiate an investigation or investigation, if a decision against the perpetrator would be pointless due to the circumstances of the act and the degree of its social harm.
This provision provides for the illegality of possessing "new psychoactive substances". According to the definition adopted in the said Act, they mean any substance or groups of substances of natural or synthetic origin in pure form or in the form of a preparation acting on the central nervous system, other than a psychotropic substance and a narcotic drug, which, according to the recommendations of the Risk Risk Assessment Team human health or life associated with the use of new psychoactive substances, health hazards or social hazards comparable to those posed by, or imitating, the effects of a psychotropic substance or intoxicant. This provision was introduced due to the growing threat caused by the appearance of many hazardous substances on the market. Referring to the diversity of views in case law regarding the notion of "significant amount of drug" for the courts, a significant amount of a new psychotropic substance must allow the preparation of more than several dozen single-use portions.
[Legal status as at March 2020]