SUMMER FESTIVALS - A PARADISE FOR DRUG OFFENDERS

Summer festivals are undoubtedly the most anticipated form of entertainment that summer brings. Many of us prepare for the festival season months in advance, looking forward to a pleasant time with friends with quality music, discussions or various attractions. However, anonymity and a high number of participants is literally a "paradise" for drug offenders. Despite safety measures and the efforts of the organizers to prevent the presence of narcotic and psychotropic substances, this phenomenon has become an integral part of summer events. By the way, in the intoxication of festival "vibes", the possible consequences of any illegal action are often overlooked.

In this article, we will explain what illegal actions you can commit in connection with drugs at festivals in accordance with Act No. 300/2005 Coll. Criminal Code (hereinafter referred to as the "Criminal Code"), even unknowingly.

1. "I DON'T SELL DRUGS, I JUST RELAX"

Many times, festival participants try to make the atmosphere more pleasant by using one of the types of narcotic and psychotropic substances (hereinafter referred to as "NPS") with the idea that among such a number of people "it will get lost" and "no one will deal with it". In recent years, however, we have seen a general increase in drug crime, which is undoubtedly associated with more frequent drug raids by the relevant forces. Pursuant to Section 171 et seq. you can commit criminal law even if you do not plan to distribute the NPS in any way, but you are illegally storing them even for your own use.

When do I "hold NPS without authorization" and what is meant by "own use"?

Unlawful possession will be considered if you do not have permission to handle the NPS or if you act beyond the scope of the issued permit. A permit for the handling of NPS is issued by the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic, e.g. to providers of pharmaceutical care. This means that even a pharmacist who has such an authorization cannot take NPS from work to the festival and abuse them in his free time.

In this case, the limit of self-need is determined by the so-called usual one-off dose. It is a dose that varies depending on the consumer, taking into account the human body, including the state of its physical and mental disposition and dependence. The decisive factor for deciding whether it is an NPS within the meaning of Act No. 139/1998 Coll. on Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Preparations is also the concentration of the active substance in the seized material, as it is this active substance that affects the human psyche. If the seized NPS does not have the required quality (amount of active substance), it cannot be said that it is a substance capable of adversely affecting the human body of the consumer and it is not an addictive substance even if it is included in the list of NPS within the meaning of the Act on Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Preparations.

Until the amendment to the Criminal Code of 1 May 2022 came into force, the Criminal Code operated exclusively with the term NPS without further division, while unlawful possession, in the basic facts of the crime, was punishable by imprisonment for up to 3 years. This amendment introduced for the first time the division of the NPS into substances from the cannabis plant, for which the penalty rates have been substantially reduced, and the remaining NPS.

The second important piece of legislation is a major amendment to the Criminal Code of 8 February 2024, which should be effective soon after the vicissitudes, including the decision-making of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic. The above division from 2022 fundamentally changes - not only in the more detailed division of the NPS, but also in the penalty rates, which will depend on the amount of substance possessed in each case.

So keep in mind, if you come to a festival with bags full of dried marijuana, you can undoubtedly face imprisonment, even if you don't plan to distribute it to others.

2. CONSUMERS ALSO HAVE THEIR OWN DISTRIBUTION SOURCE

The distribution of NPS is also a well-known phenomenon in festival circles. A major amendment to the Criminal Code of February 8, 2024 also brings changes in the method of distribution, as many issues related to NPS from the cannabis plant have become the subject of fierce discussions. The amendment in question solves the long-discussed dilemma of whether we can also include cultivation under the term NPS production. Under the new law, the method of production will be explicitly divided in the Criminal Code and "unauthorized cultivation of plants and fungi containing NPS" will be defined. The amount of penalty rates will be based on the amount of distributed NPS.

In this case, the criminality of these activities is undoubtedly known to all.

3. "I HAVE COMMITTED A CRIME UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF AN ADDICTIVE SUBSTANCE OR ALCOHOL"

The probability of illegal conduct under the influence of an addictive substance is significantly increased at large events such as festivals. Especially when a person uses an addictive substance with the thought "I know when I've had enough." You can subjectively estimate how much your body can handle and to what extent you can influence your actions under the influence of an addictive substance, but you can never be too careful. Objectively, we can state that alcohol or other addictive substances have different effects on the human body in different situations.

More and more at festivals, we encounter the commission of crimes such as theft (Section 212 of the Criminal Code), various forms of riots (Section 364 of the Criminal Code), or bodily harm (Section 155 of the Criminal Code).

We would like to point out in particular Section 363 of the Criminal Code, which provides for a modus operandi in the form of the crime of drunkenness. An offender can be punished by imprisonment for a term of 3 to 8 years for the crime of drunkenness if the ingestion or application of an addictive substance, even negligently, brings him to a state of insanity in which he commits an act that otherwise has the characteristics of a criminal offence.

In the event that the offender brought himself to a state of insanity with the intention of committing a criminal offence (e.g. he drank to the courage to be able to steal a phone from a stranger or to gain the courage to beat someone) because he knew that he would not dare to do so without the support of an addictive substance, the criminal offence will not be considered a criminal offence of drunkenness under Section 363 of the Criminal Code, but according to the relevant provision of the criminal offence to which the intention was directed from the beginning. For example, according to Section 155 of the Criminal Code, an offender is punished for 4 to 10 years if he intentionally causes serious bodily harm to another. In the event that the offender acted, for example, with a special motive, he faces a prison sentence of up to 5 to 12 years – we can see that the penalty rate in such cases is not low, and it can change a person's whole life.

4. "BUT I BOUGHT WEED IN A COUNTRY WHERE IT IS ALLOWED"

Known countries in which marijuana is available up to a certain amount and for recreational use, for example, the Netherlands with its world-famous coffeeshops, or Malta, whose parliament legalized the possession of up to 7g of cannabis for people over 18 years of age on December 14, 2021, making it the first country in the EU.

However, no matter how you came to addictive substances abroad or you are returning from a foreign festival with these substances in your luggage, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the Criminal Code in Section 172 (4) strictly punishes any import, export, transport or transport of NPS from or abroad. The aforementioned unlawful conduct is punishable by imprisonment of 3 to 10 years, which also includes mediation of such activity.

We also draw attention to the commission of drug crimes at foreign festivals. Citizens of the Slovak Republic are also subject to the so-called personal scope of the Slovak Criminal Code , whereby the criminality of an act committed by a citizen of the Slovak Republic outside the territory of the Slovak Republic is also assessed according to this Act, but only under the condition that the Slovak authorities become aware of it.

5. "RELAX, DON'T WORRY, YOU'LL HAVE A LOT MORE FUN"

You may have encountered a situation where a friend/acquaintance/stranger came to you at a festival with an offer to "just try it, nothing will happen". However, did you know that even seducing another or supporting another in the abuse of an addictive substance (other than alcohol) is a criminal offense? Specifically, it is a criminal offence of spreading drug addiction under Section 174 of the Criminal Code, according to which, in the basic facts, the offender is punished by imprisonment for a term of 1 to 5 years if the latter seduces another to abuse an addictive substance or supports him in it, or the latter otherwise incites or spreads the abuse of an addictive substance. In this case, each modus operandi requires the intention of the offender towards your use of the addictive substance. Of course, the user will not be affected in this case.

But how do I distinguish what kind of action it is?

Seducing another is an action where the perpetrator persuades you to use an addictive substance, or verbally explains the procedure of use to you or demonstrates it to you himself, thus trying to convince you to act in the same way. By support, we mean the reassurance of a person who wanted to use an addictive substance himself, but was not convinced of it himself. We also subsum the provision of a quiet place at the festival where no one can see you, or the provision of the addictive substance itself, under the definition of support.

An offender can be sentenced to 3 to 8 years in prison if he or she seduces or supports a juvenile in substance abuse. The same applies to a situation where the offender will "hype" you in the use of an addictive substance in front of his gang, i.e. in front of more than two people present at the same time.

Incitement or dissemination of abuse of an addictive substance, unlike the previous two methods, means actions aimed at an unspecified number of persons.
In this case, we operate with the term "addictive substance" and not "NPS", which distinguishes the criminal offence of spreading toxicomania from previous criminal offences under Section 171 of the Criminal Code and Section 172 of the Criminal Code. An addictive substance for the purpose of spreading toxicomania means: narcotics, psychotropic substances and other substances capable of adversely affecting a person's psyche or their control or recognition skills, or social behavior.

6. "DID YOU SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE THERE ARE? AFTER ALL, YOU CAN'T CONTROL EVERYTHING"

It is understandable that with such a large number of people, the workers of refreshment stalls or stalls where they sell alcohol do not want to check every single person. Can they commit a crime by doing or not doing so?

An offender can be punished by imprisonment for up to 3 years under Section 175 of the Criminal Code, which regulates the criminal offense of serving alcoholic beverages to youth. A person commits this offence if he or she serves or in large quantities serves alcoholic beverages to a person under the age of 18.

"But I didn't constantly give it to one person and I also didn't know that she wasn't 18, she looked like more."

However, in this case, it is also a case of continuous serving of alcoholic beverages if the alcohol is always served to different persons. In such a case, it is a so-called mass crime, i.e. the commission of a crime by several acts that are not yet a criminal offence on their own, while the criminality of all such acts is assessed together.It also follows from the decision-making activities of the courts that in this case, the so-called indirect intention is sufficient, and therefore it is sufficient that the person pouring did not properly convince himself of the real age of the person to whom he served alcoholic beverages, while it could be assumed that he was not yet 18 years old according to his appearance or other circumstances.

As we can see, drug crime encompasses many types of conduct that we can actually commit without realizing it. Undoubtedly, effective preventive measures and strengthening of control mechanisms by the festival organizers themselves, security forces, and of course, the provision of medical services directly at the festival venue should not be neglected. It should not be forgotten that if it is not directly a criminal offence in a particular case, you can still be held liable at least for a misdemeanour. The amendment to the Criminal Code will undoubtedly bring extensive changes in this issue as well, and therefore we would like to refer to its wording itself.

Take care of your safety as well as the safety of others and festival wisely.