On the issue of decriminalization of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in the Russian Federation as a threat to national security

   Introduction. Drug trafficking in Russia is a serious and rapidly growing problem. Recently, there have been increasing discussions about the decriminalization of certain drugs or psychotropic substances. Decisions to criminalize or abolish criminal liability for certain acts are made through a process called criminal policy. This process involves striking a balance between government policy and public values to determine which acts require criminalization.

   Purpose. To identify the problem of illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, which poses a growing threat to global peace and national security, since a significant part of criminal activity is related to this market.

   The methodological basis of the study consisted of: a comparative method that allows to identify trends in international and domestic practice of decriminalization of narcotic drugs as a threat to national security; a statistical method that displays the frequency of such crimes, as well as a systematic approach to analyze the relationship between threats and measures to neutralize them.

   Results. Arguments are made why it is unacceptable to decriminalize drug trafficking, but arguments are also presented in favor of this process in order to consider the situation from all sides and come to an unequivocal conclusion about the impossibility of legalizing narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. It is shown that the growing drug addiction crisis in Russia, caused by the increase in the use of synthetic drugs, poses a serious problem for public health and, as a result, for national security. The pace of development of this problem has acquired enormous proportions, as can be seen from the research presented in the article. It follows from this that the threat to the international community and national security associated with the described problem is rapidly increasing. Despite this, some countries continue to decriminalize certain narcotic substances.

   Conclusions. It is proved that the legalization of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances leads not only to an increase in mortality and irreparable health problems, but also to an increase in crime. In this regard, it is concluded that decriminalization will cause irreparable damage to Russia's national security, weakening its development and increasing various kinds of risks.

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