[en] The criminal punishment of drug use and possession for own use: the case of Poland The aim of this paper was to deepen the criminal policy on drug possession, and in particular the effects of criminal prohibition of drug possession. The issue of criminal policy on drugs is very broad. But in this thesis we have looked at the prohibitionist criminal policy, as it exists in Poland, and we have focused our attention on only one element of this policy, but a very important and crucial one: the possession of drugs. This paper focuses on analysing the legislation regarding drug possession in Poland, a state that chooses to prohibit both drug possession and drug use. Before analysing the State's criminal policy on drugs in Poland, especially when the research is to be presented at a Spanish university, it was necessary to present the bases of the Polish legal system, to make the presentation intelligible to those who do not know Polish law. We will focus above all on the principles of the law and the bases of the system, as well as the differences with Spanish legislation. Afterwards, we have tackled the issue of drug possession in Poland, using four different perspectives to do so: 1). Historical perspective, to see since when and how drugs have been used. 2). Sociological and medical perspective, to see how drugs affect the human body and the social interaction of individuals and what factors are important in the dependence on these toxins. 3). Legal perspective, to see how, in the past and currently, drug use is controlled and a model of behavior is created through law and jurisprudence, focusing on the case of Poland. 4). Criminologist perspective, to see how the prohibition of drug use works in practice. This last part is of an empirical nature. We have analysed 356 cases sentenced in three courts in Poland. The added value of this research is manifold: I. The cases have been analysed from various perspectives: from the profile of the perpetrator, the qualification of the crime, data on the drugs possessed, and psychiatric opinions to data on the sentences (such as the type of penalty, the length of the sentence, the obligations imposed, etc.); II. The longitudinal nature of the analysis, given the long time of these investigations, which began in 2000 (when the law was modified to give rise to a policy restricting drug possession, with the full prohibition of drug consumption) and culminated three lustrums later - in terms of direct field data collection in 2011, but incorporating official reports to date - (with a different legal framework), which has allowed the analysis of the first effects of changes in Polish policy in this respect; III. In addition, cases have been collected from three cities which are different in size and geographical location: the largest population in Poland (Warsaw), a medium-sized city in the north (Olsztyn), and a small city near Warsaw (Grodzisk Mazowiecki). And although it cannot be said that the results can be directly extrapolated to other cities in Poland, they seem quite representative, especially when we compare them with other authors' research on this subject, which is taken into account and contrasted with my data at the end of the corresponding section. In order to deepen the subject, we have also asked for the statistics of the cases of drug possession of the Olsztyn public prosecutor's offices, of the Olsztyn Court and the statistics of the Ministry of Justice in Poland for the year 2015. And finishing this work, we have also made a survey among the students at the University of Olsztyn, to know their opinion about the criminal policy on drug addiction in Poland. The aim was to deepen the criminal policy on drug possession, as well as on the criminal prohibition of drug use, analysing legislation, jurisprudence, doctrine and the reality of application (which is addressed by the empirical work on court cases to see how the law works in practice and if we can say that it fulfills the purposes of the legislator). After carrying out the work objectives, I have drawn several conclusions, such as 1. The crime in art. 62 of the Law on the Prevention of Drug Addiction does not only imply the prohibition of drug possession, but, in reality, the prohibition of drug use. 2. Punishment of drug possession as an element of criminal drug policy in Poland is not effective. 3. Article 62 does not make it easier for police officers to arrest drug dealers and does not facilitate criminal proceedings against them. 4. The existence of the crime of drug possession increases the statistics of crimes discovered by the Police and the effectiveness of the police in terms of convictions. 5. In the question of the classification of the crime of drug possession, it can be said that an element of classification of the pre-defined type in Article 62 presents problems of interpretation, which implies a situation of violation of citizens' rights and the risk of fracture related to the constitutional principle of the equality of all citizens before the law. 6. The conclusion de lege ferenda is that the legislator, if he wants to continue with the prohibition of drug possession with a punitive reaction of the law, should introduce strict limits on how much of the drug possessed we can talk about the crime. 7. Prosecution bodies take a repressive stance towards this type of crime. 8. Taking into account the large number of marijuana users in Poland and the failure of the crime of drug possession as an element of prevention of drug addiction, and also taking into account that it did not influence to decrease drug trafficking, it seems to us that decriminalization of marijuana possession would be a suitable proposal. 9. When it comes to sentencing, judges treat drug addicts who possess drugs for their own use in the same way as other perpetrators of this crime. The penalties were similar and rarely did the judge show interest in ordering treatment for cure. In the case of Poland, in this thesis we can see how the criminal policy has changed during the last 16 years. From a very strict policy to a policy that seeks the most practical solutions, not punishing all perpetrators for drug possession and not for every amount of drugs. These changes seem slow to us, we would like legislators to decide more based on research that shows the problems of current legislation and its effectiveness.

[es] El objetivo de este trabajo era investigar sobre la política penal sobre la posesión de drogas y, en particular, en los efectos de la prohibición penal de la posesión de drogas. El tema de la política penal sobre drogas es muy amplio. Pero en esta tesis he analizado la política penal prohibicionista, tal y como existe en Polonia, y he centrado atención en un solo elemento de esta política, pero uno muy importante y crucial: la posesión de drogas. Después, he abordado la cuestión de la posesión de drogas en Polonia, utilizando para ello cuatro perspectivas diferentes: la histórica, la sociológica y médica, la jurídica y, la más importante, la criminológica, para ver cómo funciona en la práctica la prohibición del consumo de drogas. Esta última parte es de carácter empírico. He analizado 356 casos condenados en tres tribunales de Polonia. El valor añadido de esta investigación es múltiple, sobre todo porque los casos se han analizado desde varias perspectivas: desde el perfil del autor, la calificación del delito, los datos sobre las drogas poseídas, los dictámenes psiquiátricos y los datos sobre las sentencias (como el tipo de pena, la duración de la condena, las obligaciones impuestas, etc.) Muy importante ha sido el carácter longitudinal del análisis, más de 10 años. Para profundizar en el tema, también he pedido las estadísticas de los casos de posesión de drogas y las estadísticas del Ministerio de Justicia en Polonia. Y finalizando este trabajo, también he realizado una encuesta entre los estudiantes de la Universidad de Olsztyn, para conocer su opinión sobre la política criminal en materia de drogadicción en Polonia. El objetivo era investigar en la política criminal sobre la posesión de drogas, así como en la prohibición penal del consumo de drogas, analizando la legislación, la jurisprudencia, la doctrina y la realidad de la aplicación.