Policies for Combating Psychotropic Substances under Iranian Law

Abstract

The rapid proliferation of synthetic and novel psychoactive substances, owing to their diverse chemical formulations and ease of accessibility, has confronted contemporary legal systems with fundamental challenges. In Iran, although the 2010 amendment to the Anti-Narcotics Law constituted a crucial step toward the criminalization of these substances, the prevailing criminal policy continues to oscillate between punitive approaches and treatment-oriented measures. Employing a descriptive-analytical method, the present study seeks to examine the three dimensions of Iran’s criminal, preventive, and therapeutic policies concerning psychotropic substances and to critically assess the challenges confronting these policies. The findings demonstrate that, despite recognizing concepts such as “harm reduction,” Iran’s criminal policy remains dominated by “penal populism” and repressive approaches. This tendency is concretely manifested in the predominance of compulsory treatment under Article 16 over voluntary treatment under Article 15 and in the expansion of the prison population. From a legislative perspective, delegating the identification and classification of new substances to executive bodies, as stipulated in Note 1 to Article 8, conflicts with the principle of legality of crimes and punishments and the constitutional prohibition against the delegation of legislative authority, as enshrined in Articles 36 and 85 of the Constitution. Furthermore, the failure to consider the purity of substances during judicial proceedings and the absence of a comprehensive legal definition of novel psychoactive substances have diminished the effectiveness of criminal justice responses. In the field of prevention, the predominance of situational and law-enforcement measures over social prevention has contributed to the emergence of the “revolving-door” phenomenon, whereby users repeatedly return to the cycle of substance use and criminal offending. The findings emphasize the necessity of a paradigm shift from a security-oriented approach to a public-health-oriented approach, the adoption of an analogue-based criminalization framework to address changes in the chemical composition of substances, the development of therapeutic jurisprudence, and the strengthening of post-release aftercare services. Reforming existing policies requires establishing an appropriate balance between criminal justice instruments and supportive measures, ensuring conformity with international human rights standards, and entrusting the management of treatment processes to specialized health and social institutions.