The Senseless War: The Sentencing Drug Offenses Arms Race

Oregon Review of International Law, 2014

44 Pages Posted: 30 Sep 2015 Last revised: 23 Oct 2015

See all articles by Mirko Bagaric

Mirko Bagaric

Director of the Evidence-Based Sentencing and Criminal Justice Project, Swinburne University Law School

Samantha Hepburn

Deakin University, Geelong, Australia - Deakin Law School

Lidia Xynas

Independent

Date Written: 2014

Abstract

There has been a considerable increase in the penalties for drug trafficking following the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961, over fifty years ago. In many parts of the world, the sanctions are as severe as those for homicide and rape. This penalty escalation is at odds with the counter movement to decriminalise illicit drugs. Drug supplying is the only serious crime where there are widespread moves to decriminalize the main outcome of the crime — the use illicit drugs. This paper explores this paradox. It also examines the rationales for the increasingly harsh penalties for drug suppliers. We conclude that while there is no conclusive argument in favour of the decriminalizing drugs, the weight of empirical data does not establish any concrete benefits stemming from severe penalties for serious drug offenses. In particular, there is no correlation between longer prison terms for drug offenders and a reduction in the availability and use of drugs. We propose that the penalties for drug offenses should be reduced considerably. There is no useful objective that can be achieved by a twenty-five-year term of imprisonment that cannot be achieved by a term of five to ten years. A more measured sentencing response to serious drug offense penalties would make sentencing fairer and enable billions of dollars currently directed to imprisonment to be spent on more pressing community needs.

Suggested Citation

Bagaric, Mirko and Hepburn, Samantha and Xynas, Lidia, The Senseless War: The Sentencing Drug Offenses Arms Race (2014). Oregon Review of International Law, 2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2630921

Mirko Bagaric (Contact Author)

Director of the Evidence-Based Sentencing and Criminal Justice Project, Swinburne University Law School ( email )

Hawthorn
Hawthorn
Burwood, Victoria 3000
Australia

Samantha Hepburn

Deakin University, Geelong, Australia - Deakin Law School ( email )

221 Burwood Highway
Burwood
Burwood, Victoria 3125, Victoria 3125
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://www.deakin.edu.au/law

Lidia Xynas

Independent ( email )

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