MISDEMEANOUR LAW AT THE SERVICE OF DRUG SUPPRESSION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA: DRUG POSSESSION WITHOUT DISTRIBUTION INTENTION

Sa？etak When it comes to drug abuse suppression, the choice of a state reaction is conditioned by different circumstances, but the aspiration for efficiency is the primary motive. The means of banning imply legal mechanisms and sanctions, and in the Republic of Croatia, these mechani- sms derive from criminal law and misdemeanour law. The subject of this paper focuses on the misdemeanour law in view of the significant alteration presented in the Republic of Croatia a few years ago: drug possession without distribution intention has been left out of crimi- nal law mechanism and left to misdemeanour law. However, this solution opens a number of questions. The paper gives answers to these questions by a holistic approach. It presents the legislative positions, taking into account the prior knowledge and the etiology of the accepted solution, outlines the presence of drug abuse in the society, and by conducting research of re- levant judgments, the paper discloses the attitudes of the judiciary by reviewing the adequacy of the adopted solution