In drug-related cases, one of the most common questions is the difference between use, possession and trafficking. In everyday language these concepts are often blurred, but in criminal law they may have very different consequences.
Even within a single case, there may be a significant difference between the authority considering a small quantity held for personal use, an occasional transfer, regular sale or organised distribution to be provable. The aim of the defence is often precisely to ensure that the actual conduct is not presented under a more serious legal classification.
Use and possession
In practice, use usually appears together with the acquisition or keeping of narcotic drugs, which is why the authority often proceeds for possession. Possession does not necessarily mean only that the substance is physically found on someone: control over the substance, acquisition, storage or conduct aimed at receiving it may also be significant.
Published decisions of the Curia also include the point that acquiring the right of disposal may in certain cases be established even if actual physical possession has not yet occurred. This may be particularly important in acquisitions by post or through an intermediary.
When can we speak of trafficking?
In drug trafficking cases, the authority examines whether there was offering, transfer, placing on the market or trading. Establishing a trafficking intent does not depend solely on whether someone was caught during an actual sale.
The method of packaging, scales, bags, cash, messages, buyer contacts, previous transfers and statements by other persons may all be circumstances from which the authority infers distribution-related conduct. It is the task of the defence to examine these critically.
Quantity thresholds and sentencing ranges
In drug-related cases, quantity is of decisive importance. For the legal classification, a small, basic, significant or particularly significant quantity may arise, and these categories fundamentally influence the sentencing range.
Quantity is usually determined not on the basis of gross weight, but on the basis of the pure active-substance content. Supreme Court Uniformity Decision No. 5/1998 BJE remains an important point of orientation regarding the natural unity of partial acts related to narcotic drugs and the aggregation of active-substance quantities of identical or different narcotic drugs.
Possibility of diversion
In consumer-type, small-quantity cases, the possibility of diversion may arise. However, this is not an automatic right but an option subject to statutory conditions, which must be assessed on the basis of the specific facts of the case.
If the authority sees a trafficking intent, the possibility of diversion is usually much more limited or may be excluded. It is therefore very important that the first statement and the interpretation of the evidence do not wrongly shift the case towards a trafficking classification.
Investigative and expert-evidence issues
In drug-related cases, house searches, searches of clothing and vehicles, phone seizures, toxicological sampling and chemical expert examinations are common. The authority often tries to draw conclusions from phone messages, abbreviations, nicknames and money movements.
The defence must check whether the identification, handling, measurement and expert examination of the seized substance were carried out regularly, and whether the communication genuinely relates to narcotic drugs and specific distribution-related conduct.
When should you contact a lawyer?
In drug-related cases, it is especially dangerous to make a statement unprepared. A poorly worded sentence, for example an inaccurate explanation of an occasional transfer or money movement, may serve as the basis for a more serious classification.
If you or a relative have been summoned, produced before the authority or subjected to a house search in connection with possession, use, transfer, trafficking or cultivation of narcotic drugs, seek defence assistance immediately.
Sources
- Act C of 2012 on the Criminal Code. net.jogtar.hu
- Act XC of 2017 on Criminal Procedure. net.jogtar.hu
- Curia of Hungary – Uniformity Decision No. 5/1998 BJE on the assessment of partial acts and quantities related to narcotic drugs. kuria-birosag.hu
- Curia of Hungary – decision on the assessment of acquiring the right of disposal over narcotic drugs. kuria-birosag.hu
Do you need legal assistance?
If you or a relative need legal assistance in a criminal case, in connection with an official summons, house search, seizure, suspicion, coercive measure or victim representation, it is advisable to consult a lawyer as soon as possible. A prompt legal response can often determine the later direction of the proceedings.
