The Effects of Decriminalizing Low-Risk Narcotic Substances from a Jurisprudential Perspective and According to Imam Khomeini (RA)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to identify the effects of decriminalizing low-risk narcotic substances from a jurisprudential perspective and according to Imam Khomeini (RA). To this end, issues related to the subject—including the decriminalization of low-risk narcotics, the evidentiary grounds for decriminalizing low-risk narcotics, and the effects of such decriminalization from a jurisprudential perspective and in Imam Khomeini’s view—were analyzed and examined. Based on this analysis, the following conclusions were drawn. First, regarding the evidentiary grounds for decriminalizing low-risk narcotics, it appears that the jurisprudential and legal principles of preventing a greater harm by committing a lesser harm, the permissibility of medical treatment with prohibited substances, the principle of negating hardship and undue difficulty, and the application of the rule of prioritizing the more important obligation can be invoked as valid foundations for the decriminalization of low-risk narcotic substances. Second, in many developed countries, the decriminalization of low-risk narcotics has led to a reduction in the tendency toward high-risk narcotic substances and the harms resulting from them. Third, the principle of preventing a greater harm by committing a lesser harm, as a jurisprudential and rational rule, when combined with global empirical experiences, can serve as supporting evidence for this claim.