Supreme Court: Cannot Order Drug Treatment Program Completion for Sellers Not Classified as Drug Offenders

by Choi Sukjin

Published 27 Feb.2024 16:05(KST)

The Supreme Court has ruled that simple drug dealers who do not directly administer, smoke, or ingest drugs are not subject to the order to complete a drug treatment program under the Narcotics Control Act.

According to the legal community on the 27th, the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Kim Seon-su) sentenced So Mo (54), who was indicted for violating the Narcotics Control Act (psychotropic substances), to 7 months in prison and a fine of 1.05 million won, and overturned the part of the lower court's ruling ordering him to complete a 40-hour drug treatment program, while dismissing the rest of So's appeal.

Supreme Court, Seocho-dong, Seoul.

The court stated, "The Narcotics Control Act stipulates that when a guilty verdict other than a suspended sentence is pronounced on a 'drug offender,' an order to attend education necessary for recidivism prevention or to complete a rehabilitation education program must be imposed," adding, "The term 'drug offender' here refers to a person who has administered, smoked, or ingested drugs."

It continued, "However, the indictment against the defendant is solely for selling drugs," and "Since the defendant was not charged with administering, smoking, or ingesting drugs, he is not a 'drug offender' and therefore cannot be ordered to complete a program under Article 40-2, Paragraph 2 of the Narcotics Control Act."

The court explained the reason for overturning the part of the second-instance ruling ordering the program completion, stating, "The lower court's ruling, which imposed the order to complete the program along with the guilty verdict, misunderstood the meaning of 'drug offender,' which affected the judgment."

So was indicted for selling 1.75 grams of methamphetamine contained in disposable syringes to three people on three occasions in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, from May to July 2021, receiving a total of 1.05 million won.

The first-instance court sentenced So to 10 months in prison and a fine of 1.05 million won, ordering him to complete a 40-hour drug treatment program and to pay an advance on the fine.

The second-instance court accepted So's claim of excessive sentencing and reduced the prison term to 7 months. However, the fine of 1.05 million won and the order to complete the 40-hour drug treatment program were maintained.

However, the Supreme Court ruled that since So did not directly administer or smoke the drugs, he is not a 'drug offender' subject to the order to complete a drug treatment program under the Narcotics Control Act.

Article 40-2 (Concurrence of Punishment and Attendance Orders) Paragraph 1 of the Narcotics Control Act defines a "drug offender" under this article as "a person who has administered, smoked, or ingested drugs in violation of Articles 3, 4, or 5 of the Narcotics Control Act."

These provisions prohibit the cultivation of plants used as raw materials for drugs, export/import, receipt, or sale of raw materials or seeds containing narcotic components, extraction of narcotic components, possession of heroin, cultivation or possession of marijuana, and so forth.

Paragraph 2 of the same article stipulates, "When the court pronounces a guilty verdict (excluding suspended sentences) or issues a summary order against a drug offender, it shall impose an order to attend education or complete a rehabilitation education program necessary for recidivism prevention within 200 hours."