FEATURES OF DETERMINING AND IMPOSING PUNISHMENT FOR CRIMINAL OFFENSES IN THE SPHERE OF CIRCULATION OF NARCOTIC DRUGS, PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, THEIR ANALOGUES OR PRECURSORS AND OTHER CRIMINAL OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC HEALTH

The article examines the legislative and law enforcement features of determining and imposing penalties for criminal offenses in the sphere of circulation of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues or precursors and other criminal offenses against public health. It has been determined that crime prevention should contain various preventive measures of different nature and content. These activities, carried out at different levels, in different social spheres, act in their totality in the form of a certain system of measures. One of the main directions of the state's anti-crime policy is the imposition of punishment on persons who have committed criminal offenses, in particular, criminal offenses in the sphere of trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues or precursors and other criminal offenses against public health. Attention is drawn to the fact that the peculiarities of the definition and assignment of punishments are manifested in the compliance of criminal offenses with public danger, goals, nature, and severity of sanctions. It was found that among the criminal offenses in the sphere of circulation of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues or precursors and other criminal offenses against public health include Part 1 of Article 309 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, Part 1 of Art. 310 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, Part 1, Art. 311 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, Part 1, Art. 319 Criminal Code of Ukraine, Part 1, Art. 323 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. With regard to certain criminal offenses, within the limits of the sanctions of the articles, the main punishment is fixed in the form of a fine in the amount of no more than three thousand tax-free minimum incomes of citizens or other punishment not related to imprisonment. An analysis of the legal practice of imposing sentences under these articles proves certain patterns in their assignment by the courts. It has been proven that over the past 5 years, not all criminal offenses have been punished by the courts (Part 1 of Article 323 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine does not have a single punishment imposed). Summarizing the indicators for those criminal offenses, for the specified period, for the majority of them, the courts imposed punishments such as restriction of freedom, arrest, correctional labor, community service, and a fine. In this case, the fine can be determined as one of the most imposed. Exceptional cases of imposing punishment in 2020, 2021, 2023 in the form of detention in a disciplinary battalion and restrictions for military personnel.