The Evolution in Criminalization and Decriminalization of Addiction in Iran: Examination and Analysis

Abstract

Addiction, regarding which different opinions have been stated, is now considered the menace of society. Some scholars argue that addiction is a crime, while others consider it a disease requiring treatment and help from public and governmental institutions. Today, in the criminal and juridical law, the legislator has taken the basic norms and values of the society into account and has relied on his accepted theoretical foundations to prohibit an act or the same act’s omission, thereby setting criminal sanction over that act. Therefore, there are different laws at the international and domestic scope regarding addiction and addicts. In Iran, addiction is among the social issues that has experienced various shifts in its social structure in the recent decades. This study seeks to examine the evolutionary frame of the criminalization and decriminalization of addiction in the country.