Kaliuzhnyi O. Prevention of illegal sowing or cultivation of narcotic plants in Ukraine.

The thesis is an independent completed scientific work in which, based on the study of the criminological and criminal­legal characteristics of the illegal cultivation or cultivation of narcotic plants in Ukraine and the persons who commit them, the analysis of the relevant concepts of domestic and foreign scientists, as well as the practice of state authorities in comparison with the experience of other countries, scientific provisions have been developed that comprehensively solve an important scientific and applied task – the prevention of illegal cultivation and cultivation of narcotic plants in Ukraine. The dissertation examines the issue of illegal cultivation or cultivation of drugcontaining plants in a historical context, which made it possible to obtain scientifically based knowledge about this socially dangerous phenomenon, its patterns of evolution, formation and transformation, trends and specifics of development. In particular, the analysis of historical sources, the subject of which is illegal cultivation or cultivation of drug­containing plants, made it possible to systematize the key periods of their formation into separate stages, in particular: I. «Initial stage». This period covered ancient times and is associated with ethnobotanical practices of ancient cultures, where drug use had a religious or medical context; II. «Colonial stage». This period covered the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and included interaction with trade and colonial expansionism, which led to the globalization of drug trafficking; III. «The era of drug heyday» (XIX ­ early XX centuries). This period is characterized by the growth of drug market production, as well as their availability; IV. «The era of drug expansion» (XX century). This period is marked by the globalization and transnationality of drug crime; V. «The era of the war on drugs» (early XXI century ­ until now). This is a modern period, which is marked by systematic and large­scale efforts of many countries of the world to combat illegal cultivation and trafficking of drugs. It is substantiated that illegal cultivation or cultivation of drug­containing plants in Ukraine is a complex socially dangerous and historically variable phenomenon, which is based on the illegal cultivation of plants containing narcotic substances. This criminal act poses a threat not only to the political, social, law enforcement and economic stability of the state, but also leads to an increase in the problem of drug addiction in society, as well as the spread of mercenary and mercenary­violent criminal offenses related to obtaining funds for the purchase of drugs, including those of plant origin. A criminal­legal characteristic of the criminal offense in the form of illegal sowing or cultivation of poppy or hemp in Ukraine is provided, which is primarily provided for by Art. 310 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In particular, objective (object and objective side of sowing or cultivation of poppy or hemp) and subjective signs (subject and subjective side of sowing or cultivation of poppy or hemp) are determined. A thorough analysis of each of the specified elements determined the content of the criminal­legal characteristic of Art. 310 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, on the basis of this we propose to introduce some changes to Art. 310 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The state of quantitative and qualitative indicators of illegal sowing or cultivation of poppy and hemp in Ukraine during 2018–2024 was studied. In the process of criminological analysis, a tendency towards an increase in the level of these criminal offenses was revealed during periods of aggravation of the socio­political situation, in particular during martial law. Thus, in 2018, 1,555 criminal offenses were committed under Article 310 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, in 2019 – 1,610 (+4%), in 2020 – 1,822 (+13%), in 2021 – 1,419 (­8%), in 2022 – 1,716 (+10%), in 2023 – 1,024 (­34%), in 2024 872 cases were recorded (­10%), which confirms the tendency towards a further decrease. The share of illegal sowing or cultivation of poppy or hemp in the structure of criminal offenses in the sphere of circulation of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues or precursors is 4%. On average, the number of detected drug offenders is 1.5 times less than the number of registered criminal offenses. As of 2024, out of 872 registered criminal offenses provided for in Art. 310 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, 791 persons were served with a notice of suspicion (90%), with 739 indictments (84%) sent to court.