LIMITING INTENT AND LIMITING JUSTICE: DIH LAWS IN THE U.S. COMPARED TO SWEDISH DRUG POLICY
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Date
2024
Authors
Ward, Maya
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
The primary focus of this research is a comparative analysis between U.S. and Swedish drug policy, looking at the ways in which their political trends, laws, and emphasis on the prosecutor mirror one another, and how current trends in the U.S. can be predictive of Swedish drug policy. Drug induced homicide (DIH) laws in the U.S. charge defendants with homicide if they cause an overdose death to another without having to prove an intent to kill. DIH laws purported goals are to target drug traffickers and reduce overdose deaths but instead they have resulted in increased targeting towards and the imprisonment of the common user. While Sweden does not have DIH laws like those in the U.S., the political unity behind a drug free society and the prosecutorial trends in Sweden indicate a shift towards targeting the user to stop drug trafficking and reduce drug use. Sweden can use the reported infectiveness of DIH laws in the U.S. as warning signals for the path it appears to be going down.
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Keywords
DIH, Strict Liability, Swedish Drug Policy, US Drug Policy, Comparative Analysis