DRUG USE

Drug use among young and old is sadly on the rise. Consumption not only takes place in clubs, parks, or other public places, but very often it also takes place in the workplace.

It is good to remember that Article 75 of Presidential Decree 309/90 prohibits the personal use of drugs. It establishes that the possession of drugs of any kind, even in small quantities and for personal use, is not permitted by law, and is punished with administrative sanctions.

As far as dealing is concerned, the Italian legal system punishes with imprisonment and a fine whoever cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, refines, sells, offers, sells, distributes, trades, transports, procures to others, sends, passes, sends, delivers. for any purpose or holds, for sale or transfer, narcotic or psychotropic substances.

The person who carries out these activities is punished with imprisonment:

• Hard drugs (such as cocaine and heroin): from 8 to 20 years and with a fine;

• Soft drugs: from 2 to 6 years and with administrative sanctions (fine).

In the workplace, consumption and trafficking inside or outside the workplace have consequences, in addition to the penalties listed above, also the immediate dismissal of the worker.

In 2017, the Supreme Court deemed it legitimate to a drug dismissal in a minimum quantity, for personal use. According to the Court “In the matter of disciplinary dismissal, the non-working conduct of drug use by a worker assigned to the duties of a bus driver, defined as at risk, certainly violates the minimum ethics.

The involvement in drug events, as well as the mere possession of drugs for personal use (in this case, cocaine), can bring discredit to the employer, but also compromise the fiduciary element in the employment relationship, constituting the legitimate basis for the withdrawal from the work contract. Furthermore, the distinction between soft drugs and hard drugs is not decisive either.

If you have any suspicions, it is always better to intervene before the situation can degenerate, the use of authorized professional investigators can make a difference for the safety of your children or the reputation of your company.