The Criminal Responsibility of Drug and Alcohol Abusers

Abstract

This article examines how the Italian legal system regulates the criminal responsibility of persons who have committed offenses while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It points out the legal system's limitations and the options available to the expert in the context of decision-making by the forensic psychiatrist. In general, Italian law regards persons who have committed offenses while under the influence of drugs as fully criminal responsible. It excludes only those whose acts relate to involuntary consumption or to a state of severe chronic intoxication. It equates the consumption of drugs to the consumption of alcohol, and gives the court the option of judging such behaviors as socially dangerous, thus opening the gates of special criminal mental institutions. The overall result is far from satisfactory and new and revised legislation is badly needed.