The South African Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992 Read with the South African Criminal Law Amendment Act 105 of 1997: An Example of a One Size Fits All Punishment?

Criminal Law Forum (2016) 27:227254 The Author(s). This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com 2016

DOI 10.1007/s10609-016-9279-2

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Web End = MAMPOLOKENG MATHUSO MARY-ELIZABETH MONYAKANE*

THE SOUTH AFRICAN DRUGS AND DRUG TRAFFICKING ACT 140 OF 1992 READ WITH THE SOUTH AFRICAN CRIMINAL LAW AMENDMENT ACT 105 OF 1997: AN EXAMPLE OF A ONE SIZE FITS ALL PUNISHMENT?

ABSTRACT. Tracking in drugs is a global problem. The legal response to the challenge of tracking in drugs is found in harsh penalties usually founded in direct imprisonment for extended periods of time. The worldwide trend towards imprisoning drug trackers, and indeed drug users, is mimicked in South Africa. This submission examines the sentencing or penal eects of the drug Nyaope, which was included in Schedule I and II of the South African Drugs and Drug Tracking Act 140 of 1992 (Hereinafter the Drugs and Drug Tracking Act.), in 2014. The eect of the inclusion is that Nyaope users and trackers are now punished in the same manner as any other trackers namely, through direct imprisonment. This submission argues that the inclusion of Nyaope and the resultant eect on sentencing is an example of net widening and results all too often in a one size ts all (The phrase One size ts all literally describes commercial products tailored for suitability in all instances. It has since extended to describing eects of methods and measures upon applications, hence its adoption in several elds interpretations including law. As a legal term it dierentiates general understanding of the application of particular principles to specic practical application. For example, in multilateral trade, it is used to analyse a perspective inscribing commonness in an uncommon or uncompetitive circumstance such as in the rationale behind the imposition of limitations on special and dierential treatment principles for developing and least developed countries against developed countries. This article uses this phrase to argue that although the traditionally harsh sentences t drug trackers this is not always the case, especially where perpetrators are victims of drug abuse. For literal interpretation, see http://dictionary.cambridge.org/CambridgeDictionaries

Web End =http://dictionary.cambridge.org/CambridgeDictionaries and http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/one-size-fits-all

Web End =http://dic http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/one-size-fits-all

Web End =tionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/one-size-ts-all . For multilateral trade legal perspective, refer to M.M.M. Monyakane, Special and Dierential Treatment under the World...