The main legal framework is provided by Law no. 143/2000 on preventing and combating illicit drug trafficking and consumption, in force since 3 August 2000, in its republished and updated version, including recent amendments brought by Law no. 45/2023 and subsequent acts.
This article explains, in accessible language, how the law distinguishes between trafficking and possession for personal use, what “thresholds” mean in practice, what the legal penalties are and what types of defence strategies can legitimately be considered in a drug case. The aim is not in any way to encourage the commission of offences, but to provide legal information and help understand the rights of persons under investigation.
1. Legal framework: Law 143/2000 and classification of drugs
1.1. Law 143/2000 – key articles
Law no. 143/2000 regulates both trafficking and possession of drugs for personal use. The key provisions for our discussion are:
- Article 2 – drug trafficking (illicit operations with risk or high-risk drugs);
- Article 3 – international trafficking (bringing drugs into or out of the country);
- Article 4 – possession of drugs for personal use, without right;
- Article 13 – aggravating circumstances (minors, educational institutions, public authority functions etc.);
- Articles 14–15 – special grounds for impunity or sentence reduction through reporting other participants;
- Articles 19–20 – special procedures for consumers, assessment and assistance programmes.
The updated text of the law, with all amendments and supplements, can be consulted both on the official Legislative Portal and in consolidated versions with commentary, for example on pozderie.ro – Law 143/2000 updated, including the tables.
1.2. Types of drugs: risk vs high-risk drugs
The law does not stop at the generic term “drugs”, but distinguishes between:
- high-risk drugs – those listed in Tables I and II annexed to Law 143/2000 (for example heroin, cocaine, LSD, MDMA/Ecstasy), according to the definitions in Article 1 letter c) and the annexes to the law;
- risk drugs – those listed in Table III (for example cannabis, hashish, certain amphetamines and ketamine), according to Article 1 letter d) and the annexes.
The detailed classification of substances in tables can be found in the annexes to Law 143/2000, updated periodically by special laws (for example Law no. 30/2025, supplementing Annex Tables I–III) and by secondary legislation (Government decisions updating the lists of substances). A practical overview of these tables is also available in specialist articles such as “Penalty for risk drugs in 2025” or guides drafted by criminal-law practitioners.
In practice, the distinction between risk drugs and high-risk drugs is essential because it directly influences the sentencing ranges both for trafficking (Articles 2–3) and for possession for personal use (Article 4).
2. Drug trafficking (Articles 2 and 3 of Law 143/2000)
2.1. The notion of “drug trafficking” in the law
According to Article 2 paragraph (1) of Law 143/2000, it is an offence punishable by imprisonment from 3 to 10 years and prohibition of certain rights to “cultivate, produce, manufacture, experiment, extract, prepare, transform, offer, put up for sale, sell, distribute, deliver in any capacity, send, transport, procure, buy, possess or perform other operations relating to the circulation of risk drugs, without right”. For high-risk drugs (Article 2 paragraph 2), the penalty is imprisonment from 5 to 15 years and prohibition of certain rights, according to the updated version of the law, amended inter alia by Law no. 45/2023.
Article 3 regulates international trafficking: bringing drugs into the country, taking them out of the country, as well as importing or exporting drugs, without right. For risk drugs the penalty is imprisonment from 5 to 15 years, and for high-risk drugs imprisonment from 10 to 20 years, according to the consolidated text of the law published on the Legislative Portal and discussed, for example, in legal articles such as the analysis of High Court decision no. 15/2017.
2.2. Constituent elements: what must be proved for trafficking
From a legal point of view, the following elements must be proved in order to establish the offence of drug trafficking (Article 2):
- Protected object: protection of public health, collective safety and social order against the risks generated by drugs;
- Material object: the drugs themselves (plants, substances or mixtures) listed in the annex tables to Law 143/2000;
- Active subject: any natural person (or legal person, where the law allows) who commits one of the actions listed (cultivation, sale, transport etc.); no special status is required;
- Passive subject: society as a whole, public order and, in some situations, specific injured persons or consumers;
- Objective element: the commission of one or more of the actions listed in Article 2 paragraph (1) – offering for sale, selling, intermediating, procuring for distribution, repeatedly transporting towards customers etc.;
- Subjective element: direct or indirect intent, meaning that the person knows the drug nature of the substance and pursues or accepts the possibility of commercialising or distributing it.
The High Court of Cassation and Justice has clarified, through Decision no. 3/2017 (appeal in the interest of the law), how situations where both risk and high-risk drugs are involved in a single criminal resolution should be treated, and it set criteria for distinguishing between concurrence of offences and single offence.
2.3. Practical examples of drug trafficking
Publicly available case-law and practice (for example on platforms such as jurisprudenta.com or in case-law collections such as “Illicit drug trafficking and use – case-law with commentary”) often describe scenarios such as:
- Offering a quantity of cannabis for sale (for example several grams of cannabis resin) to several persons for a price, even if each individual transaction seems small;
- Organising an indoor cannabis grow, followed by distributing surplus to friends or to unknown persons for payment, deemed trafficking in risk drugs in alternative forms (cultivation plus sale);
- Repeated transport of drugs (for example MDMA tablets or bags of cocaine) from supplier to consumers, in exchange for money or other advantages;
- Bringing high-risk drugs into the country (for example hidden in luggage when crossing the border), where the court may find a concurrence between Article 3 (international trafficking) and Article 4 paragraph (2) (possession for personal use), in line with High Court decisions no. 18/2018 and no. 3/2017.
Court practice places major emphasis on the specific circumstances: packaging (individual doses vs bulk quantity), the existence of tools typical of trafficking (precision scales, lists of “clients”, large sums of money, encrypted communication means), the frequency of acts and the profile of persons with whom the accused interacted.
3. Possession of drugs for personal use (Article 4 of Law 143/2000)
3.1. Consumption as such is not criminalised, but possession is
An extremely important point, confirmed by the text of the law, legal literature and recent practice, is that mere drug consumption is not criminalised as a separate offence under Law 143/2000. What is punished is possession, cultivation, production etc. for personal use, without right, in accordance with Article 4 paragraphs (1) and (2). This is clearly explained, for example, in legal analyses published on LegalBadger and in other specialist articles.
The official text of Article 4, according to the updated version of the law, is:
- paragraph (1): “Cultivation, production, manufacture, experimentation, extraction, preparation, transformation, purchase or possession of risk drugs for personal use, without right, shall be punished by imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years or by a fine.”
- paragraph (2): “If the acts referred to in paragraph (1) concern high-risk drugs, the penalty shall be imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years.”
The text can be checked directly in the consolidated version of the law published on the Legislative Portal and in updated PDF versions, such as the PDF available on crimemedicine.ro.
3.2. Constituent elements specific to possession for personal use
For Article 4, the constituent elements are similar to those for trafficking, but the intent differs:
- Objective element: the person performs one of the actions listed (for example buys or possesses drugs), but for personal use, not for distribution to others;
- Subjective element: the intent must be oriented towards personal consumption, not towards generating profit or supplying a distribution network.
The difference between Articles 2 and 4 lies essentially in the purpose of possession: trafficking (commercialisation, distribution) versus personal use. This difference in purpose is often controversial in actual cases and is assessed on the basis of evidence (quantity, circumstances, messages, previous behaviour).
3.3. Special treatment for consumers: assessment and assistance programmes
Law 143/2000 does not limit itself to punishing possession for personal use but also provides a special mechanism for drug users, in Articles 19 and 20:
- Article 19 – provides that, for acts under Article 4, the prosecutor, with the written consent of the consumer, shall order an assessment by a drug prevention, assessment and counselling centre, with a view to including the person in an integrated assistance programme;
- Article 20 – if, by the time of the court judgement, the defendant has complied with the integrated programme, the court may order waiver of the sentence or postponement of the application of the sentence, even if the conditions of Articles 80 and 83 of the Criminal Code are not fully met.
These provisions are further developed in reports and studies issued by the National Anti-Drug Agency, for example in the report on the treatment of drug users, which stresses the importance of integrated medical, psychological and social assistance services in reducing relapse and supporting reintegration.
4. The “thresholds” between trafficking and possession for use: what matters in practice
4.1. Is there a quantitative threshold in the law?
A very common question is: “How many grams can I have on me so that I am classified as a user, not a trafficker?” From a strict legal perspective, Law 143/2000 does NOT set a fixed quantitative threshold that would automatically distinguish possession for personal use from possession for trafficking. Neither the Criminal Code nor other acts provide a single explicit limit (number of doses or grams) for this distinction.
Various analytical articles (for example Murariu and Associates, Cabinet Avocat Gunea, Avocat Iliescu) emphasise that the classification is made case by case, based on evidence and concrete circumstances, not on a numerical threshold in the law.
4.2. Relevant factors in practice
Based on court practice and reported case-law, several key factors are used to distinguish personal use from trafficking:
- Quantity and concentration of the substance – a very small amount, compatible with immediate use, may suggest personal consumption; larger quantities or stock intended for resale may indicate trafficking, particularly where there is no credible explanation for the amount;
- Packaging – drugs divided into many small bags or individual doses of similar weight suggest trafficking; a single dose or a few doses not individually packed for sale are more compatible with personal use;
- Presence of tools typical of trafficking – precision scales, numerous small bags, lists of debts, repeated cash transactions, communications with a customer base etc.;
- Frequency and context of acts – repeatedly procuring drugs for other persons, home deliveries, meetings with many consumers, trips organised specifically to bring drugs;
- Statements by the person and by witnesses – how the accused explains the origin and intended use of the drugs, corroborated with other evidence (messages, intercepts, surveillance);
- Type of drug – for high-risk drugs (cocaine, heroin, MDMA), even relatively small quantities may be interpreted as trafficking, depending on the context, because the number of doses obtained from them is large.
Legal literature and case-law, for example decisions published on LegeAZ or case notes available through the Legislative Portal, underline the need for a holistic analysis of the situation, not merely of the gram weight.
4.3. Borderline situations
There are cases where the same quantity of drugs may be interpreted differently depending on the context:
- Example 1 – cannabis held at home: a person is found with 10–15 grams of cannabis at home, with no precision scales, no multiple packaging and no messages suggesting sale. In such situations, many courts lean towards Article 4 (personal use), especially if the person admits to consumption and there is no other evidence of trafficking.
- Example 2 – same quantity, different context: the same amount, but divided into identical bags, with messaging history mentioning “clients”, payments and deliveries. In this case, even the “small” quantity may be classified as trafficking (Article 2), because the declared or inferred purpose is distribution.
- Example 3 – high-risk drugs in a club: a person is caught with several MDMA tablets at the entrance to a club. The quantity may be compatible with personal use, but if there are indications that the person intended to distribute some of them (messages, cash received in advance), the legal classification may shift towards trafficking.
In all such cases, the court verifies whether the trafficking charge is proved beyond reasonable doubt or whether the evidence is instead more compatible with personal use (and thus Article 4).
5. Penalties and aggravating or mitigating circumstances
5.1. Sentencing ranges for trafficking and possession for personal use
In summary, the sentencing ranges provided by Law 143/2000, in its current form, are:
- Trafficking in risk drugs (Article 2 paragraph 1): imprisonment from 3 to 10 years and prohibition of certain rights;
- Trafficking in high-risk drugs (Article 2 paragraph 2): imprisonment from 5 to 15 years and prohibition of certain rights;
- International trafficking in risk drugs (Article 3 paragraph 1): imprisonment from 5 to 15 years and prohibition of certain rights;
- International trafficking in high-risk drugs (Article 3 paragraph 2): imprisonment from 10 to 20 years and prohibition of certain rights;
- Possession of risk drugs for personal use (Article 4 paragraph 1): imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years or a fine;
- Possession of high-risk drugs for personal use (Article 4 paragraph 2): imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years.
These ranges can be verified in the official text of the law on the Legislative Portal and in updated PDF versions, for example those published by SNPPC or in free legal resources such as DreptOnline.
5.2. Special aggravating circumstances (Article 13)
Aside from the general circumstances under the Criminal Code, Law 143/2000 provides special aggravating circumstances in Article 13, including:
- when the offence is committed by a person who holds a position involving the exercise of public authority and acts in the exercise of that function;
- when the act is committed by medical personnel or persons with duties in combating drugs;
- when drugs are offered or delivered to minors, mentally ill persons, or persons enrolled in therapy programmes, or when the act is committed in educational institutions, medical units, detention facilities etc.;
- when minors are used in committing the offences;
- when drugs are mixed with other substances that increase the danger to life or bodily integrity.
In cases involving such aggravating circumstances, the statutory maximum sentence may be increased within the limits provided by law. Further details are available in the consolidated version of Article 13 in Law 143/2000 – annotated PDF.
5.3. Grounds for impunity or sentence reduction (Articles 14–15)
Law 143/2000 also contains special mechanisms that may lead to impunity or reduction of the sentence by half, under certain conditions:
- Article 14: a person who has committed one of the offences in Articles 2–9 is not punished if, before the start of the criminal investigation, they report their participation to the authorities and help identify and bring to justice the perpetrator or the other participants;
- Article 15: a person who, during the criminal investigation, reports and helps identify and bring to justice other persons who have committed drug-related offences benefits from a reduction by half of the applicable sentencing range.
These provisions must be considered with great care, given their complex implications, including on procedural strategy. They are discussed in doctrinal articles and commentaries published on legal websites such as LegeAZ or Legex.
5.4. Assistance programmes and their impact on sentencing (Articles 19–20)
As mentioned earlier, Articles 19–20 introduce a special mechanism for offences under Article 4, centred on assessing the consumer and including them in an integrated assistance programme. If the programme is followed until the time of the court judgement, the court may order waiver of the sentence or postponement of its application, even without the full fulfilment of the conditions in the Criminal Code (Articles 80 and 83), as expressly set out in Article 20 of Law 143/2000.
In practice, this mechanism is a real opportunity for users who agree to enter treatment and counselling, and it is described in more detail in reports by the National Anti-Drug Agency and in specialist analyses.
6. Defence strategies in drug cases (within the limits of the law)
Any defence strategy must be built strictly within the limits of the law and of professional ethics. The discussion is not about “ways to escape liability” for acts committed, but about the legitimate use of procedural rights by a person accused of offences under Law 143/2000.
6.1. Reviewing the legality of evidence
A first direction of defence, applicable in any criminal case, is to scrutinise the legality of evidence:
- were the legal conditions for home or body searches respected (warrant, urgency, judicial authorisation)?
- were technical surveillance measures (interceptions, video surveillance) authorised by the court, for the offences listed in the law, and within the statutory time limits?
- are there relative or absolute nullities (for example, absence of defence counsel at key acts, violation of the right to remain silent, coercion of the accused or witnesses)?
- was the laboratory examination on the nature and quantity of the drugs complete and compliant with procedures (chain of custody, sample storage etc.)?
The High Court and courts of appeal have, in some cases, excluded evidence obtained in breach of the Code of Criminal Procedure or of the special rules on technical surveillance, which led to acquittals or to a more favourable legal classification. Examples of such debates can be found in published case-law and doctrinal commentaries, including analyses of High Court decisions on Articles 2 and 3 of Law 143/2000.
6.2. Delimiting trafficking from personal use
In cases where the prosecution charges trafficking although the evidence is ambiguous, the defence may insist that the evidence indicates more clearly personal use rather than distribution. Relevant elements include:
- a reasonable quantity in relation to the user’s profile (although there are no fixed legal thresholds);
- absence of tools typical of trafficking (precision scales, multiple packaging, client lists);
- the fact that no repeated transactions with third parties have been identified (neither in intercepts nor in witness statements);
- acknowledgement of consumption and cooperation with the authorities regarding consumption history.
Legal literature and case discussions (for example Gunea – “Offences relating to drug trafficking and possession for personal use” or Coltuc – “Possession of drugs for personal use in Romania 2025”) illustrate situations where courts have reclassified acts from trafficking to possession for personal use when the evidence did not prove, beyond reasonable doubt, an intent to commercialise.
6.3. Making use of Articles 19–20 for consumers
In cases concerning possession for personal use (Article 4), the defence can emphasise the importance of consumer assessment and inclusion in an integrated programme, under Articles 19–20. Concretely, this may involve:
- explicitly requesting the prosecutor to order assessment by a drug prevention, assessment and counselling centre (if this has not already been done);
- actual participation in the integrated assistance programme, in line with the protocols;
- presenting, in court, documents attesting to the programme (reports, certificates), in support of applying Article 20, with possible waiver or postponement of the sentence.
These steps are not a way to avoid liability but a use of legal mechanisms created precisely to redirect users towards treatment and reintegration, and they are recommended in reports by the National Anti-Drug Agency.
6.4. Assessing whether to file a report under Articles 14–15
Articles 14–15 provide for the possibility of impunity or reduction by half of the sentence for persons who report other persons involved in drug offences before the start of the investigation or during the investigation. Deciding to resort to these mechanisms must be carefully assessed with a lawyer, bearing in mind:
- personal and safety risks associated with reporting other persons;
- consequences on the body of evidence and on co-defendants, if any;
- the need for the report to be concrete, verifiable and actually lead to identifying other persons involved; otherwise, the court may deny the benefit.
Legal literature and case-law (for example decisions published on LegeAZ – High Court decisions 2018) show that courts strictly review whether the legal conditions for granting this benefit are met.
6.5. Other relevant arguments
Depending on the situation, the defence may also rely on other points:
- Absorption of less serious acts into more serious offences (for example, possession for personal use absorbed into trafficking where the main purpose is commercialisation);
- Concurrence of offences versus a single offence, where there are multiple acts and several types of drugs, in line with interpretations established by the High Court, for example in Decision no. 3/2017;
- Personal circumstances – lack of prior criminal record, social integration, family situation, age, participation in treatment or prevention programmes, which can justify a more lenient individualisation of the sentence.
All these aspects must be analysed on a case-by-case basis, in close dialogue with counsel and based on the file. The information in this article is general and does not replace personalised legal advice.
7. Conclusions: why the distinction between trafficking and personal use matters in drug cases
The distinction between drug trafficking and possession for personal use is one of the most important practical issues in applying Law 143/2000. In the absence of a fixed quantitative threshold in the law, this distinction is built on a set of factors: quantity, packaging, context, statements, technical evidence, type of drug, prior conduct and relationship with other persons involved.
At the same time, Law 143/2000 is not solely a repressive statute: it also contains mechanisms geared towards treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration of users, through the assessment mechanism in Article 19 and integrated programmes that may lead to waiver or postponement of the sentence (Article 20). In addition, grounds for impunity and sentence reduction (Articles 14–15) reflect a criminal policy aimed at dismantling trafficking networks.
In any situation where a person is targeted in a drug case – whether it is a young person caught with a few grams of cannabis or serious allegations of trafficking in high-risk drugs – it is essential to understand both procedural rights and criminal risks, and to decide on concrete steps together with a criminal defence lawyer and, where appropriate, with support from specialists in addiction treatment.
FAQ – frequently asked questions about drug trafficking and possession for personal use
1. Is drug consumption itself criminalised in Romania?
No. Consumption as such (the act of using drugs) is not criminalised as a separate offence under Law 143/2000. What is punished is possession, cultivation, production and similar acts for personal use, without right, under Article 4. This follows from the text of the law as well as from legal literature and case-law analysis, for example articles on LegalBadger and Justicia.ro.
2. How many grams can I have on me and still avoid being charged with trafficking?
Law 143/2000 does not set any fixed quantitative threshold (number of grams or doses) that automatically distinguishes trafficking from personal use. The distinction is made case by case, based on several factors: quantity, packaging, presence of tools typical of trafficking, messages and calls, prior conduct, type of drug etc. Case-law shows that the same quantity may be classified differently, depending on context. For in-depth analysis, you can consult resources such as Gunea – offences relating to drug trafficking or MurariuLaw.
3. In simple terms, what is the difference between trafficking and possession for personal use?
The key difference is the purpose:
- in trafficking (Articles 2–3), drugs are cultivated, produced, transported, purchased or possessed with the purpose of being commercialised or distributed to other persons (usually for profit);
- in possession for personal use (Article 4), the same acts (for example, purchasing or possessing) are carried out for the person’s own consumption, without any intention to resell or distribute.
This difference is analysed in detail in legal doctrine and in High Court decisions, such as Decision no. 3/2017 and Decision no. 18/2018.
4. What happens if I agree to enter a drug treatment programme?
For offences under Article 4 (possession for personal use), Law 143/2000 provides a special mechanism: the prosecutor may order an assessment and include the consumer in an integrated assistance programme (Article 19), and if they comply with the programme up to the court judgement, the court may order waiver of the sentence or postponement of the sentence (Article 20), even if all conditions in the Criminal Code are not fully met. Details are set out in the text of the law and in reports of the National Anti-Drug Agency (ANA).
5. Can I avoid punishment if I report other persons involved in trafficking?
Law 143/2000 provides two distinct situations:
- if, before the start of the criminal investigation, a person reports his or her own participation and helps identify other participants, Article 14 applies and the person is not punished;
- if, during the criminal investigation, the person reports other persons involved in drug offences and facilitates their prosecution, Article 15 applies and the sentencing range may be reduced by half.
These mechanisms have strict conditions and practical and personal risks, so the decision to use them must be discussed in detail with a lawyer, based on the concrete case.
6. What penalties do I risk for trafficking in high-risk drugs?
According to the updated wording of Articles 2 and 3 of Law 143/2000, after amendments including Law no. 45/2023, the current sentencing ranges are:
- Internal trafficking (Article 2 paragraph 2): imprisonment from 5 to 15 years and prohibition of certain rights;
- International trafficking (Article 3 paragraph 2): imprisonment from 10 to 20 years and prohibition of certain rights.
These ranges may be affected by aggravating circumstances (Article 13), concurrence of offences, recidivism, but also by causes for sentence reduction (Articles 14–15, Articles 75–76 of the Criminal Code etc.). The consolidated version of the law is available on the Legislative Portal.
7. I was caught with cannabis. Is it considered a risk or high-risk drug?
The cannabis plant (and its derivatives – resin, oil) is currently classified as a risk drug, being included in Table III annexed to Law 143/2000. This is confirmed both by the annexes and by legal literature and practice, for example “Trafficking in risk drugs and the 0.2% THC limit” or analyses by MurariuLaw. Classification as a risk drug influences the penalties for both trafficking and possession for use.
8. What should I do if I am under investigation in a drug case?
In any such situation, it is recommended to:
- refrain from making statements before speaking to a criminal defence lawyer;
- request access to the whole body of evidence in the file (through your lawyer) to understand the charges and the evidence;
- analyse with your lawyer whether the situation fits better under Article 2 (trafficking) or Article 4 (personal use), in light of all circumstances;
- discuss the appropriateness of participating in assistance programmes (where the case concerns personal use) and of any reports under Articles 14–15, only after a full assessment of risks and benefits, strictly within the limits of the law.
This article is for information only and does not replace individual legal advice. Every case has its own particularities and requires personalised assessment by a lawyer.