Possessing narcotics for personal use is not a crime, but it can entail significant administrative sanctions. If you have received a report or a summons from the Prefecture, it is natural to wonder whether you are facing criminal proceedings, what will happen to your driving license, and whether a small quantity is enough to prove personal destination.

I want to help you distinguish the two levels that create the most uncertainty: on one hand, the administrative offense provided for personal consumption, and on the other, possession intended for transfer, which may have criminal significance. I will also explain how the proceedings before the Prefect take place, which elements can be contested, and why you should not consider the interview a mere formality.

Personal Use: Administrative Offense, Not a Crime

Personal use excludes the crime of possession intended for transfer, but it does not make the purchase, receipt, importation, or possession of the substance lawful. These conducts fall under Article 75 of Presidential Decree no. 309 of October 9, 1990, and give rise to administrative proceedings before the Prefect.

The distinction is drawn from Articles 73 and 75 of Presidential Decree 309/1990 in its currently in force text. The former concerns production, trafficking, transfer, and possession intended for non-exclusively personal use; the latter governs possession intended for the consumption of the same person holding the substance.

The report pursuant to Article 75 is not equivalent to a criminal conviction and, by itself, does not produce a precedent in the criminal record. However, the consequences are not negligible: they may concern the driving license, firearms license, passport, and other documents indicated by the law. If elements of transfer emerge instead, the assessment may shift to the criminal level.

How to Distinguish Personal Use from Transfer

Quantity alone is not decisive. Article 75 requires considering together the active ingredient, total weight, packaging, and other circumstances of the action. A small dose may therefore prove incompatible with personal use if it is divided and accompanied by concrete elements of distribution; a quantity exceeding the threshold limits does not automatically prove a transfer.

Quantitative limits are established by the ministerial decree of April 11, 2006. They refer primarily to the quantity of active ingredient, determined through toxicological analysis, and not to the simple gross weight of the packaging or the substance as it appears at the time of seizure.

Fractioned packaging is a clue, not automatic proof. The presence of tools for weighing or preparing doses, sums of money connected to the operations, communications with third parties, observed behaviors, and explanations compatible with the material data also count. Each element must be read together with the others, without turning an isolated detail into a certain conclusion.

Free Delivery and Purchase for Other People

The absence of profit does not exclude transfer. Delivering a part of the substance to another person, even free of charge, can fall within the conducts of Article 73. The same problem arises when someone purchases or holds narcotics also on behalf of friends: defining them as intended for a shared evening is not enough, by itself, to keep the act within the administrative scope.

The decisive point is therefore who was concretely supposed to use the substance. If the entire quantity is intended exclusively for the holder, Article 75 applies. If a part is to be delivered or made available to others, a criminal investigation may open, even when there is no price or organized drug-dealing activity.

Medicines Containing Controlled Substances

For medicines, the prescription also counts. Article 75 considers the correspondence between the quantity held and that prescribed for medicines included in the sections referred to by the rule. A prescription, original packaging, and health documentation can explain the possession, but do not cover excess quantities or uses other than those authorized.

What Sanctions the Prefect Can Apply

Article 75 does not provide for a fine. Sanctions consist of the suspension of, or the prohibition to obtain, certain documents: a driving license and driving authorizations, a firearms license license, a passport or equivalent document, and, for non-EU citizens, a tourist residence permit.

The rule links the duration to the substance table group: from two months to one year for tables I and III and from one to three months for tables II and IV. For the prohibition to obtain a driving license and similar authorizations, letter a) contemplates a period of up to three years. The Prefect determines which measures to apply and the concrete duration after the interview.

Sanctions can also be applied together. The decision does not depend solely on the name of the substance: the seriousness of the fact, the circumstances of the assessment, any previous reports, and information emerging in the proceedings are relevant. It is therefore incorrect to assume that a first contestation always entails a simple warning.

Immediate Revocation of the Driving License

The driving license can be withdrawn immediately for thirty days if, at the time of the assessment, you have direct and immediate availability of a motor vehicle. It is not necessary that driving in a state of alteration has already been demonstrated: this provisional measure stems from the availability of the vehicle during the assessment of the administrative offense.

If it is a moped, the law also provides for the withdrawal of the relative certificate and the administrative impoundment of the vehicle for thirty days. Provisional withdrawal does not coincide with the subsequent prefectural sanction: they are different measures, with distinct prerequisites and durations.

From Contestation to the Interview at the Prefecture

The substance is seized and subjected to analysis. When possible, the police immediately contest the fact and forward the report to the Prefect, with the toxicological results, without delay and in any case within ten days. The competent Prefect is normally the one of the place of residence or, failing that, of the domicile of the interested party.

If they deem the assessment well-founded, the Prefect adopts a summons order within forty days of receiving the report. The interview serves to evaluate the sanctions, their duration, and any invitation to follow a therapeutic, socio-rehabilitative, educational, or informative program.

The reported person can present defensive briefs and ask to be heard according to the discipline of administrative sanctions. In such a situation, if they do not order dismissal, the Prefect must adopt the reasoned order within the specific times provided by Article 75. Failure to participate in the interview entails the application of sanctions, so ignoring the summons does not stop the proceedings.

You can also request access and copies of the acts concerning you. If the report involves several people, extracts of the parts relating to your position may be released. This possibility is important when it is necessary to check analyses, quantities, packaging descriptions, and circumstances indicated by the officers.

Opposition to Measures

The order that deems the assessment well-founded and orders the summons can be contested before the Justice of the Peace within ten days of notification; for a minor, the Juvenile Court has jurisdiction. The subsequent decree applying the sanctions is also open to opposition before the ordinary judicial authority, according to a distinct discipline.

The terms are short and the provision must be read in full. Not all contestations have the same objective: one can discuss the identity of the substance, its actual availability, the personal destination, the regularity of the assessment, or the choice and duration of the sanctions. A generic defense does not replace the contestation of the decisive point.

Admonition, Programs, and Possible Revocation

On the first violation, a warning is not automatic. Paragraph 14 allows the Prefect to close the proceedings with a formal invitation not to use substances again only if the violation is of particular slightness and there are elements to believe that the person will not repeat the behavior.

This is a possibility left to prefectural evaluation, not a right recognized every time a previous report is missing. First time and particular slightness must occur together. Quantity, modalities of possession, behavior, and other available data can affect the decision.

The Prefect may also invite the person to follow a program prepared by the public addiction service or an authorized private structure. The path can have therapeutic, socio-rehabilitative, educational, or informative purposes, in relation to the concrete situation.

The positive outcome of the program can lead to the revocation of the sanctions. A simple registration or occasional participation is not enough: the positive completion of the relevant path pursuant to Article 75 must be established. The revocation is adopted by the Prefect and communicated to the authorities indicated by the rule.

What Choices to Consider After the Report

The first choice is to understand which qualification is being contested. A report drawn up pursuant to Article 75 opens an administrative proceeding; a report of a crime referring to Article 73 signals instead that the gathered elements have been deemed compatible with a destination for third parties. The strategies and authorities involved change radically.

In the administrative proceeding, you can assert observations before the decision, participate in the interview, and, when the prerequisites are met, propose opposition. Contesting everything without distinguishing the facts can be counterproductive: a correct quantity in the analysis, for example, does not exclude that the attributed availability or the interpretation of the packaging is wrong.

It is useful to keep the report, summons, analysis results, and notifications received. If possession concerns a medicine, relevant prescriptive documentation is also needed. These acts are enough to prepare a first comparison; it is not necessary to reconstruct artificial versions or versions agreed upon with other people, which can generate contradictions.

Do not drive during the withdrawal of the driving license and do not use an impounded moped. The violation of these measures produces autonomous consequences provided for by the Highway Code. Even when you intend to contest the provision, you must respect it as long as it remains effective or is not suspended by the competent authority.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a quantity below the limits always exclude the crime?

No, the quantitative limit is only one of the criteria. Active ingredient, packaging, tools, communications, and other circumstances must also be considered. A lower quantity may result destined for transfer; a higher quantity does not automatically prove dealing, but requires an explanation coherent with all elements.

Can my driving license be withdrawn even if I was not driving?

Yes, if you had direct and immediate availability of a vehicle at the time of the assessment. The provisional withdrawal provided for by Article 75 lasts thirty days and does not require, in itself, proof of driving in a state of alteration. The subsequent prefectural suspension is a distinct measure.

On the first report, do I only receive an admonition?

Not automatically. The Prefect can replace sanctions with the formal invitation not to use substances anymore when it is a first violation, the fact is of particular slightness, and there are elements to believe it will not be repeated. These are cumulative conditions.

Does the report appear in the criminal record?

The sanction of Article 75 is not a criminal conviction and does not generate, in itself, a precedent in the criminal record. However, the acts remain relevant for the administrative proceeding and for further measures expressly provided for by the single text, including evaluations in case of new reports.

Can I contest the Prefect's provision?

Yes, but the correct act and term must be identified. The order deeming the assessment well-founded and summoning to the interview is open to opposition within ten days. The decree applying the sanctions follows a distinct judicial discipline. It is advisable to read the notification immediately, without waiting for the deadline.

If I share the substance for free with a friend, is it still personal use?

Free delivery can constitute transfer. The absence of payment or profit is not enough to trace the fact back to Article 75. If a part of the substance is intended for another person, the conduct can assume criminal relevance; the concrete modalities of purchase, custody, and delivery prove decisive.

Facing the Report with Precise Information

A report for personal use requires attention, not alarmism. The report, the analyses, and the summons allow understanding whether the problem concerns the destination of the substance, the driving license, or the measure chosen by the Prefect. If you wish to clarify the meaning of the acts received and the available options, you can contact me before the deadlines indicated in the notification expire.