Reconstructing Indonesian Drug Abuse Law via Progressive Legal Theory for Substantive Justice

Iskandar Iskandar; Hamdani Nugraha; Ryan Fachryan Lesmana Putra; Sarip Hidayat; Diah Nurafifah

doi:10.26623/julr.v9i4.14678

Authors

Iskandar Iskandar Universitas Muhammadiyah Kuningan
Hamdani Nugraha
Ryan Fachryan Lesmana Putra
Sarip Hidayat
Diah Nurafifah Universitas Muhammadiyah Kuningan https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4845-3542 (unauthenticated)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26623/julr.v9i4.14678

Keywords:

Drug Abuse, Legal Reconstruction, Progressive Law, Rehabilitation, Substantive Justice

Abstract

This study aims to reconstruct Indonesia’s legal framework for drug abuse through Satjipto Rahardjo’s progressive legal theory to strengthen recovery, human dignity, and substantive justice. The persistent dominance of punitive responses, despite the rehabilitation-oriented framework under Law Number 35 of 2009 concerning Narcotics, reveals a gap between normative provisions and their implementation, particularly in distinguishing drug abusers from illicit traffickers and integrating criminal justice with health-based interventions. This study employs a descriptive-analytical normative legal method using statutory and conceptual approaches. Primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials were analyzed through systematic, teleological, and futuristic interpretation to identify normative inconsistencies and formulate a future-oriented legal reconstruction. The findings demonstrate that a progressive-integrative model should be built upon five interconnected dimensions: reorientation of the legal status of drug abusers, integration of criminal justice and health systems, strengthening of diversion and restorative justice, reformulation of rehabilitation institutions, and transformation of legal culture. The novelty of this study lies in integrating these five dimensions into a unified reconstruction model that positions the Integrated Assessment Team as a gatekeeper for determining penal or rehabilitative pathways through multidisciplinary legal, medical, psychological, and social assessment. The model provides a conceptual basis for reformulating narcotics provisions, establishing accountable rehabilitation standards, improving interinstitutional coordination, and advancing a recovery-oriented framework of substantive justice.

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