Change of the drug legislation in 2005 has aimed at less severe punishment of drug users with the emphasis on alternative measures and treatment and increased punishment for drug producers and dealers. The article analysis whether these aims have been accomplished in practice. It is based on results of the research project Evaluation of the implementation of selected drug provisions of the Penal Code, more specifically its part focusing on analysis of the penal process in drug crime cases and of expert opinions of professions involved in it. The research was carried out by semi-structured interviews with police, prosecutors, judges and attorneys and by analysis of court cases. During the research 67 interviews were carried out and 54 court cases analyzed. These sources served as a base for selecting case studies of drug possession cases (120) that were analyzed by a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Expert opinion analysis was based on qualitative coding and analytical categorization. Case studies combined with expert opinions allowed for analysis of penal process in drug possession crimes examining the context and causal relations. When comparing legislators' intention with its implementation in practice it was proved that distinction of possession crimes based on quantitative indicator of the amount of "single doses as defined for legal purposes" has led to lowering the ability to judge a case on individual basis allowing for consideration of the overall situation of a user. In general, new legislation has improved the situation of drug users but there still remains a group of possession cases punished as severely as producers and drug dealers. In addition, the intention to focus on alternative measures and treatment in drug possession cases has not been translated into practice.

Key words: drug policy – drug legislation – law enforcement – drug crimes