Social and legal factors in the criminalization of counterfeit drugs and treatment of counterfeit medical products

In accordance with Article 74 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, to protect citizens from unsafe and substandard products, including medical ones, is the pivotal task of the state. The distribution of the latter poses a serious threat to the life and health of the population. Its damage is amplified by the fact that medicines which are daily or frequently taken are the most likely to be counterfeited. The study reviews the social and legal factors in the criminalization of counterfeit drugs and treatment of counterfeit medical products. The author describes the details of the most important ones: the severe damage done by such criminal acts, the increased threat to the interests of state and society, the anti-social focus, the inefficient counteraction to the unlawful behavior in this regard, the compliance of the penal prohibition with the expectations of society and well-established standards of social behavior.