Clinical Criminology at a Crossroads

The idea of a legal infraction, as it is conceived by the penal law on which it is based, is problematic when considering the infraction as it is experienced by the subject with his/her distinct characteristics and which are related to a variety of factors. Clinical criminology can be seen as being located between these two poles. Is a penal frame the best tool for resolving the conflict that caused the infraction? This paper uses the consumption of illegal drugs as an example. This paper departs from the perspective of English analytical philosophy, chosen because of its pragmatism and the opportunity it affords to observe, in both these cases, that the analysis refers to psychological and societal research, which forces us to reconsider the problem.