Abstract
An attempt was made to assess the effect of psychotropic drug use on offenders' mental status at the moment of committing a criminal act. On the grounds of an analysis of 40 psychiatric court opinions on persons who had been under the influence of various psychotropic drugs at the moment of committing the criminal act they were accused of – it was found that the issue of these drugs effect on the offenders' mental status was either left out or insufficiently taken into account in the testimonials. An assessment of cause and determinants of this phenomenon was made, and its significance for accountability evaluation was emphasized.