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- Chance for life: The Supreme Court proposed sending drug addicts for compulsory treatment
Chance for life: The Supreme Court proposed sending drug addicts for compulsory treatment
Penalties for the purchase and possession of drugs may be reduced. Instead of a penal colony, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation proposes to introduce drug addiction treatment. But this will only apply to those who stored prohibited substances for no purpose of sale. According to experts, the revision of the approach from incarceration to an effective rehabilitation program is not only a humane, but also a socially appropriate step, since imprisonment does not solve the problems associated with drug addiction treatment. Whether the new norm will allow to combat chemical dependence is in the Izvestia article.
Renunciation of repression
The punishment for the purchase and possession of drugs without the purpose of sale may be mitigated by replacing imprisonment in a penal colony with treatment for drug addiction. The relevant bill has been submitted to the plenum of the Supreme Court of Russia.
In 2024, more than 69,000 people were convicted of drug crimes, according to the explanatory note to the bill. At the same time, over 50,000 of them were convicted of acquiring, storing, transporting, manufacturing and processing prohibited substances for personal use. 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are the most common among all crimes related to drug trafficking (73%).
The analysis of judicial practice conducted by the judicial body showed that the legislator needs a more balanced approach to the choice of punishment. It is noted that crimes without the purpose of sale are often committed by those who need treatment for drug addiction. It is assumed that providing them with the opportunity to undergo rehabilitation will become an important means of personal resocialization and prevention of repeated crimes.
One of the innovations is related to the exclusion of punishment in the form of imprisonment for the first time illegal acquisition, possession, manufacture of drugs on a significant scale without the purpose of sale. The measure will also apply to the cultivation of plants containing narcotic substances and the illegal issuance or forgery of drug prescriptions. Instead of imprisonment, a person who has committed these crimes will be required to undergo drug addiction treatment, as well as medical and social rehabilitation.
The bill also provides for lowering the upper thresholds of sanctions for large-scale and especially large-scale drug trafficking without the purpose of sale. Punishment for a crime under Part 2 of Article 228 may be imprisonment for up to five years. The sanction of Part 3 of Article 228 may face a sentence of up to 10 years in a penal colony without specifying the lower limits.
In addition, the highest court proposed to establish deferrals from punishment in the form of imprisonment for a first-time crime committed under Part 2 of Article 228 to a citizen who was recognized as a drug addict if he voluntarily wanted to undergo treatment.
Another aspect of mitigation proposed by the Supreme Court is the abolition of the norm, according to which one day in custody for those convicted under the above articles is equivalent to one day in prison, as for those convicted of terrorism.
The judicial body believes that the proposed bill reduces excessive repression of existing norms, while not providing for a radical liberalization of criminal law policy in the field of countering drug trafficking.
An analysis of judicial practice shows that the current sanctions under Article 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation often turn out to be excessively harsh, confirms Sean Betrozov, a practicing lawyer at the Moscow Chamber of Lawyers and a member of the Russian Bar Association. Courts rarely set the maximum time limits stipulated by law, which indicates the need to review responsibility.
— The need for mitigation of punishment is due to both practical considerations related to the effectiveness of criminal policy, and humanistic principles involving an individual approach to everyone, — the expert is convinced.
The topic of humanizing punishments has been discussed for a long time and has some support among the human rights community, some deputies and the Public Chamber, says Betrozov. Given the workload of the prison system, the growing number of recidivists and the unjustified costs of maintaining convicts, the initiative can be perceived as pragmatic and timely.
— However, there are significant barriers. The Prosecutor General's Office has already spoken out against mitigation, appealing to the public danger of drug crimes. The stereotype that has developed in society that any relaxation is a "path to legalization" can also influence the adoption of a new norm, the lawyer adds.
Effective fight
Meanwhile, representatives of the professional community are optimistic about the Supreme Court's proposal. Mitigation of punishment for the purchase and possession of drugs without the purpose of sale is an important step in the fight against drug addiction, said Ruslan Isaev, head of the psychiatric and drug Treatment Clinic of Dr. Isaev, president of the Independent Narcological Guild.
— In practice, we see that the vast majority of those convicted for the first time under such articles are dependent people who need first of all treatment, not imprisonment. As a rule, these are young people, often with the remaining potential for social adaptation, recovery and recovery," the expert draws attention.
First of all, people with chemical dependence need treatment because they have a chronic, incurable, progressive disease, confirms Andrey Ivanov, a narcologist and head of a private addiction treatment center. The colony is not a place for drug addiction treatment, agrees Alina Rudakova, deputy chairman of the Board of the National Anti—Drug Union. Especially when it comes to those who have been caught with a small dose of drugs intended for personal use.
Imprisonment can put a person into temporary remission, since he will find himself in conditions that exclude drug use, admits the interlocutor of Izvestia. However, without concomitant therapy — drug support and work with specialized specialists — the convict is highly likely to start using again after release.
Meanwhile, an effective rehabilitation program significantly reduces the risk of reoffending. And one of the goals of criminal prosecution, in accordance with Article 43 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, is to prevent the commission of a new crime, Isaev recalls.
Patients of the rehabilitation drug treatment center of the Tambov Psychiatric Clinical Hospital prepare food during the training of household skills
— Drug addiction treatment is a direct, most effective prevention of relapse. This is confirmed by international studies and our own clinical experience," the narcologist is convinced.
However, if you refuse to incarcerate in favor of treatment, you will first need to prove that the defendant is indeed a chemically dependent person, warns Ivanov. This should confirm the conclusion of the expert commission.
— If it is received, the person should be immediately sent from the courtroom for compulsory medical treatment. Or he can be given a choice: treatment or conclusion," the doctor believes.
The opposite effect
However, there is a risk that the commutation of punishment may be perceived as a signal of reducing the public danger of these acts, warns Sean Betrozov. And this can lead to an increase in the number of offenses in this area.
— In addition, there remains a danger that persons involved in the sale of narcotic drugs will use the mitigation of punishment to disguise their activities as actions unrelated to the purpose of sale, — the lawyer admits.
Potentially, the mitigation of punishment may also affect the prevalence of drugs among adolescents, he does not exclude.
— The easing of sanctions may be perceived by young people as a signal about the permissibility of experiments with prohibited substances. The adolescent environment is particularly sensitive to the perception of the limits of what is permitted, and criminal punishment is often perceived as a strong deterrent," explains the Izvestia interlocutor.
But it is important to keep in mind that most of the teenagers who fall under art. 228, they do not need a colony, but support, the expert clarifies.
— In order to minimize the negative effect, the reform should be accompanied by educational work and strict control over the application of new standards. The law should not inspire a sense of impunity. On the contrary, it should demonstrate that a person gets a chance only once, and this chance is not an indulgence, but a strict treatment regime," Betrozov emphasizes.
The issue of control
Attempts to introduce alternative liability for crimes related to drug trafficking were made by legislators in Russia 10 years ago, Ruslan Isaev recalls.
— Unfortunately, the legal mechanism was not adjusted at that time and we did not get the desired effect. The problem is that the application of such standards is not automatic. This requires compliance with a special procedure, including a medical examination, the conclusion of specialists, the consent of the convict himself, and so on," explains the narcologist. And the courts did not always have the necessary resources and information.
In this regard, the key task now is not only to consolidate the fundamental possibility of replacing punishment with treatment, but also to develop a clear, transparent and working algorithm for its application, the expert is convinced.
But even the system of drug treatment in the country today is not fully developed, warns Alina Rudakova. This process is not regulated properly.
— The private and public sectors work separately, periodically interacting. The standards for providing assistance in terms of social rehabilitation are advisory in nature," the Izvestia interlocutor lists.
The public sector may not be able to handle the large flow of patients being referred to rehabilitation centers, she warns. This risk should be considered especially in the regions. When the private sector is involved in this work, the question arises how exactly institutions will be selected and the treatment of such patients will be paid for.
The problem also lies in the fact that some private rehabilitation centers are rather commercial projects aimed at earning money, Andrei Ivanov draws attention.
— The cost of a stay, as a rule, differs significantly from the cost of treatment. And patients' relatives are told that they need to be kept in the center longer, although there are no guarantees that a person will not return to drinking after leaving," the narcologist points out.
It should also be borne in mind that the treatment of drug addiction is a purely individual process, which can take from six months to a year and a half, Rudakova notes. And it is not yet very clear how much time the patient will be given by law for treatment and integration into society.
— To date, there is no comprehensive mechanism in the law that would guarantee that an addict will actually receive effective treatment. This requires supervision by the penitentiary authorities, the participation of the Ministry of Health and the development of new bylaws," emphasizes Sean Betrozov.
First of all, the penal enforcement inspectorate will monitor the execution of the punishment, the lawyer believes. However, it cannot evaluate a medical result by itself. Therefore, the effectiveness of treatment should be confirmed by the medical institution conducting rehabilitation.
— While such procedures are not clearly defined at the legislative level, the success of the program will largely depend on the quality of interdepartmental cooperation and the discipline of the convicts themselves. Without proper monitoring, there is a risk of profanation of treatment, in which fictitious certificates will replace rehabilitation. This requires preliminary legislative preparation and reform of the drug treatment service," the Izvestia interlocutor sums up.
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