The draft law on reducing the time for the purchase and possession of drugs was submitted to the State Duma

The Supreme Court of Russia has submitted to the State Duma a bill providing for a reduction in prison terms for the purchase and possession of drugs on a large and especially large scale. The relevant document was posted on the electronic database of the lower house of Parliament on May 15.

"The bill proposes to establish in the sanctions of part 2 of Article 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation a penalty in the form of imprisonment for up to five years, and in the sanctions of part 3 of this article — up to 10 years without specifying the lower limits of sanctions," the explanatory note says.

It is noted that the changes will ensure a greater degree of individualization of criminal liability of persons whose illegal behavior is not related to the sale of drugs. In addition, it is proposed to expand the possibilities of treatment, medical and social rehabilitation of convicted drug addicts.

He says goodbye once: they won't put you in jail for your first drug purchase

The Supreme Court called for a reduced sentence and an individual approach to such crimes.

On February 27, Professor Galina Korchagina, a member of the International Committee for Drug Control (INCB), Deputy Director for Science of the NSC of Narcology, a branch of the FSBI "NMICPN named after V.P. Serbsky" of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, said that a significant increase in the illicit manufacture of synthetic drugs was recorded in the countries of the European region, while potent synthetic opioids pose a particular threat to Baltic countries. According to the expert, by the end of 2024, a total of 1,000 different types of psychoactive substances were monitored in the Early Warning System of the European Union.