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

They plan to soften one of the toughest areas in the Criminal Code — narcotic. Such a bill of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation was supported by the Cabinet of Ministers. If a person is caught for acquisition or possession for the first time, he will not be sentenced to imprisonment (now he faces from 3 to 15 years). But they will be obliged to undergo treatment for addiction or social rehabilitation. In addition, the Supreme Court proposes to reduce the punishment under the article on the illegal acquisition, possession and transportation of drugs on a large scale without the purpose of sale — from the current 10-15 years to 5-10. About what reservations the government made in supporting the initiative, and why the Supreme Court insists on changes to the Criminal Code, see the Izvestia article.

Why soften anti-drug articles

The government, albeit with reservations, supported the relaxation of anti-drug legislation, which the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation insists on. These are articles of the Criminal Code on the acquisition and possession of drugs without the purpose of sale, cultivation of narcotic plants and forgery of prescriptions for narcotic substances. The draft law, developed by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, proposes to exclude from them the punishment of imprisonment if a person has committed such crimes for the first time.

The document also contains a proposal to impose on persons undergoing these articles for the first time the obligation to undergo drug addiction treatment, as well as medical or social rehabilitation, said Vladimir Gruzdev, Chairman of the Board of the Russian Bar Association.

— The Government also does not object to the application of a preferential procedure for crediting time in custody during the term of punishment to persons convicted under part 2 of Article 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (illegal acquisition, storage, transportation, manufacture, processing of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues, committed on a large scale and without the purpose of sale. — Ed.), — said the expert.

Over the past 20 years, changes in legislation have been aimed at strengthening responsibility for drug trafficking, the Supreme Court stated in an explanatory note. He also noted that the analysis of judicial practice proves the need for "a more balanced approach to choosing measures of responsibility for such acts, if they are not related to the sale of drugs."

The authors of the amendments added that crimes in the field of illicit trafficking in prohibited substances are often committed by people in need of rehabilitation, that is, their illness is a factor motivating them to commit a crime. In 2024, 50.8 thousand people were convicted of illegal acquisition, storage, transportation, manufacture, and processing of drugs without the purpose of sale, that is, for personal consumption. And for such crimes, Article 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for long terms of imprisonment — up to 15 years.

"Providing such convicts with the opportunity to undergo drug addiction treatment will become one of the important means of personality resocialization and prevention of repeated crimes," the Supreme Court believes.

How many drug crimes are there in Russia

According to statistics from the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court, in 2019-2024, 13% of all defendants were convicted of drug offences. In the explanatory note, this share is called significant.

"Young people, including minors, are often involved in activities related to drug trafficking," the explanatory note says. "Of those convicted of drug crimes in 2024, 33.8% were in the 18 to 29 age group, and 1.8% were under the age of majority at the time of the crime."

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in January-December 2025, 214.8 thousand crimes related to drug trafficking were detected, which is 8.4% more than in the same period last year. The number of detected crimes committed for the purpose of selling narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues increased by 17.6%.

The draft law of the Supreme Court proposes to reduce the maximum sentences under parts 2 and 3 of Article 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, that is, for large and especially large amounts. Currently, the maximum penalty is 10-15 years in prison, while the Supreme Court insists on reducing it to 5-10 years.

"Such harsh measures of responsibility and classifying an act as a particularly serious crime are also not in demand in judicial practice and limit the possibility of individualizing punishment, taking into account the specific circumstances of the case and information about the identity of the defendant," the explanatory note says.

However, the government did not support the provisions providing for lowering the upper and lower limits of sanctions, Vladimir Gruzdev added. The review emphasizes that such changes do not take into account the nature and degree of public danger of crimes committed on a large and especially large scale. In addition, they are not consistent with the Government's policy on combating drug trafficking.

— In addition, taking into account the retroactive force of the criminal law, the implementation of such norms may lead to a review of earlier court decisions, — said the Chairman of the Board of the AYR.

According to him, this creates the risk of releasing a significant number of convicts and their re-involvement in the criminal environment, as well as creates conditions for avoiding responsibility for the possible subsequent sale of drugs.

When will the bill be passed

The proposed changes are positive and are aimed at humanizing legislation, says Evgenia Privalova, a lawyer at Lobutev & Partners.

— For example, the restriction of the application of the general rule for calculating the time in custody, 1 day for 1.5 days of imprisonment, — said the expert. — This is certainly objective and fair, given that the degree of public danger of such acts is significantly different from a number of other crimes.

In her opinion, reducing the sanction to five years in prison for a large amount could change the category of crime to moderate severity.

"This will allow criminal cases to be handled in a special manner, that is, more quickly and without unnecessary red tape," she said.

Elena Chirkina, a lawyer at the Prilepskaya and Partners Moscow Bar Association, noted that in most cases, if a person is involved for the first time, the actual terms of imprisonment are not applied anyway.

"There are rare exceptions," she said. — The changes made make it possible to individualize punishment for the most part and still send the accused for treatment.

In addition, if the narcologist has established that the defendant suffers from drug addiction, the court obliges him to be treated.

— That is, in fact, the Supreme Court proposes to consolidate the established judicial practice in the norms of law, — said Elena Chirkina.

Another purpose of the amendments may be to relieve the burden on the judicial system due to the large number of cases in this category. But the expert noted that if the bill is adopted, the burden on medical institutions may increase: in particular, the number of people who will be registered as drug addicts will increase.

She believes that if the bill is finalized promptly, taking into account the government's claims, it can be submitted to the State Duma as early as the spring session.