The draft law On Introducing Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation Regarding the Establishment of a Rehabilitation System for Individuals Abusing Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances, and Anti-Drug Trafficking Efforts submitted by State Duma deputy Irina Yarovaya.
The Government of the Russian Federation has reviewed the submitted draft federal law.
Article 1 of the draft law proposes to add to Clause 1, Article 311 of the federal law On Non-Profit Organisations, hereinafter referred to as the Federal Law, “the medical and social rehabilitation of drug addicts conducted in accordance with procedures established by the federal executive body responsible for developing state policy and legislative regulation in healthcare,” as an activity for which a non-profit organisation is deemed socially-oriented.
However, according to Clause 21 of Article 2 and Sub-clause 9, Clause 1 of Article 311 of the federal law, non-profit organisations are deemed socially-oriented when they carry out activities in accordance with their founding documents, in particular, activities in healthcare, disease prevention and health protection, promoting a healthy lifestyle, improving people’s moral and psychological wellbeing and assisting in the aforesaid activity, as well as supporting people’s personal spiritual development.
Clause 3 of Article 3 in the draft law proposes that medical and social rehabilitation of drug addicts be excluded from the activities performed by state, municipal and private healthcare institutions and be transferred to socially-oriented non-profit organisations, which would unjustifiably narrow the range of organisations providing these services.
Article 5 of the draft law introduces an amendment in Article 6.9 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation (COAO), hereinafter referred to as COAO, by excluding administrative responsibility in the form of a fine for using narcotic or psychotropic substances without a prescription, except as stated in Section 3 of Article 20.20, Article 20.22 of the COAO, retaining only the administrative arrest for up to 15 days as the penalty for committing this kind of offence.
Meanwhile, according to Section 2 of Article 3.9 of the COAO, administrative arrest is warranted only in exceptional cases for a limited number of administrative offences and may not be administered to pregnant women, women with children under 14 years of age, individuals under 18 years old, invalids in the 1st and 2nd disability categories, servicemen, individuals conscripted for military service, as well as employees of a certain rank at law enforcement agencies, penal system bodies and institutions, the State Fire Service, anti-drug trafficking agencies, and customs authorities.
The aforesaid remarks can be taken into account in the course of further work on the draft law.