Russian Federation: Battle not over in drug-law changes

As reported in the last issue of the Review, in late 2003 the Russian Parliament amended the national drug law to allow for the possibility of less harsh penalties for small-scale drug users. The Parliament left the development of accompanying regulations to the federal drug-control authorities and the Ministry of Health. These two entities were meant to recommend new levels of minimum dosages that would qualify users for criminal penalties if those amounts were found in their possession. Rather than acting in the spirit of the Parliament's amendment, in March 2004 the drug-control authorities circulated a proposal for minimum dosages so tiny that virtually any level of possession would incur a long prison sentence.