HEALTH-RUSSIA: Mandatory Drugs Testing May Not Work

Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW, Jul 16 2007 (IPS) – Russian authorities plan to enforce mandatory testing to detect drugs use among students joining academic institutions this year. It will be a tough task ahead.
This measure, although very complex in its practical implementation, will help save many lives of young people in the productive labour force, Sergey Oleynik, president of Penza AntiAIDS Foundation, and chairman of All-Russian Harm Reduction Network told IPS.

But it needs careful approach, and must not abuse the rights of drug users. Establishment of an effective network of rehabilitation centres is also necessary for this nationwide health programme.

Compulsory testing itself could be a doubtful tool, he said. It is a myth that drug users don t want to stop using drugs. They want to quit, but the system is not capable of satisfying the needs of its patients.

Compulsory medical testing could become ineffective simply because government officials are not taking adequate responsibility for fear of failure and criticism from rights groups, he said.

A survey conducted last month in ten cities found that more than 90 percent users want to quit using drugs, but that the state system fails them. Half the people surveyed said they were abused while undergoing treatment. That meant beatings, restrictions on freedom of movement, curbs on visits by relatives, and a refusal by doctors to provide painkillers.
Galina Saganenko, head of the public organisation Azaria Mothers Against Drugs told IPS that many drug treatment clinics take money for low quality services and shift the responsibility for failure of treatment on patients and their families.

For many, the possibility of having their name added to the narcological register also poses a serious obstacle to seeking drugs treatment. The register, which was initially developed for monitoring the progress of patients, has become an instrument of surveillance, she said.

According to the Federal Drug Control Service, a department under the Ministry of Interior, there are six million drug users in Russia, and more than 15 million Russians have tried illicit drugs at least once. Russia has a population of 143 million.

Up to 100,000 people die of drugs overdose and excessive use of psychoactive substances every year. Criminal groups are widely using the Internet to advertise, promote and spread drugs among the youth, the federal service says.

But AIDS Foundation East West (AFEW), a non-profit Dutch organisation, also doubts that compulsory medical testing could help solve the problem.

Testing should not replace prevention, Natalia Khodakevich of AFEW told IPS. Comprehensive prevention programmes for young people is something that is lacking at the moment.

Tatarstan republic about 500 miles east of Moscow has already introduced drug testing among students. But authorities find that young people are now trying to avoid checkups.

There is also some concern that a move towards mandatory testing could be illegal.

Lev Levinson, head of New Drug Policy, a public organisation that provides expert advice on legislation related to issues of drugs and narcotics, says mandatory testing violates the basic constitutional principles presumption of innocence and the right to respect for private life.

In this country the statistics on stealing is not less worrying than the statistics on drug use, but nobody is suggesting examination of all passengers in the metro to see if they by any chance stole something, Levinson said.

Rights groups also criticise plans for forced medical treatment for drug users, and say the proposed measure could revive the Soviet-era system of imposing official policy on the population.

The question of applying compulsion to control drugs spread seems good and has some common sense, but its implementation will create problems as nobody would like to be forced against his will, Lyudmila Alexeyeva, head of Moscow s Helsinki Group, a rights organisation, told IPS. I think it s necessary to convince victims about the importance it has for their health.