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- Responsible for the words: they want to increase fines for drug propaganda by 10 times
Responsible for the words: they want to increase fines for drug propaganda by 10 times
Fines for the promotion of drugs and psychotropic substances are proposed to be increased 10-fold due to the increase in such crimes. Their number has tripled in the last four years. A bill reinforcing responsibility has been sent to the government and will be submitted to the State Duma in the near future. Cases of such propaganda are recorded by bloggers, musical performers, as well as online.
Punishment for drug propaganda
In Russia, it is proposed to increase fines for the promotion of drugs and psychotropic substances tenfold. Such a bill with amendments to the Administrative Code was prepared for submission to the State Duma by deputies of the LDPR faction led by Leonid Slutsky. The document, which Izvestia has, states that responsibility for the promotion of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their precursors is provided for in Article 6.13 of the Administrative Code. However, the fines were established in 2010 (under Part 1 of Article 6.13 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation) and in 2020 (for parts 1.1 and 2 of Article 6.13 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation) and have not been revised since.
"At the same time, in 2024, the number of citizens punished for committing an administrative offense under this article increased threefold compared to the same data for 2020. Also, during this period, the number of people brought to administrative responsibility for the consumption of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances without a doctor's prescription or new potentially dangerous psychoactive substances has increased," the document says.
The authors of the bill also point to a significant increase in crimes related to drug trafficking. So, in January – April 2025, 79.4 thousand crimes were detected, which is 29.6% more than in the same period of 2024.
Currently, according to Article 6.13 of the Administrative Code "Propaganda of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their precursors", the perpetrators are punished according to three types of crimes. Including for illegal propaganda, for propaganda on the Internet and for propaganda of drugs by foreign citizens. Starting from September 1 of this year, Russia will also be responsible for distributing works of literature and art containing information about drugs and psychotropic substances. However, according to the State Duma, the fines for this will be low, as well as for propaganda in other areas. In connection with this draft law, it is proposed to amend the Administrative Code, increasing the size up to 10 times depending on the person who committed the administrative offense and the scope of the crime.
Thus, fines for distributing works of literature and art containing information about narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances are proposed to be increased for individuals from 2-4 thousand rubles to 10-25 thousand, for sole proprietors and officials from 10-30 thousand rubles to 25-50 thousand, for legal entities from 300-600 thousand rubles to 0.5–1 million rubles.
They want to increase the punishment for propaganda of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for individuals from 4-5 thousand rubles to 25-50 thousand rubles, for sole proprietors and officials — from 40-50 thousand rubles to 50-75 thousand rubles, for legal entities — from 0.8–1 million to 1-1.5 million.
For the promotion of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances on the Internet, fines are proposed to be increased for individuals from 5-30 thousand rubles to 50-75 thousand, for sole proprietors and officials from 50-100 thousand rubles to 75-100 thousand, for legal entities from 1-1.5 million rubles to 1.5–2 million.
They intend to increase the amount of penalties for the commission of the above offenses by a foreign citizen from 5-30 thousand to 50-100 thousand rubles.
— Now the fines for drug propaganda are negligible. This is clearly an inadequate punishment for those who promote deadly substances and make money from them. For them, it's just pennies. It is no coincidence that in recent years, according to official statistics, the number of drug addicts has tripled," Leonid Slutsky told Izvestia.
According to him, fines should reach 2 million rubles for promoting "drug culture" on the Internet, books, and works of art. Only such harsh measures can protect future generations from this fatal addiction, he noted.
Izvestia sent requests to the government and the Ministry of Justice with a request to assess the prospects for supporting the bill.
Why is the punishment proposed to be increased
Tougher penalties for drug propaganda are necessary, as fines for this crime have been imposed for quite some time, said Nikolai Arefyev, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy from the Communist Party faction.
— All such sanctions should be indexed along with the incomes of citizens. For example, the penalty of 2 thousand rubles is, of course, small. Therefore, it just needs to be indexed from the year it was installed. I believe that such a bill can be adopted, and all issues can be clarified by the second reading," the deputy explained to Izvestia.
Oleg Nilov, the first deputy chairman of the Fair Russia — For Truth faction, believes that responsibility should be even tougher than the LDPR suggests.
— Participation in a criminal group for the distribution and propaganda of drugs should be punishable up to the death penalty. If it is returned, it is for drug dealers who bring drugs to us. And a punishment of 10,000 or 20,000 rubles for the drug mafia will not change anything at all," the deputy said.
At the same time, according to him, tougher responsibility should be for everyone.: who consumes, trades, and promotes. If it is not a prison, then medical and labor dispensaries, where the perpetrators will have to atone for their guilt with labor, Oleg Nilov believes.
Indeed, at present, Russian legislation is not effective enough in combating the propaganda of drugs and narcotic substances, said Ruslan Isaev, president of the Independent Narcological Guild.
— All the same, we notice it in the video industry, in the songs of artists, and in popular bloggers. Of course, there must be fine jewelry work by experts who will record it and make conclusions. After all, the structure of consumption and the substances used change every year. For example, there are very few heroin addicts now, but new drugs have appeared," he explained to Izvestia.
At the same time, he believes that Russian hits of the 1990s, where this propaganda was present at that time, should not be punished, but now it is already part of pop music.
"Since I work with many rehabilitation centers, I can say that their occupancy rate has increased over the past year," said Nikita Lushnikov, representative of Russia's prevention and social rehabilitation programs at the United Nations and international organizations.
Therefore, any activity of deputies in suppressing and toughening penalties, including for propaganda, will benefit, the expert concluded.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
