• Drug use among the general population and young people
• Prevention
• Problem drug use
• Treatment demand
• Drug-related infectious diseases
• Drug-related deaths
• Treatment responses
• Harm reduction responses
• Drug markets and drug-related offences
• National drug laws
• National drug strategy
• Coordination mechanism in the field of drugs
• References

The Republic of Belarus (Belarus) is located in eastern Europe, bordering Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and Ukraine. The territory of Belarus covers 207 600 square kilometres. According to preliminary data (January 2008), the population of Belarus is reported to be 9 687 700, of whom 4 521 300 (46.7 %) are male and 5 168 400 (53.3 %) female. 7 108 000 inhabitants (73.4 %) live in urban areas and 2 581 700 (26.6 %) in rural areas.

Belarus consists of six regions (‘oblast’): Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Minsk, and Mogilev. Together, these comprise 118 administrative units called districts (‘rayon’) plus the capital city of Minsk which is given a special status. Minsk is also the largest city in Belarus (1 814 700), followed by Gomel, Mogilev, Vitebsk, and Grodno.

Drug use among the general population and young people

Until 2007, drug use among the general population had not been studied in Belarus. In 2007, with the support of the UNODC Regional Office for Russia and Belarus, a regional school survey on alcohol and other drugs use was conducted using the Russian translations of the ESPAD questionnaire as the research basis (Avseevich, Anonymous and Anonymous, 2008). The survey was organised by the Commission for Juvenile Affairs of the Brest Regional Executive Committee and the NGO ‘Kalegium’ located in the town of Pinsk. The survey objective was to obtain reliable information on the use of various kinds of psychoactive substances among schoolchildren and young people studying in secondary education institutions in the Brest oblast. A representative sampling of the population of 21 683 secondary school students in the region included 1 585 teenagers born in 1991 and attending secondary schools or vocational training institutions. According to the results of the survey, cigarette (tobacco) smoking and alcohol were the substances most commonly reported among the respondents. 58.7 % of the students had tried tobacco at least once and 16.1 % had smoked repeatedly.

Altogether, 86 % of the respondents had tried alcohol at least once, and 16 % had regularly (over 40 times in their life) consumed alcohol. 10.5 % of the surveyed boys and 3.5 % of the surveyed girls reported lifetime use of any illegal drug. Among illegal drugs, marijuana dominated (6.8 % of all the respondents), followed by ecstasy (1.3 %), LSD (0.9 %), and hallucinogenic mushrooms (0.4 %). 5.3 % of the respondents had used inhalants, and 1.1 % of the respondents had reportedly used tranquillizers without the doctor’s order at least once. The study suggests that only a few respondents had used these psychoactive substances regularly, for example only 11 respondents (0.7 %) reported having smoked marijuana 10 or more times.
In the framework of the BUMAD project activities, a nationwide representative school study is being implemented during 2008. The study enjoys direct inclusion into the ESPAD programme, is coordinated by CAN (Sweden) and supported by the EMCDDA, and fully follows ESPAD standards.

top of page

Prevention

School-based prevention activities in Belarus are coordinated by the Ministry of Education. According to the decision taken by the Education Minister, universal prevention activities shall be conducted in educational establishments by distributing information on the negative consequences of drug use, publishing brochures and other information materials with the relevant content, including posters, booklets etc. Lectures, workshops and seminars, as well as other educational events shall be held for schoolchildren, university students and staff, along with newspaper and radio coverage of the topic.
A special course, ‘Prevention of drug abuse and AIDS’, based on the principle of education towards a healthy lifestyle is being introduced into the curriculum of universities, law schools and teacher training colleges in Belarus.

In addition to the Ministry of Education, officers tasked with juvenile offender inspections within the Ministry of Interior deal with primary drug prevention among children and teenagers.

International organisations substantially contribute to drug abuse prevention in Belarus. For example, since 2004 (to continue until 2009) the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has been supporting the joint UNDP/Ministry of Health project ‘HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Belarus’. In 2004–07, EUR 403 600 were allocated for the implementation of the project component ‘Organising constant information and education activities on HIV/AIDS prevention’. The component mainly trains school counsellors, psychologists, healthcare and other specialists working with young people. Its aims include (i) to effectively discuss problems of HIV, drug use and sexually-transmitted infections with schoolchildren; (ii) to elaborate informational and educational materials and programmes encouraging young people to practice safe behaviour in terms of HIV prevention; (iii) to design and maintain an interactive Internet site for young people; and (iv) to hold mass informational and educational events attracting young people’s and public attention to HIV prevention issues.

From 2003 until 2008 the UN Development Programme, with the financial support of the European Commission, has been implementing the Programmefor the Prevention of Drug Abuse and the Fight against Drug Trafficking in Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova (BUMAD). In 2007–08, within this programme framework about EUR 46 700 were allocated for drug abuse prevention targeting schoolchildren and young people. The prevention activities include: (i) informing young people and general public on the risks and consequences associated with drug abuse; (ii) improving the qualification of the specialists dealing with drug abuse prevention; (iii) arranging interagency cooperation in the field of drug abuse prevention.
While implementing the prevention project activities, the BUMAD programme intends to (i) improve public awareness of drug abuse issues; (ii) to train school counsellors and specialists in charge of school-based drug abuse prevention in applying interactive drug prevention methods; (iii) to compile and publish an informational booklet and a drug abuse prevention guide for teachers and children’s officers; and (iv) to elaborate recommendations as regards working out national strategies for drug abuse prevention.

Apart from state agencies, several NGOs are also involved in drug abuse prevention. Their activities include: lectures and discussions held in educational institutions with former drug addicts involved as consultants; seminars for teachers on the interactive methods and drama elements applied in school-based drug prevention activities.

top of page

Problem drug use

No scientifically-sound, reliable estimates of the extent of either problem drug use or injection drug use are available in Belarus. Thus, the extent of this most-at-risk drug using population is not known.

The only source of information about injecting drug users in the country is a non-anonymous Narcological Register (NR), where the data about people who test positive for the presence of illegal drugs metabolites (based on urine tests), are recorded by law.

The NR consists of a ‘Dispensary Narcological Register’ and a ‘Prevention Narcological Register’. The ‘Dispensary Narcological Register’ includes persons diagnosed with an addiction according to ICD-10 criteria. The ‘Prevention Narcological Register’ includes non-addicted patients who are suspected of using drugs (i.e. their urine tested positive, using strip-test screening). The reasons for including a person on the Narcological Register may be an individual’s visit to a doctor, or a request from relatives, the police, medical institutions, employer, educational establishments, military service commissions or inspections for juvenile offenders. All persons who test positive for drug use in the urine test, including those at police stations, are then observed/examined for drug addiction.

Identified drug addicts remain under medical observation ( ) for three years, while non-addicted drug users remain under observation for a year. At the end of the observation period, the patient may be removed from the NR on the following grounds: recovery (or ‘prolonged remission’ in the Belarusian medical terminology), imprisonment, change of place of residence, transfer to another medical institution (psychiatric clinic), death, or transfer from the ‘Prevention Narcological Register’ to the ‘Dispensary Narcological Register’. However, the observation can be extended indefinitely for the patients that continue using drugs.

According to the Ministry of Health’s data, as of the end of 2007, the Narcological Register included 6 695 injecting drug users (IDUs) (62.9 % of all registered drug users). 44 % of IDUs were registered as part of police procedures, 24.5 % were registered due to treatment referrals from other medical institutions. 1 418 of IDUs (21.2 %) registered with narcologists of their own accord. Of the 6 695 registered IDUs, 13 % were registered in 2007, 41.3 % between 2002 and 2006, and 45.7 %, prior to 2002.

Of the registered IDUs, 4 536 individuals or 67.8 % were placed on the so-called ‘dispensary part’ of the Narcologoical Register for patients with a physical dependency syndrome (according to ICD-10). The rest of the IDUs with a short drug experience were placed on the prevention register. The most common drug types used by the registered IDUs were opiates, at 95.7 %, including injectable opium (at 76 %) and heroin (at 11.9 % of all registered IDUs). The use of other opioids — morphine, codeine, illegal methadone — was less prevalent. Stimulants were a preferred drug for 2.6 % of all IDUs. Sedatives and soporifics administered by NR registrees through injection accounted for only 0.8 % of IDUs.

top of page

Treatment demand

In Belarus, the Narcological Service is a network of specialised outpatient and inpatient medical units in the healthcare system, providing treatment to alcohol and drug users. The Narcological Service in Belarus maintains the so-called ‘Narcological Register’ of non-anonymous persons who are kept under dispensary observation due to drug abuse and/or addiction. For details on the register, see the ‘Problem drug use’ chapter above.

According to the Ministry of Health, 10 647 people were registered as non-addicted drug users or addicts on the NR at the beginning of 2008, excluding those who were withdrawn from the Narcological Register. Out of these 10 647 people, 5 346 or 50.2 % are included on the ‘Dispensary Narcological Register’ and 5 252 are on the ‘Prevention Register’.

In 2007, 1 879 drug users were removed from the Narcological Register; 639 (34 %) of them were removed from the ‘Dispensary Register’. 33.2 % of the patients released from the ‘Dispensary Register’ recovered, 38.7 % were imprisoned, 15 % changed their place of residence, 11.3 % died, 1.3 % were transferred to another medical institution, and 0.5 % of the patients were removed from the register due to other or unspecified reasons.

In 2007, the narcological institutions of Belarus registered 918 injecting drug users (IDUs) for the first time in their lives. Notably, the share of the IDUs registered in 2007 made up 47.7 % of all those recorded in the register for their first time (1 923 patients). 50 % of the newly-registered injecting drug users were listed on the dispensary register, the rest were listed on the prevention register. Cases on the prevention register were included after several episodes of injecting drug use, but their addiction was not diagnosed using ICD-10 criteria. Apart from the recorded cases of drug injection, 84 drug users (4.4 % of all cases revealed in 2007) admitted to having combined several drugs in different patterns, including injecting.

According to the Ministry of Health, 2 532 drug patients or 26.1 per 100 000 people received medical aid at the narcological institutions of Belarus (the indicator closest to the EMCDDA ‘All treatment demand’) in 2007.

1 979 of all medically treated persons received medical treatment at narcological inpatient clinics, while 553 received medical assistance as day patients at the outpatient clinics. 435 (17.2 %) of all the drug patients treated in 2007 were females, while 190 (7.5 %) were minors under 18 years of age. 78.2 % of the drug patients treated had a diagnosed drug dependency syndrome (according to ICD-10) Others (21.8 %) were diagnosed as ‘abusing narcotic drugs (toxic substances) with harmful consequences’.

top of page

Drug-related infectious diseases

HIV-positive patients are only registered when they have been diagnosed by the ELISA test two or three times. After a thorough clinical examination, the Western blot test is required for final confirmation of the ELISA results. Any HIV tests are provided in medical institutions exclusively. Thus, the official statistics cover an unknown portion of HIV-positive persons (experts ‘guesstimate’ that only one sixth of HIV-positive persons in Belarus are registered.

The HIV situation in Belarus was relatively stable between 1987 and 1995, with only 113 cases registered by January 1996. During this period, the main way of transmitting HIV was through heterosexual intercourse, constituting 78 % of all cases. The situation changed in 1996, when the number of HIV-positive people registered suddenly rose to 1 134. According to the Department of Prevention (2001), the reason for this rapid increase was drug use. The first outbreak of HIV-infection in the country was registered in the town of Svetlogorsk where 90 % of all the identified cases were in intravenous drug users (Department of AIDS Prevention, 2001).

According to the data provided by the Department for AIDS Prevention of the National Centre for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public Health, in the period 1987–2007, 8 737 cases of HIV infection were officially registered (90.3 cases per 100 000 inhabitants) (Department of AIDS Prevention, 2007).

According to the WHO criteria, Belarus is now at the ‘initial stage’ of an HIV/AIDS outbreak, though in the Gomel Region, where the spread of HIV-infection is significantly higher (317.7 cases per 100 000 inhabitants), the situation is in a ‘concentrated stage’. Altogether, 4 665 (53 % of all known cases in Belarus) are registered in the Gomel Region; and 2 147 (28 % of all cases) are registered exclusively in the town of Svetlogorsk.
Out of all the known HIV-positive cases, women make up 35 %. Young people aged 15–29 constitute the majority of HIV-infected patients (71.5 % of the total number). During the last decade, the ratio of young people aged 15–19 among all HIV-positive persons decreased from 24.5 % in 1996 to 3.9 % in 2007.

Intravenous drug users constitute the majority of the 8 737 registered cases. As of January 2008, 5 229 of the registered HIV-positive patients (59.8 %) had a history of drug use.

In 2007, there were 990 newly-registered cases of HIV-infection, as compared to 733 in 2006. The share of heterosexually-transmitted infections has been increasing every year, from 7 % in 1996 to 63.4 % in 2006 and 66.8 % in 2007.

By 2008, a total of 1 212 deaths were recorded across the country among people living with HIV and 888 (73.3 %) were drug users.

Seroprevalence studies were carried out among injection drug users in Belarus in 2006 by the Department for AIDS Prevention of the National Centre for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public Health (Meleshko, 2008). The survey target included 2 492 IDUs from 18 populated localities, including the capital and the regional centres. Among the examined IDUs, 16.7 % ± 0.7 [CI=95%] were found to be HIV-positive. The seropositive index for hepatitis B in the sample stood at 13.3 % ± 0.7 across the country, while for hepatitis C it amounted to 39.0 % ± 0.8. In 2007, no seroprevalence studies were conducted among IDUs in Belarus, and another study is planned for the end of 2008.

In Belarus, local polyclinics and infectious disease hospitals register persons infected with viral hepatitis, providing them with medical help and advice. Regional departments of the National Centre for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public Health of the Ministry of Health collect information relating to the spread of hepatitis from region to region, and conduct epidemiological surveillance of infection prevalence in Belarus. The viral hepatitis of type C prevails in the etiological structure of parenteral viral hepatitis. In 2007, 67.4 % of all newly revealed patients and carriers were viral hepatitis C cases.
However, medical institutions in Belarus do not keep a special track of hepatitis carriers and patients who use drugs as this is not yet required by the state statistical reporting.

In Belarus, when drug users are put on the Narcological Register, they undergo a compulsory test for HIV, antiHCV and HBsAg — regardless of the method of drug administration. In 2005–07, there were 395 cases (6.4 %) reported of viral hepatitis among the 6 182 newly-registered drug users. Among them, 305 (77.2 %) were IDUs, and 224 (56.7 %) were opioid users. HCV was the prevailing viral agent of diagnosed hepatitis in newly-registered drug users, counting for 68.1 % of detected cases (269). Among this population of registered drug users, there were 41 (10.4 %) HIV and HCV positive cases, and 1 (0.3 %) HIV and HBV positive cases. 21 cases (5.3 %) among drug users were found to be positive for HBV, while 18 cases (5.3 %) were found to be positive for both HCV and HBV. Two drug users (0.5 %) were found to be carriers of HIV, HCV and HBV together. Among other cases, unidentified and other types of hepatitis were recorded.

top of page

Drug-related deaths

The main source of information on the mortality of drug users is the data on patients who had been registered and released from the Narcological Register following their death in 2004–06. Statistical data on drug-related deaths (DRSs) were collected in accordance with the ICD-10 statistical classification. The causes of death were assessed by the physicians having witnessed the moment of the death, the doctors who had treated the patients, and by the pathologists or by the forensic medical experts.

In 2007, 91 deaths were registered among the drug users on the list, accounting for 8.5 per 1 000 of all persons registered by the narcological institutions (10 647). In 2006, there were 123 cases reported of narcological patients’ deregistration due to their death. In 2004–06 there were 430 deaths among registered drug users cumulatively. 79.5 % of them were with diagnosed dependency syndrome (the Dispensary Register), and 20.5 % were persons registered as sporadic drug users.

Among the 91 DRD cases in 2007, 85, or 93.4 % were from the age group 25–34 years. 83.5 % of cases were male and 16.5 % female. 79.1 % of cases had been placed on the dispensary register for patients with diagnosed dependency syndrome. The remainder (20.9 %) were not registered as drug-dependent. Each of the drugs: psychostimulants (ephedrine); sedatives; and ‘companion drugs’ (clonidine with alcohol) was used by a single patient only (these drugs accounted for 1.1 % each of reported DRDs).

In 2007, 25 DRD cases (27.5 %) were HIV-positive and of them, 20 (21.9 %) died due to HIV-related complications. Apart from the consequences of the blood-borne infections, somatic and infectious diseases (74.7 %) were the main causes of death among the registered drug users, including liver diseases (cirrhosis, toxic hepatitis), cardiovascular pathology, pulmonary tuberculosis, gastrointestinal diseases, trauma sequels and other pathologies. Nine of the DRD cases (9.9 %) died due to overdoses and poisonings by opiates (opium, heroine, methadone) and alcohol. 4.4 % were suicides. Accidents accounted for 6.6 %. Murders constituted 1.1 %, while 13.2 % of deaths occurred due to unknown reasons.

top of page

Treatment responses

According to data from the Ministry of Health, there are presently 17 narcological dispensaries and 678 beds in daycare inpatient facilities available in Belarus (for patients with both alcohol- and non-alcohol-related disorders).

Altogether, 323 narcologists (physicians with special training in addiction treatment) had worked in Belarus by late 2007, including 49 psychiatrists and narcologists specialised on work with teenage patients.

In 2007, the number of available hospital beds increased by 6.8 % (1 392), as compared to 1 303 hospital beds available in 2006, and amounted to 1.4 hospital beds per 10 000 people. There were also outpatient forms of medical aid in Belarus, provided anonymously to drug patients.

Typically, the treatment (and rehabilitation) of drug users in Belarus include, according to a relevant bylaw (Ministry of Health of The Republic Of Belarus 1991), (i) development of the drug addict’s motivation to undergo treatment; (ii) detoxification (a complex of physical therapy combined with physical exercise with continuous care for the patient for two to three weeks; (iii) from one to three weeks of medical treatment helping to revive any organs that were damaged due to drug addiction. This practice in addictions treatment is not yet fully in accordance with UN standards and WHO recommendations on complex drug treatment, most of all due to the insufficient availability of long-term re-socialisation- and after-care programmes.
Substitution treatment for users of opioids became available in Belarus only in September 2007, when a pilot methadone substitution therapy project started in the Gomel Narcological Clinic, where it is provided to 33 patients. At present (April 2008), methadone therapy is also being implemented in the Minsk City Narcological Clinic. From the beginning of the pilot project until April 2008, methadone treatment was provided to 43 patents altogether in Belarus.

Early in 2008, there were 11 rehabilitation centres in Belarus dealing with the rehabilitation and resocialisation of drug patients. Nine of these centres were established by various NGOs and Christian missions. Since September 2007, rehabilitation programmes have become available in two state narcological clinics located in Minsk and Grodno. Normally, narcological dispensaries have a list of non-governmental rehabilitation centres which they recommend to drug users who have completed detoxification. A typical rehabilitation centre in Belarus provides both free of charge or requiring payment treatment. In three centres, rehabilitation is based on the 12-step programme.

As of the beginning of 2008, no data are available on patients who completed rehabilitation in non-governmental centres.

top of page

Harm reduction responses

In 2006–07, Belarusian NGOs were carrying out activities to prevent the spread of HIV among intravenous drug users in the framework of the Project for Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS in Belarus financed by the Global Fund. The target groups included: (i) drug users; (ii) people from their immediate surroundings (family, relatives, friends); (iii) staff of the Centres for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public Health, of narcological dispensaries (drug abuse clinics), regional hospitals and other medical staff working with drug users; (iv) staff of the NGOs working in HIV/AIDS prevention; (v) former drug users active in the harm reduction services; (vi) law enforcement officers, social service workers and officers of other institutions dealing with drug users; (vii) the general public.

In 2004, the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) approved its grant to Belarus on HIV/AIDS. The total amount of approved funding for two years was USD 6 818 796. In November 2006, GFATM approved Phase 2 funding of the grant for three years with total funding of USD 9 945 034. The Harm Reduction programme is provided by Component 1 ‘Prevention of HIV infection among injecting drug users (IDUs)’ implemented by ‘Positive Movement’, a Belarusian NGO.

In 2005–07, support was provided to 52 operational anonymous counselling points (ACP) in Belarus, which provided a wide range of preventive measures for intravenous drug users (Author, 2008). By April 2008 they had registered coverage for 22 437 IDUs, 1 696 of whom had reported to the ACPs for the first time in 2008. The activities of ACPs include exchanging syringes, distributing condoms, sterile liquids and cotton filters, publishing and distributing booklets and brochures to provide the necessary information on harm reduction and safer sexual behaviour.

In three months during 2008, 13 598 copies of information and educational materials published within the project were disseminated among ACP clients (104 251 copies of printed materials have been distributed since 2005). Two booklets — ‘Prevention of sexually-transmitted infections’ and ‘drugs and law’ — were elaborated and published in 2006. From 2005 to April 2008, ACP staff and other social workers distributed 2 567 028 syringes and 1 668 809 condoms. At the same time 8 095 IDU clients were sent to medical institutions for treatment, 469 were sent for treatment or rehabilitation. 2 486 were sent to be tested for viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted diseases, and 2 560 were tested for HIV. In total, the number of consultations provided at the ACPs from 2005–08 was 57 539, representing on average 2.6 consultations per client.

During the three years of project implementation, the number of drug users among older age groups has increased, which can be attributed to the effective HIV and drug prevention campaign. Presently 62.2 % of ACPs’ clients are older than 25.

In 2006, 121 outreach workers and 213 specialists were trained on medical, psychological and social aspects of IDU counseling (229 outreach workers and 351 counsellors have been trained since the start of the grant). To enhance the efficiency of ACPs’ work and to introduce the software for their monitoring, four workshops have been held. A total of 50 ACP staff members were trained to use this software.

Four round tables aimed at building up partnership relations between ACP personnel and the personnel of departments to fight illicit drug trafficking of the Ministry of the Interior also took place.

top of page

Drug markets and drug-related offences

The day-to-day responsibility for preventing and disrupting illegal drug trafficking is borne by the Ministry of the Interior, the State Security Committee (KGB), the State Border Committee and the Prosecutor’s Office. Additionally, the following agencies take part in the concerted efforts to suppress illegal drugs market: (i) the Drug Control and Human Trafficking Department (established as a separate division within the Criminal Police in 1996); (ii) the Cross-border Organised Crime Unit (established within the search and surveillance division of the State Border Committee); the Belarusian Customs.

The ‘Collegium’ of the Ministry of Health is a specialised body within the national system; it regulates and controls legal transactions of controlled substances. A Council of Ministers Resolution (20 October 2003, No 1378) authorises the Collegium to issue, extend, suspend or cancel licences to engage in legal transactions of controlled substances.

Poppy plants and herbal cannabis are grown in Belarus, and some synthetic drugs are produced in the country. However, their volumes are insignificant to export, and they are mostly used for local consumption. At the same time, Belarus is a significant transit country and a part of the old and new northern (‘Silk’) route for trafficking heroin from the south-east Asia to Europe. A fairly large number of other drug trafficking routes pass through the territory of Belarus due to the country’s geographic location. At the same time, Belarus is gradually turning from a transit country into a demand country.

Altogether, the law enforcement agencies seized over 972 kg of drugs in 2007. According to the information provided by the Ministry of the Interior, the number of drug-related crimes in 2007 amounted to 4 368. The number of persons convicted for drug-related crimes totaled 2 782 in 2007. In 2007, the number of persons convicted under para 1 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code (see the chapter ‘National drug laws’ below) amounted to 2 008 persons, 701 (35 %) of whom received a prison sentence.

In both 2004 and in 2007, the proportion of persons convicted under para 1 of Article 328 constituted 72 % of the total number of persons convicted for all types of drug-related crimes. The number of persons convicted under paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code amounted to 729 persons, 706 (97 %) of whom received a prison sentence. The proportion of persons convicted under paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of Article 328 constituted 26 % (the same as in 2004 and 2007) of the total number of persons convicted for all types of drug-related crimes.

The share of persons convicted for other types of drug-related crimes (for example, encouragement to use drugs, stealing pharmaceutical drugs, running drug dens/crack houses) remained minimal and constituted 2 % of cases in 2004 and 2007. The number of persons convicted for drug-related crimes, who were subjected to compulsory treatment from drug addiction, was 638 in 2007 (compared to 773 in 2004).

The availability of information on methods of drugs production on the Internet contributes to the growth of abuse and crime. Eight labs were subject to enforcement action, seven producing amphetamine and one illegal methadone in the reporting year.

Recent tendencies include he production of extracted opium from poppy seeds that are used for culinary purposes. This presents a real problem for the police since poppy seeds that are used for buns and rolls are legally sold in any quantity at stores and markets.

top of page

National drug laws

Criminal responsibility is stipulated for stealing pharmaceutical drugs, producing and processing drugs, purchasing and possessing drugs (disregarding the purpose of such possession), trafficking drugs for sale or not for sale; planting, cultivating illicit drug-containing plants to sell or to produce a drug; violating the rules of working with state controlled drugs that lead to their loss or misappropriation; inciting others to use drugs and providing premises for drug use.

In Belarus, the Criminal Code includes the following paragraphs on narcotics: (i) Article 327 of the Criminal Code, relating to stealing pharmaceutical drugs, psychoactive substances and precursors and (ii) Article 328 of the Criminal Code, of which paragraph 1 refers to the Illegal manufacture, processing, purchase, possession, transportation and sending of drugs or precursors without the purpose of sale, paragraph 2 relates to the illegal manufacturing, processing, purchase, possession, transportation and sending of drugs or precursors with the purpose of sale, or sale of drugs or precursors; and paragraph 3 relates to exacerbating activities specified in paragraph 2, for example if committed by a group of people, by an official abusing his official position, by a repeat offender, or in relation to drugs in large quantities, or sale of drugs and precursors on the territory of educational, correctional institutions, arrest houses, detention areas or in places where sporting, cultural and other events are carried out; and paragraph 4 relates to activities specified in paragraphs 2 and 3, if committed by an organised group; (iii) Article 329 of the Criminal Code, relates to planting, cultivation of illicit drug containing plants to sell or to produce a drug; (iv) Article 330 of the Criminal Code relates to violation of rules for the handling of narcotic drugs or psychoactive substances; (v) Article 331 of the Criminal Code relates to inciting others to use drugs; (v) Article 332 of the Criminal Code relates to organising or running drug dens.

In 2003 the Criminal Code was amended to increase responsibility for drug trafficking for drug sale and for personal drug consumption. Most drug-related crimes were characterised as serious or very serious. The punishment now varies from a six-month arrest to a 15-year prison sentence with or without confiscation of property. If a crime was committed by a person while intoxicated (drug-impaired), the punishment will be harsher. If a crime was committed by a drug addict, the courts may sentence him/her to imprisonment and mandatory treatment in prison.

In 2003, the ‘List of nationally controlled narcotic drugs, psychoactive substances and their precursors’ was introduced in the Republic of Belarus. According to the list, cannabinoids (marijuana, hashish) fall within the ‘Herbal Drugs Section’ and the distribution of them is penalised by law. In 2007, the Ministry of Health amended the List with a resolution: amineptine was added to the ‘Psychoactive substances’ section and the ‘Herbal drugs’ section was supplemented with information on the ways to obtain opium extract from seeds of the Papaver family of plants.

top of page

National drug strategy

Between 2001 and 2005, under Resolution No 25 (January 2001) of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, the ‘State programme of comprehensive responses to abuse and illegal trafficking in drugs and psychoactive substances for 2001–05’ was implemented in Belarus. At present, the ‘2006–10 State programme to enhance the fight against crime’ is being implemented within the joint interstate programmes with the CIS members and the Belarus/Russia Allied State Programme. The ‘2007–10 National programme of demographic security in the Republic of Belarus’ approved in March 2007 (Presidential Edict No 135) and the ‘2006–10 State programme of national responses to prevent and overcome alcoholism’ of April 27 2006 (Council of Ministers’ Decision No 556) also include certain aspects relating to drug use prevention.

top of page

Coordination mechanism in the field of drugs

The Interagency Commission on Crime, Corruption and Drugs under the Security Council was established by a Presidential Edict in 1995 to coordinate the work of the law-enforcement agencies at the policy level. The Commission, headed by the Prosecutor General, includes the leaders of the key ministries (the Ministries of Interior, Health, Education, Justice, Economy and others), as well as of other national public authorities, the Chairman of the Supreme Court and the Chairman of the Supreme Economic Court. The President of Belarus and the Security Council are regularly briefed on the current developments in the drug situation. The need for a national response strategy development and an assessment of the existing state programmes has been at the core of the Commission’s work since its inception.

In March 2008, a meeting of the Interagency Commission took place where the current drug situation following the ‘2006–10 State Programme to Enhance the Fight Against Crime’ was assessed, and the issue of the status of the National Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, recently established, was discussed. The Interagency Commission made a decision to finalise the establishment of the National Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction on the premises of Grodno Medical University, and to give it the status of a state agency. The proposals of the Commission are currently under consideration at the Ministry of Economy.

top of page

References

Author, X. 2008, 'Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS in the Republic of Belarus, 2005-2007' (grant report).

Avseevich, N., Anonymous, X., and Anonymous, W. 2008, 'The results of the ESPAD-like school study performed in 2007 among the students in Brest Region', Some unknown publisher, Brest.

Department of AIDS prevention 2001, 'Intravenous drug use and the spread of HIV. A rapid assessment report', National centre for hygiene, epidemiology and public health, Minsk.

Department of AIDS prevention 2007, 'Epidemiological situation on HIV/AIDS prevalence in the Republic of Belarus. The first six-month of 2007', Informational Bulletin, Vol. 43, pp. 1234–5678.

Meleshko, L. 2008, 'The results of the epidemiological study on HIV infection in the Republic of Belarus' (2006 report), Kovcheg, Minsk.

Ministry of Health of The Republic Of Belarus. The order of the Minister. 16-9-1991.

Ref Type: Bill/Resolution.

top of page