MOSCOW. Oct 29 (Interfax) - The head of Russia's drug control agency, Viktor Ivanov, has said that Russia will not legalize soft drugs like marijuana.
"My attitude to this is negative. Such an idea has absolutely no future in Russia. None of the agencies concerned support it," Ivanov said in an interview with the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper.
"I would not say that this idea is popular in the West. Only the Netherlands differ from all of the other states in this issue. Other states have either a balanced or a sharply negative attitude to it. By the way, the idea of tightening these norms is gaining more popularity even in the Netherlands," he said.
Ivanov also said he wanted the authorities to tighten border controls to stop suspected drug traffickers from CIS countries entering Russia.
"Today citizens of some Central Asian republics are allowed to enter Russia using only their internal passports. This enables drug smugglers to cross the Russian border 100 times a year without attracting attention because no stamps are put in internal passports. As far as migration cards are concerned, one can throw it away and say on the border that he has lost it. All of these loopholes must be sealed completely," he said.
Meanwhile, commenting on a suggested program to distribute syringes for free to Russia's drug users to help stop the spread of AIDS, Ivanov said this will play into the hands of drug dealers.
"There are at least 1.5 million drug addicts in Russia. Those who take heroin need about 2-3 dozes every day. Let's count how many syringes are needed to meet all of these needs. Who will distribute these syringes? Speaking seriously, such programs must be subject to total medical control. If this control is absent, such 'well-doers' become direct accomplices to those who spread drugs," Ivanov said.