The draft law No. 104 on amending some normative acts (related to preventing and combating illicit trafficking of drugs, narcotic and psychotropic substances, entheogenic products, precursors and substitutes for drugs) was adopted by the parliament in the first reading on April 9 – by 89 votes. The draft was developed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It provides for tougher responsibility for drug-related offenses, including involvement of minors. It proposes to toughen penalties up to imprisonment for the use and possession of drugs even in small quantities. In addition, the bill obliges specialized institutions to report cases of drug use, otherwise they may face liability.
From medicine to repression?
Already at the stage of debate in the first reading, questions arose to the draft: “Punishment does not cure, it breaks destinies”.
“Unfortunately, in this law, when I studied it, it is difficult to separate the consumer and the distributor. From practice, unfortunately, very often the distributor – he is also a consumer, and he goes to distribute in order to get some part for consumption. And even if he gets caught a second time, unfortunately, he still does not cease to be a consumer in his base, in the motivation of his crime. And in this case I am afraid, even sure that our prisons will be filled with additional people who depend on drugs, and the problem will not be solved in general,” said PSRM deputy Vladimir Odnostalco, deputy chairman of the Commission for Social Protection, Health and Family Affairs.
In his opinion, the Interior Ministry presented the bill “from its power position,” while the issues of addiction are the sphere of psychology and medicine. The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Protection should have proposed measures for prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and re-socialization: “But this, unfortunately, did not happen.”
The Ministry of Internal Affairs, in turn, said that it went towards the public, providing for the possibility not to prosecute for the first offense.
What does Kwasniewski have to do with it
This week, a protest of public activists, experts, NGOs, and family members of people with addictions against Bill 104 took place outside the parliament building.
“You can’t mix drug dealers – the source of evil – and sick people,” said the mother of an addict at the rally.
PAS deputy Liliana Grosu came out to the protesters, her speech sounded notes of compromise:
“Prevention is not only prohibitions, but also early education and emotional support …. Drug dependence is reduced through rehabilitation services, not sanctions. Treating use as a public health issue reduces stigma and promotes recovery.”
She stressed, however, that drug trafficking should be cracked down as hard as possible, with no leniency for organized criminal groups.
Representatives of the Commission on Drug Policy in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia participated in the rally. They made it clear that the draft No. 104 is ineffective, contradicts European standards and even diverges from the Moldovan strategy in this field, which experts consider a quality document.
Is the ball on Maya Sandu’s side?
Against this background, the meeting between Moldovan President Maia Sandu and former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, now the Chairman of the Commission on Drug Policy, took place almost unnoticed. Officially, they discussed drug trafficking in the context of the growth of cross-border crime.
However, it is highly probable that draft law No. 104 was also discussed. Kwasniewski’s position on the EU’s new 2030 Drug Strategy and its Action Plan leads to this conclusion: “They are actually moving away from decades of progressive approach, betting on punitive measures, which have already repeatedly demonstrated their ineffectiveness in the world.” In his view, harm reduction, treatment and decriminalization reduce deaths, infection rates and the burden on prisons.
Apparently, the ball is now on President Maia Sandu’s side. Formally, of course, the decision rests with the deputies, but the political signal from the presidential administration will be crucial.
“Not a single mother asked to put her child in prison.”
In Chisinau, Aleksander Kwasniewski also met with the NGO “Positive Initiative”. The association is one of the largest and most experienced organizations working in the field of public health care and protection of patients’ rights in the Republic of Moldova. As a result of the meeting, clear recommendations were made: abolition of the practice of drug registration, revision and increase of permissible quantities for personal use, expansion of access to quality services, including maintenance therapy with opioid agonists (PTAO), development of correctional programs and alternatives to imprisonment.
Ruslan Poverga, executive director of the association, shared with Logos Press his opinion on the bill that passed its first reading:
“It was supposed to influence the market to reduce the supply and demand for drugs. However, it looks quite different, it is punitive, and its essence is to persecute those who need help and treatment”.
The Association worked to amend the bill to make it more humane, but so far they have not been heard.
The activist emphasizes that they are not in favor of consumption taking place in public places and generally everywhere – it should be reacted to, “but not demonized.”
“In 25 years of activity in this field, I have seen a huge number of mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters whose loved ones have fallen into addiction. Not one of them asked: help put my child in jail. Everyone asked for one thing – help to treat, support, and preferably do it anonymously.
