Proposal to Change How “Drug Addiction” Is Diagnosed in Russia

The Russian government has proposed to stop diagnosing “drug addiction” solely based on the fact of drug intoxication. This initiative highlights the difference between testing for drug intoxication and the medical procedures required to confirm a substance use disorder.

A new bill has been submitted to the State Duma to clarify the legal regulations regarding how this diagnosis is made. According to the government’s website, current laws do not fully distinguish between medical examinations for drug intoxication and the comprehensive diagnostic procedures used to determine the presence of a substance use disorder.

“To resolve this inconsistency in legal regulation, the bill proposes to define a person with drug addiction in the federal law ‘On Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances’ as someone who has been officially diagnosed with ‘drug addiction.’ It also suggests removing medical examination from the list of procedures through which this diagnosis can be established,” the official statement says.