Duma deputy speaker Yarovaya categorically opposed to methadone therapy for drug addicts in Russia
MOSCOW. Dec 15 (Interfax) - Russia should not introduce a methadone-based replacement therapy for drug addicts, State Duma Deputy Speaker Irina Yarovaya said.
"Actually, it is the most harmful form of working with drug users. The most. And that it has been introduced in Ukraine and subsequently used as a means of influencing the behavior of a young generation, in general. Because drug addicts were queuing to beg the state, horrible as it may sound, for drugs. And, God forbid, if anything similar should happen in Russia one day," Yarovaya told the lower house on Tuesday during the first reading of the controversial Criminal Code amendments which impose a maximum penalty of ten (and in some cases 15) years of imprisonment for online calls to use narcotic drugs and their analogues. During the debate, Duma deputies mentioned methadone therapy and possible sanctions under the draft law to its advocates.
"The only thing that can be talked about is a broader format of the state and societal involvement in preventing any drug propaganda. In any form. So, there should be absolutely no compromise here and only a consistent logic of non-acceptance," Yarovaya said.
Methadone therapy is a type of replacement therapy for those addicted to opioid drugs including heroin. It uses methadone, another opioid drug. The therapy is used in some countries, but is prohibited in Russia.
According to a 2004 joint report from the World Health Organization, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS, the therapy is overall regarded as one of most efficient treatments for opioid addiction.
It can reduce heroin-related deaths and slow the transmission of HIV among drug users, the report said. This replacement therapy should be seen as an important option when deciding on a treatment method in areas with many heroin addicts and where HIV transmission among them is acute, the report said. Possible risks include drug abuse and death, it said.
