The Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office checked how prevention entities comply with the legislation on combating illicit drug trafficking

The Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office analyzed the activities of preventive entities and identified problematic issues arising during the implementation of republican and regional comprehensive action plans, including in the sphere of combating illicit drug trafficking.

The results of the inspection showed that in a number of cases, the region's preventive entities did not take effective measures to identify, analyze, and eliminate the causes and conditions contributing to drug addiction; district executive committees did not ensure proper coordination of their activities and did not exercise the necessary control over decisions made in this area.

The work in the area of combating the spread of drug addiction was carried out unsystematically, without ensuring interaction between interested preventive entities. Many events planned for 2019 were not carried out by preventive entities. Moreover, executive committees at all levels paid insufficient attention to drug addiction prevention issues.

The organization of work in this direction by healthcare institutions (UZ "Ushachi Central District Hospital", UZ "Gorodok Central District Hospital") caused particular criticism.

It was established that a proper mechanism for applying medical and social rehabilitation (readaptation) measures for persons suffering from alcoholism, drug addiction, toxicomania, and dependence on other psychoactive substances has not yet been established.

At the same time, statistical data on the number of deaths from poisoning with drug-containing substances in certain regions do not allow us to conclude that the situation has improved. In the Vitebsk region alone, 5 deaths from drug overdose were recorded in 2019, while in 2018, no fatal outcomes were registered.

The regional center lacks an office for the substitution methadone therapy program. At the same time, 10 individuals suffering from drug addiction, who resided in the city of Vitebsk, participated in this program last year. To obtain this medication, they had to travel to the city of Polotsk daily.

A number of violations were identified in the organization of work with drug addicts at UZ "Polotsk

"regional psychiatric hospital". Based on the results of the inspection, the prosecutor of Polotsk district submitted a representation to the chief physician of the said healthcare institution.

The situation with the provision of medical personnel also proved to be problematic.

For example, in the Orsha district, the staffing table provides for 5.5 positions of narcologists, but only 2.0 positions, or 36.4%, are filled, with only 2 doctors actually working. The staff of the healthcare institution "Dubrovenksaya Central District Hospital" is not fully staffed with a psychiatrist-narcologist; there is only a paramedic-narcologist, and a psychiatrist-narcologist visits once a week. In the healthcare institution "Glubokskaya Central District Hospital", the position of narcologist was vacant from September 2015 to July 2017. From August 2017, the position of narcologist was held by a young specialist who has been on parental leave since September 2017.

Based on the results of the analysis of the state of legality in the implementation of measures of regional comprehensive plans aimed at combating illicit drug trafficking, an informational note was sent to the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee.

Moreover, taking into account the relevance and significance, the prosecutor's offices of the Vitebsk region will conduct an inspection in the first quarter of 2020 on the effectiveness of the activities of prevention entities in the sphere of social adaptation of persons abusing narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their precursors and analogues. Simultaneously, it is planned to analyze the implementation by law enforcement and other state bodies and organizations of the Comprehensive Plan of Measures aimed at taking effective measures to combat illicit drug trafficking, prevent their consumption, including among children and youth, and social rehabilitation of persons suffering from drug addiction, in the Vitebsk region for 2019.

The results of the analysis will be considered in May 2020 at a meeting of the coordination council for combating crime and corruption.

Senior Assistant to the Regional Prosecutor
Natalia Kolpakova