Comments on the draft Law on Drug Prevention and Control (amended)

On the morning of March 16, the Provincial National Assembly Delegation held a Conference to contribute ideas to the draft Law on Prevention and Control ofdrug(amended). Comrade Tran Van Mao - Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation chaired.

The draft Law on Drug Prevention and Control (amended) has a structure of 8 chapters and 69 articles, regulating the prevention, suppression, and fight against drug crimes and evils; control of legal activities related to drugs; management of illegal drug users; drug addiction treatment; responsibilities of individuals, families, agencies, and organizations in drug prevention and control; state management and international cooperation in drug prevention and control.

Comrade Tran Van Mao - Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation chaired the conference. Photo: D.C.

At the conference to contribute ideas to the draft Law, delegates said that, given the social evilsdrugThe situation is still complicated and increasingly serious, greatly affecting many areas of social life. It is necessary to amend the Law on Drug Prevention and Control to adjust regulations in accordance with reality... The conference basically agreed with the scope of adjustment and the layout of the contents of the draft Law on Drug Prevention and Control (amended).

However, to make the Law highly feasible in practice, delegates continued to contribute additional comments and clarify regulations on a number of issues such as: Responsibility for preventing, stopping, and combating drug crimes and evils; controlling legal activities related to drugs; regulations on public and private drug rehabilitation facilities; management of illegal drug users and drug rehabilitation, especially regulations on time.detoxdrugs; responsibilities of individuals, families, agencies and organizations in preventing and combating drugs...

Delegate Bui Van Hung - Deputy Director of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs spoke. Photo: D.C.

In addition, some delegates suggested that in Clause 1, Article 8, it is necessary to consider adding the responsibility of educational institutions in disseminating and propagating the law on drug prevention and control to teachers and school staff. Along with that, there needs to be coordination from competent agencies. It is recommended to review Clause 1, Article 24 to ensure feasibility in practice when providing information about one's illegal drug use to the organization where one works or the police at the commune level where one resides.

In addition, delegates proposed that in Clause 2, Article 26, the authority of the Commune Police in removing people from the list of illegal drug users be studied and reviewed to be consistent with Clause 1, this Article.

In Clause 4, Article 11, it is stipulated that in cases where the case is not under the jurisdiction of the agency that detects the violation of law, "initial handling and transfer of records" will be performed. However, the provision of "initial handling" is unclear and may cause different interpretations. It is recommended that this content be clarified.

Lieutenant Colonel Tran Dinh Vinh - Deputy Chief of Vinh City Police said that drug rehabilitation at home and in the community is still a formality and ineffective. Photo: D.C.

Many delegates said that the issue of voluntary drug addiction treatment at home and in the community has long been ineffective and is still a formality, and suggested that there needs to be a clear solution.

Lieutenant Colonel Tran Dinh Vinh - Deputy Chief of Vinh City Police said that drug addicts who follow the decision of the People's Committee of the ward or commune and focus on detoxification for 8-10 days and then continue to use drugs, their families and local authorities cannot manage or control them. If the subjects are in the community, it is very difficult to carry out drug detoxification due to many influences from outside society...

Injection of detoxification drugs for synthetic drug addicts at Vinh City Labor and Social Affairs Center. Photo: Document

Some issues that delegates are also concerned about include: Clause 2, Article 30, 31 stipulates how funding will be supported if drug addiction treatment is fully implemented; Clause 1, 2, Article 22 stipulates drug testing in the body is not yet specific; Point D, Clause 2, Article 35, stipulates drug addiction treatment areas, whether it is necessary to separate compulsory and voluntary subjects or not; Clause 3, Article 4 needs to add resources to drug addiction treatment facilities to upgrade facilities, meet vocational training and cultural teaching; Article 43 stipulates the responsibilities of the People's Committee at the commune level, which needs to be more specific...

At the end of the Conference, on behalf of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation, Comrade Tran Van Mao highly appreciated the opinions of the delegates. The Delegation would like to fully absorb, synthesize and convey them to the upcoming 11th Session.

Dang Cuong