The National Assembly discusses draft laws on drug prevention and control.

Continuing its work program, today, October 27th, the National Assembly heard presentations and reports on the review of the draft Law on Foreign Trade Management; the Law on Legal Aid (amended); and the Law on State Liability for Compensation (amended), and held group discussions on these draft laws.

Earlier yesterday, the National Assembly discussed the draft Law amending and supplementing several articles of the Penal Code No. 100/2015/QH13. In their comments on the draft law, the majority of opinions suggested that the requirement for expert examination to determine the pure drug content is inconsistent with the current reality of drug crimes and does not ensure fairness in handling cases where drugs are seized compared to cases where drugs are not. Currently, cases where drugs are not seized account for over 20% of the total number of drug cases handled in Vietnam.

(Illustrative photo: Quang Trung)

Although no drugs were seized, through the process of interrogating the suspect and questioning witnesses and accomplices, the prosecuting authorities still have sufficient evidence to prove the suspect's criminal act and can still prosecute him according to the relevant provisions of the law.

Also at the discussion session, the majority of delegates agreed with the view to add the narcotic substance XLR-11 (infused in synthetic marijuana) and Khat leaves (containing the narcotic substance Cathinone) to the Penal Code; at the same time, they also agreed to add the regulation "other plants containing narcotic substances on the list issued by the Government" to the Penal Code.

In practice, drug-related crimes have become unpredictable in recent times, and there is a possibility that many types of plants, leaves, flowers, and fruits containing narcotic substances will appear. Therefore, regulations with a predictive nature are needed to ensure that they can both promptly meet the requirements of combating drug-related crimes and ensure strict control to prevent abuse.

According to the delegates, regulations regarding plants containing narcotic substances should be open-ended because many types of plants contain narcotic and addictive substances. If new plants or substances are discovered in the future, it would be appropriate to leave it to the Government to regulate them. This would extend the lifespan of the law.

According to VOV