MOSCOW, June 7 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed into law a bill introducing socio-psychological tests of schoolchildren and students of institutions of high learning and vocational training schools and colleges for drugs.
The document also provides for preventative medical examinations.
However, no tests will be carried out without a written consent from children who have reached 15 or from one of the parents or an authorized representative if a child is younger than 15, the document published on the official Internet portal of legal information says.
A schoolchild or a high school student who illegally takes drugs will be sent for treatment to a specialized medial institution or its branch. Schools and institutions of high learning will be obliged to keep the results of drug tests secret and confidential.
The law takes effect in 180 days after it has been published.
The Russian statistics of drug consumption by teenagers is extremely contradictory. In some regions, up to 60% of schoolchildren regularly take drugs or have tasted light drugs. According to the All-Russian Public Opinion Center, 83% of Russians support the idea of testing schoolchildren for drugs, and only seven percent of respondents were opposed to the idea because they consider it to be the state’s interference in the private lives of Russian citizens.