NO MORE JAIL TERMS FOR DRUG POSSESSION

Under a new law that came into effect this week, drug users can possess a
greatly increased amount of an illegal substance -- for instance, 20 grams
of marijuana or 1.5 grams of cocaine -- without the risk of being thrown in
jail.

The law has been criticized by the Federal Anti-Drug Service, which says it
hampers the battle against drugs, but praised by those who work to
rehabilitate drug addicts, who predict more addicts will now seek help.

President Vladimir Putin signed an amendment to the Criminal Code in
December stipulating that possession of no more than 10 times the amount of
a "single dose" would now be considered an administrative infraction rather
than a criminal offense. Punishment would be a fine of no more than 40,000
rubles ($1,380) or community service.

It then took five months to hammer out what would be considered the single
dose of various drugs.

Ten times the amount of a single dose, as set in the government resolution
that came into effect Wednesday, is 20 grams of marijuana, 5 grams of
hashish, mescaline or opium, 1.5 grams of cocaine, 1 gram of heroin or
methamphetamine, and 0.003 grams of LSD.

Anyone caught in possession of these amounts or less cannot legally be
detained, a spokeswoman for the Moscow branch of the Federal Anti-Drug
Service said. Instead, a report will be filed and the fine will be
determined by a court.

This is a major change. Under the old standards, someone caught with 0.1
grams of marijuana, for instance, could be punished by incarceration.

Foreigners, even those with deep pockets, should still take the new law
seriously, however. Yelena Zhigayeva, a lawyer at the Moscow law firm
Haarmann Hemmelrath & Partner, said that by law foreigners who violate
Russian drug laws, even if it is only an administrative infraction, can be
expelled from the country or denied re-entry.

Alexander Mikhailov, deputy head of the Federal Anti-Drug Service, was
indignant about the resolution.

"The heroin dose is normal for a chronic drug user, but for a regular
person it's nonetheless a dose of potassium cyanide," Mikhailov was quoted
as saying in Kommersant on Thursday. "We were categorically against it, but
the Justice Ministry simply went crazy chasing its European standards.

"Now drug addicts have the right to run around with their pockets full of
marijuana, and we can't even detain them."

A spokesman for the Federal Anti-Drug Service was more diplomatic. "It's
the law, and we are required to abide by it and enforce it," he said by
telephone.

The amounts for single doses were recommended by a group formed by the
State Duma's Legislative Committee that included representatives from the
Health, Justice and Interior ministries, the FSB and several NGOs.

Lev Levinson, head of New Drug Policy, an advocacy group for drug law
reform, was the coordinator of the group. "This is a brave, humane law,"
Levinson said. "Now that police will stop persecuting users, they can start
focusing on real threats like large-scale drug trafficking."

Vitaly Zhumagaliyev, head of the Moscow bureau of Harm Reduction, which
works to rehabilitate drug addicts, said the new law will provide a boost
to his organization's activities.