THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT HAS DECIDED TO EXAMINE THE INQUIRY INITIATED BY RADICAL PARTY ABOUT CONFORMITY TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW DRUGS LAW

Moscow, November 6, 1998 -- Yesterday, November 5, the Constitutional Court of Russian Federation on its administrative session has accepted the decision to consider the inquiry initiated by the Transnational Radical Party about conformity to the Constitution of several provisions of the new federal law "On narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances". The first signature under inquiry belongs to the State Duma member Valerij Borscev ("Jabloko"), vice-chairman of the Duma committee on public associations and religious organizations, member of Radical Party. Under the inquiry there are totally signatures of 96 members of the State Duma belonging to all fractions and groups.

The inquiry assumes checking constitutionality of law provisions concerning the adopting the List of narcotic substances subjected to the control and its changes; concerning taking decisions about prohibition of cultivations of certain kinds of plants; concerning prohibition on use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances by private physicians; concerning possibility of dispatch to forced medical examination in extra-judicial order by the public prosecutor, police inspector or investigator; concerning the prohibition on treatment of drug addicts in non-state health care institutions.