Schoolchildren who fail drug test not to be watched by FSKN

MOSCOW, April 21 (Itar-Tass) --The results of drug tests taken by
schoolchildren will be intended for their parents only, Federal Service
for Control of Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (FSKN) chief Viktor
Ivanov said.
"It is important to explain to people, primarily to parents, that this
information is intended for them and fro them only," he told Ekho Moskvy
radio on Wednesday, April 20.
The results of drug tests are not intended either for teachers or
schoolmates, let alone drug police, Ivanov said.
"I say officially and responsibly that this information is not of
interest to us. What is of interests to us is that measures are taken as
soon as possible. Then demand for drugs among older guys will decrease,"
he said.
Ivanov said earlier that schoolchildren could be screened for drugs
during regular medical checkups but says parents should be allowed to
reject such tests for their children.
"We support such testing as one of the early drug use detection
methods," he said. "We would suggest undergoing it during regular medical
checkups in senior grades. This will not require special tests or special
rooms. This can be done as part of regular medical tests."
"Additional regulation through federal legislation may not be
necessary either," he added.
"We think there is no need to make it mandatory and make this [results
of tests] public," Ivanov said, suggesting that parents should be allowed
to decide weather this children should undergo such tests or not.
President Dmitry Medvedev suggested that federal legislation should
regulate all aspects of early drug testing, including among schoolchildren.
"The practice of testing schoolchildren in regions has already been
tried out, but not all parents met it positively," Medvedev said at a
meeting of the State Council that focused on drug abuse.
"The majority of objections were explained by ethnic reasons and the
need to respect the right to private life," the president said.
"At any rate, a decision has long been needed on this matter, and it
cannot be individual for Ryazan, Kaluga or Ryazan, It must be a federal
one," Medvedev said. "If this are to do this, there must be a federal law
[that will regulate all aspects of early detection of drug abuse]," he
said.
There are 20 percent more drug addicts in Russia than there were in
the former Soviet Union.
"Drug addiction increased by 20 percent in 20 years, but this growth
occurred mainly in the 1990s," the FSKN chief said.
According to Ivanov, the number of drug addicts has practically not
increased over the past ten years. "The number of drug users has increased
by about 2 percent [in the 2000s]. But this cannot appease us because
their number of very big, including those of heroin users," he said.
Experts say that there are about 2.5 million drug addicts in Russia.
About 600,000 drug users are registered at medical facilities.