The Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office will strengthen control over the prevention of drug addiction among minors
The Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office will strengthen control over the prevention of drug addiction among minors, reported Irina Tarasevich, Assistant Prosecutor of the Vitebsk Region.
She noted that after the adoption of Decree No. 6 "On urgent measures to combat illicit drug trafficking" in 2014, a decrease in crimes of this orientation among minors has been observed in the region. "From 2015 to 2017, the number of crimes decreased from 36 to 24. Two cases were detected in the current year," Irina Tarasevich clarified.
According to her, the vast majority of such crimes (84%) are not related to the sale of prohibited substances and drugs. Therefore, the main goal of preventive work is to protect children from the temptation to try drugs and experience the effects of psychotropic substances. "Employees of educational institutions and internal affairs bodies do not always establish the real reasons and conditions for involving children in the consumption of psychotropic substances. We do not always know the answer to the question of why a child used drugs," the expert states.
Therefore, the prosecutor's office intends to more closely monitor the implementation of the planned preventive measures. The Assistant Prosecutor is convinced that law enforcement officers, educators, and medical professionals who deal with adolescents registered for drug-related issues should work as responsibly as possible, avoiding any formalism. It is necessary to qualitatively improve the activities aimed at explaining to children and young people the consequences of drug use and distribution - from a medical point of view for health, and from a legal point of view - the measures of responsibility and consequences.