National Assembly Approves Bill to Toughen Penalties for Drug Possession, Production, and Trafficking

With 65 votes in favor, 0 against, and 8 abstentions, the National Assembly fully approved the bill to tighten penalties for drug possession, production, and trafficking, proposed by Hakob Sargsyan from the Civil Contract faction.

According to the bill, the following penalties will be imposed:

• For trafficking large quantities of drugs or using information technology for trafficking, a prison sentence of up to 10 years will be established.
• For trafficking particularly large quantities or involving minors, a prison sentence of up to 15 years will be imposed.
• Trafficking drugs via Telegram channels will carry a penalty of 5 to 10 years in prison.
• For selling drugs to minors, the penalty will range from 8 to 15 years.
• For growing, producing, acquiring, or possessing drugs for personal use, the penalty will be a fine equivalent to 20 times the minimum wage, or imprisonment for 2 years.
• Penalties for acquiring large quantities of drugs through information technology will be a fine between 20 to 40 times the minimum wage, or a prison term of 4 years.
• Involvement of minors or acquiring drugs in particularly large quantities will result in a prison term of 3 to 6 years.
• For producing, preparing, acquiring, or possessing small quantities of drugs for personal use, the fine will be doubled, from 200-400 thousand drams to 400-800 thousand drams. If the same offense is committed again within one year, a fine of 800 thousand to 1.6 million drams will be applied.